Glacier National Park
Experience Glacier by Boat
Drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road
NPS
See the Glaciers
Yellowstone National Park Vitals
Remember how in end-of-the-world disaster flick 2012 that crazed loner Woody Harrelson awaits the planet’s doom in Yellowstone National Park? (Admit it, you saw it.) It’s here, he predicts, the apocalypse will start when the giant volcano beneath the park explodes. “I have goosebumps, people,” he shouts as the ground shudders beneath him. And then … well, let’s just say we don’t see Woody again. Okay, calm down. It’s true that the world’s first national park sits atop the Yellowstone Super Volcano, one of the largest volcanoes on Earth. And that 600,000 years ago, it exploded, covering half of North America in ash. And that it could explode again… any minute. But that probably won’t occur while you visit. Really. The Super Volcano happens to be responsible for Yellowstone’s (and Highway 89's) most spectacular glories—the elegantly spraying geysers, the bubbling mud pots, the gilded Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Spend time here and geology becomes as thrilling as this summer’s blockbuster—with special effects that include the world’s greatest concentration of hydrothermal features. Will Yellowstone give you goosebumps? You bet.
Catch Yellowstone's Geysers
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Get Trippy with the Hot Springs
On your Highway 89 road trip, Drive to Midway Geyser Basin to see Grand Prismatic Spring (pictured), a psychedelically colored hot spring and a good name for an indie rock band. After that, hit nearby Lower Geyser Basin for Great Fountain Geyser and Fountain Paint Pot.
Get Geeky at Yellowstone
Explore the park with Yellowstone Forever instructors who can make concepts like hydrothermal alteration entertaining. You’ll learn firsthand the difference between a hot spring and a fumarole. And if you’re taking your Highway 89 road trip with kids, the five-day Yellowstone for Families package is great.
Bryce Canyon & Zion National Parks Vitals
Not all red rocks are created equal. Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks—less than 75 miles apart in southern Utah and often visited together—are streaks in that crimson blur people like to call red rock country. But while Zion is a landscape painting come to life, solemn as a sermon, sandstone cliffs shooting 2,000 feet above the Virgin River, Bryce is a red rock rave. From the rim, you look down into an amphitheater, where thousands of orange and pink hoodoos (pictured, the coolest name of any geological formation) poke up to create a labyrinth of limestone towers 30 million years old. The landscapes couldn’t be more different, yet, strangely, more complementary. And if you think you have time for only one of these parks, here’s our tip: Find more time.
Behold Bryce's Hoodoos
In Bryce, they take on various forms: a totem pole, giant sea anemone, E.T.’s head. According to Paiute legend, the spirelike formations came from the remains of an ancient people who were turned to stone after angering the gods. Geologists explain the phenomenon as a pattern of alternating hard rock and soft rock—like Phil Collins’s career. Stroll along the Navajo Loop Trail to witness a dreamscape of magic: spooky, surreal, and like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
Squeeze Through Zion's Slot Canyon
There are canyons big and small in Zion and Bryce, but none more beloved than the slot canyon. You’ll know one when you see it—these slits, formed by rushing water, are deeper than they are wide. Exploring one might mean turning sideways and sucking in your gut. It's a must for a complete Highway 89 road trip. Access a bunch on Zion’s Riverside Walk as it leads up the North Fork. You’ll be boulder hopping until you hit The Narrows (pictured), a stretch where 1,000-foot cliffs enclose a gap just 20 feet across. It’s a challenge, so avoid during rainstorms.
Ascend Zion's Arches
Start with sandstone, add rain, wait 50,000 years … presto, it’s the perfect arch. At 287 feet across, Zion’s Kolob Arch is the second-longest freestanding natural arch in the world. Only problem? Getting to it requires a brutal 14-mile trek. A more manageable 5-mile up-and-back on Taylor Creek Trail delivers Double Arch Alcove (pictured), which doubles down on the sandstone magic to reveal two separate bridges being carved, grain by grain, out of a 1,700-foot rock wall.
Master Zion's Mesa
This is the flat part of a steep geological formation, sort of like a roof. In Zion, the valley may be a riot of sheer red cliffs, but the mesas reveal a world of cream-colored domes and forever views. And there’s none eerier or more breathtaking than Checkerboard Mesa (pictured), near the park’s east entrance. The cone-shaped formation—actually an ancient hardened sand dune—is covered in horizontal furrows and vertical fractures that give it a crosshatched look and make it fun to scramble up.
Grand Canyon National Park Vitals
Pick a Grand Canyon Rim
The North and South Rims are only 10 miles apart as the crow flies—but you’re no crow. By road, you’re looking at a 4-hour drive, without traffic. So you’ll need to choose. The good news: They’re both life-alteringly awesome, the South Rim for its culture (museums, architecture), the North Rim (pictured) for its extensive trail network.
Meet Grand Canyon's Amazing Architect
Hike Inside the Canyon
You didn’t come this far on Highway 89 to snap a few pictures, stamp your park passport, and disappear, like Clark and the clan in National Lampoon’s Vacation. Get below the rim. The Bright Angel Trail (pictured) gives you a taste of the canyon’s scale and steepness (it’s a 1,000-foot climb back to the rim). And farther down, Indian Garden is a no-joke hike—9 miles round-trip with a 3,000-foot climb—but perfect for anyone looking to experience the canyon from the inside up.
Dine at El Tovar Lodge
First-timers grouse that the dining room at the 1905 El Tovar Lodge doesn’t have much of a canyon view. But park pros know it’s all about the interior, with vaulted pine ceilings and Native American murals by Hopi artist Bruce Timeche. It’s where the same bow tie–clad waiters have been serving the same creamy polenta corn cakes (with prickly-pear pistachio butter) and salmon tostadas for a decade. It’s called tradition—open your eyes—it might just be your most memorable meal on Highway 89.
Stay at Grand Canyon Lodge
Many a sunset money shot has been snapped from the terrace of the North Rim’s Grand Canyon Lodge. The Adirondack chairs aren’t especially comfy, but kick your feet up on the stone wall and take in the view—Grand Canyon’s finest—and you’ll have no complaints. And the show doesn’t end when the sun goes down: The terrace’s big fireplace flames brightly and the canyon begins to glow with the moonlight. You'll have a hard time leaving this spot on your Highway 89 road trip.