Roadtripping to Utah from California with kids was an adventure! While there were a couple of big long drives with not much notable attraction directly on the way, we made the most of it, and here are all of the places we recommend you stop along the way!

Utah was a new, adventurous, outdoorsy, and perfect starter out-of-state road trip for Henry and Andrew, who were 5 and 3 at the time.

Are you interested in other family getaways with kids and toddlers? Read more here:

Leg 1 of 4: Elko

Our first leg destination was Salt Lake City (more to come), but before our eyes and excitement could get set on the capital of Utah, we had to get through the long, long, and even longer deserty state of Nevada. Considering Salt Lake City is a 10 hour drive on Interstate 80 from San Francisco, our hometown, we needed to find a city in Nevada that was a bit over halfway (6 hours to be exact) and had some resemblance of life – this led all of us to Elko, Nevada for our first time. In Elko, there was snow for the kids to play in (our trip was in late December – early January), which was nice since the first thing both kids said when we arrived was, “there’s nothing here!” (no joke, haha). To give Elko the credit it deserves (outside of the snow), our hotel was comfy, clean, and safe, and there were plenty of food options for the adults and kids to enjoy. There was Walmart and other stores – so we were also able to stock up on snow gear (which we never really need in San Francisco) and some toys to keep them entertained. Overall, Elko was a perfect stop along our San Francisco to Utah road trip.

Leg 2 of 4: Salt Lake City

The road trip spiced up significantly once we departed Elko, not just because it was only 4 more hours to Salt Lake City, but because fun, interesting, and beautiful stops along our journey started getting closer and closer together. The first of these stops was 1.5 hours outside of Elko – the Bonneville Salt Flats. This was the adrenaline rush we all needed. It was literally a sea of salt – just amazing and one of those once in a lifetime sights and experiences. We ran around, took in the sights of the sea of salt and snow-capped mountains in the distance, and of course did wheelies in our car. That rush made the final 2.5 