Four Corners : New Mexico – Colorado – Utah – Arizona 2026
|
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| 7 June |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
| |
|
|
|
|
Six Flags
Trip prep
after work |
Drive
home to Carlsbad Caverns, bat night flight,
Carlsbad Hotel |
| 14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
| Carlsbad Caverns,
White Sands, Alamogordo Hotel |
El
Malpais Arch, Bisti Wilderness,
Badlands Sunset,
Farmington Hotel |
Mesa Verde,
La Plata Canyon, Durango Hotel |
Million Dollar Highway, Ouray, Black Canyon Of
The Gunnison, Grand Junction Hotel |
Colorado NM,
Fisher Towers, Moab Hotel |
Arches,
Kane Creek, Moab Hotel |
Corona Arch, Canyonlands Islands In The Sky, Moab Hotel |
|
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
|
Canyonlands Needles, Blanding Hotel |
House On Fire, Natural Bridges, Leprechaun
Canyon, Factory Butte, Torrey Hotel |
Capitol
Reef
Torrey Hotel |
Boulder
Mountain, Lower Calf Creek Falls, Escalante Hotel |
Hole In
The Rock, Devils Garden + Dry Fork + Spooky +
Peek-A-Boo slots, camp @ mile 40 |
Hole In The Rock, Coyote Gulch,
Escalante pizza, Bryce Canyon City Ruby's Hotel |
Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon, Zion Ponderosa Ranch
Resort |
| 28 |
29 |
30 |
1 July |
2 |
3 |
4th of
July |
|
Observation Point, Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort |
Zion
Canyon, Narrows, Springdale Hotel |
Shuttle
to Lava Point, West Rim Trail, Kanab Hotel |
Glen
Canyon, Page, Grand Canyon, Maswik Lodge |
South
Rim, Meteor Crater, Winslow, Petrified Forest,
Gallup Hotel |
Drive
home, Cadillac Ranch |
|
Chris and Nathan went on a three-week driving vacation
around the Four Corners states; New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona.
This was originally planned as a two-week vacation with most nights camping, but
morphed into a more relaxed and comfortable three-week trip staying at hotels on
all nights except for one camping night 45 miles down Hole In The Rock (HITR) Road
from the nearest town of Escalante, Utah.
We started at Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands in southeast New Mexico and then
went north, circling the Four Corners counter-clockwise. The last parks we
visited were Grand Canyon National Park and Petrified Forest National Park in
Arizona.
We visited eighteen national parks and monuments, listed
below, and hiked about 120 miles in total. El Malpais National Monument
and the Bisti Wilderness, both in northwest New Mexico, were totally new places
for both of us. We revisited and hiked a lot of old places that Chris had
been to before this trip, but most locations were new places for Nathan.
The longest hike was on 30 June at the West Rim Trail at Zion National Park, at over 15 miles
in nine hours.
Parks Visited:
-
Carlsbad Caverns
National Park, NM
-
White Sands
National Park, NM
-
El Malpais
National Monument, NM
-
Bisti
Wilderness, NM
-
Mesa Verde
National Park, CO
-
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO
-
Colorado National Monument, CO
-
Arches National Park, UT
-
Canyonlands
National Park, UT : Islands In The Sky District, Needles District
-
Bears Ears National Monument, UT
-
Natural Bridges National Monument, UT
-
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, UT & AZ
-
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
-
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, UT
-
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
-
Zion National Park, UT
-
Grand Canyon
National Park, AZ
-
Petrified Forest National Park, AZ
|
 |
13 June: Carlsbad Caverns Bat
Night Flight, Carlsbad Hotel
14 June: Carlsbad
Caverns, Alamogordo Hotel
Carlsbad Caverns Natural Entrance Bat Flight Amphitheater
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Cloudcroft View of Tularosa Basin, White Sands National Park,
New Mexico
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, Gateway Freedom Monument,
Alamogordo, New Mexico
15 June: El Malpais, Bisti
Wilderness, Farmington Hotel
El Malpais National Monument: La Ventana Arch, Bisti Wilderness
Angel Peak Badlands Overlook
16 June: Mesa Verde National
Park, Durango Hotel
View from Mesa Verde National Park looking north towards Cortez, Colorado
Cliff Palace
Shiprock (26.1 miles away), Mesa Verde National Park, La Plata Canyon
17 June: Million $ Highway, Ouray,
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Junction Hotel
Haviland Lake, Colorado
Panoramas looking south towards Ouray, Colorado
Million Dollar Highway, Durango to Silverton to Ouray, Colorado
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
Warner Point Trail, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Million Dollar Highway and Black Canyon
18 June: Colorado National
Monument, Moab, Fisher Towers, Moab Hotel
Colorado National Monument, Colorado
Castle Valley, Fisher Towers, Red Cliffs Lodge Movie Museum
19 June: Arches National Park,
Delicate Arch hike, Kane Creek Canyon, Moab Hotel
Delicate Arch from Cliff Edge
Delicate Arch from just above the bowl
Delicate Arch path - follow the normal path to the top of the slick-rock
section,
then proceed west to the cliff edge, then drop down into bowl below Delicate
Arch
Delicate Arch
Windows
Arches National Park, Utah
Kane Creek Petroglyphs, Birthing Panel, Moab, Utah
20 June: Corona Arch, Canyonlands
National Park Islands In The Sky, Moab Hotel
Corona & Bow-Tie Arches, Poison Spider Mesa Dinosaur Tracks &
Petroglyphs
Canyonlands National Park - Islands In The Sky District: Grandview Point, Upheaval
Dome, Mesa Arch
21 June: Canyonlands National Park
Needles, Newspaper Rock, Blanding Hotel, Summer Solstice & Fathers Day
-
Google Maps Drive: Moab
to Canyonlands Needles to Blanding
-
Wilson Arch, South of Moab @ BLM
-
Newspaper Rock, Canyonlands, Needles @ BLM
- Fly Reptile 800 FPV near Canyonlands Needles District
- Canyonlands
Needles, Elephant Hill, Potholes Viewpoint, Cave Spring
-
All-Trails Hike Recording: Elephant Hill Trail, Canyonlands, 21
June 2026
-
All-Trails Hike Recording: Cave Spring, Canyonlands, 21 June
2026
- Thai dinner in
Monticello, Blanding Hotel
Wilson Arch, Newspaper Rock
Canyonlands National Park - Needles District
22 June: Butler Wash, House on
Fire, Natural Bridges, Glen Canyon Hite, Leprechaun Slot Canyon, Factory Butte,
Capitol Reef, Torrey Hotel
-
Fly Reptile 800 FPV near
Factory Butte
-
Capitol Reef
National Park, Sunset Point & Goosenecks @ sunset with
forest fire smoke
-
Dinner at Torrey
Hotel Steakhouse
Bears Ears National Monument: Butler Wash, House On Fire
Natural Bridges National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: Hite Overlook
Leprechaun Canyon
Factory Butte, Capitol Reef National Park
23 June: Capitol Reef, Torrey
Hotel
Capitol Reef National Park: Fruita Petroglyphs, Hickman Bridge
24 June: Boulder Mountain, Lower
Calf Creek Falls, Escalante Hotel
Views from Boulder Mountain and The Hogback
Calf Creek Canyon, Lower Calf Creek Falls
Head Of The Rocks
25 June: Hole In the Rock Road,
Devils Garden, Dry Fork + Spooky + Peek-a-Boo, Dance Hall Rock, Camp on 40 Mile
Ridge Road
Hole In The Rock Road: Devils Garden
Hole In The Rock Road: Dry Fork Narrows, Spooky and
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyons
Hole In The Rock Road:
Dance Hall Rock
Hole In The Rock Road: Sunset on 40 Mile Ridge Road
Sunset from 40 Mile Ridge
Road, 27 June 2018 |
Sunset from 40 Mile Ridge
Road, 25 June 2026 |
26 June: Hole In The Rock, Coyote
Gulch, Ruby’s Hotel in Bryce Canyon City
Coyote Gulch, Jacob Hamblin Arch
Escalante Outfitters' Pizza
27 June: Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon,
Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort
Bryce Canyon National Park
Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort
28 June: Zion Canyon Observation
Point, Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort
Zion National Park:
Observation Point
Sunset from North Fork County Road above Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort
29 June: Zion Canyon, Narrows,
Springdale Hotel
Zion National Park: Mt Carmel Road
Zion National Park: The Narrows, Pizza & Noodles Dinner
Zion National Park: Zion Canyon, Crawford Arch
Long Exposure Night Photos in Zion Canyon, Lights on cliff
are overnight climbers
30 June: Shuttle from Springdale
to Lava Point, West Rim Trail, Kanab Hotel
01 July: Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area, Page, Grand Canyon National Park, Maswik Lodge at South Rim
-
Drive: Kanab to Page to Grand Canyon South Rim Village
-
Kanab to Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area, Wahweap Overlook
-
Glen Canyon Dam,
New Wave, Page
-
Grand Canyon
National Park: Watchtower - East Rim, Moran Point, Grandview
Point, South Rim Village, Sunset at Hopi Point - West Rim
-
Bright Angel Lodge
dinner, Maswik Lodge
Wahweap Overlook
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Glen Canyon Dam, New
Wave, Page - Arizona
Grand Canyon National Park: East Rim Watchtower to Grandview
Point to South Rim Village to West Rim - Hopi Point
02 July: Grand Canyon South Rim,
Meteor Crater, Winslow, Petrified Forest National Park, Gallup Hotel
-
Flagstaff Espresso
Flight for Nathan
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona - Plateau Point, Phantom
Ranch, Black Bridge, O'Neill "Two L's! [Jack O'Neill - SG1]" Butte, Bright Angel
Canyon, Cedar Ridge, Mather Point
Meteor Crater, Standin' On A Corner Park - Winslow, Arizona
Petrified Forrest National Park, Arizona: Agate Bridge,
Jasper Forest, Puerco Pueblo, Route 66 Marker, Painted Desert
03 July: Drive home, Gallup to
Arlington
Videos
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K: Drive
Cloudcroft to Alamogordo, NM, 14 June 2026, 4x speed, Route
in Google Maps
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K: Drive
Mesa Verde, CO, 16 June 2026, 4x speed, Route
in Google Maps
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K: Drive
Million Dollar Highway, Coal Creek Pass to Silverton to Ouray,
CO, 17 June 2026, 4x speed, Route
in Google Maps
- Video Meta AI Glasses:
Ouray Box
Canyon Waterfall Slot Canyon, CO, 17 June 2026
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K:
Drive Colorado National
Monument, CO, 18 June 2026, 4x speed, Route
in Google Maps
- Video GoPro Hero 4K: Aerial
FPV Reptile 800 Flying Wing, Near Fisher Towers, UT, 18 June
2026, Location
in Google Maps
- Video GoPro Hero 4K: Aerial
FPV Reptile 800 Flying Wing, Near Canyonlands Needles, UT, 21
June 2026, Location
in Google Maps
- Video GoPro Hero 4K: Aerial
FPV Reptile 800 Flying Wing, Near Factory Butte, UT, 22 June
2026, Location
in Google Maps
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K: Drive
Escalante River Gorge, Boulder to Lower Calf Creek Falls to Hole In The Rock Road, UT, 24 June 2026, 4x speed, Route
in Google Maps
- Video Meta AI Glasses:
Lower Calf
Creek Falls, UT, 24 June 2026
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K: Hiking
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon, UT, 25 June 2026
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K:
Hiking the
Narrows, Zion Canyon, UT, 29 June 2026
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K:
Hiking West Rim
Trail, Descent into Zion Canyon, UT, 30 June 2026
- Video GoPro Hero 10 4K: Drive
Zion National Park, Visitors Center to East Entrance, Mt Carmel
Road, UT, 30 June 2026, 4x speed, Route
in Google Maps
All-Trails Recorded Hikes
-
Bisti Wilderness Wings, 15 June 2026
-
Corona Arch, 20 June 2026
-
Grandview Point, Canyonlands
Islands In The Sky, 20 June 2026
-
Upheaval Dome, Canyonlands
Islands In The Sky, 20 June 2026
-
Elephant Hill Trail, Canyonlands
Needles, 21 June
2026
-
Cave Spring, Canyonlands
Needles, 21 June 2026
-
Butler Wash, Bears Ears, 22 June 2026
-
House On Fire, Bears Ears, 22 June 2026
-
Leprechaun Slot, 22 June 2026
-
Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef, 23 June 2026
-
Lower Calf Creek Falls, Grand Staircase
Escalante, 24 June 2026
-
Dry Fork, Spooky, Peek-A-Boo, Grand
Staircase Escalante, 25 June 2026
-
Coyote Gulch Sneaker, Grand Staircase
Escalante & Glen Canyon, 26 June 2026
-
Observation Point, Zion, 28 June 2026
-
The Narrows, Zion, 29 June 2026
-
West Rim Trail, Zion, 30 June 2026
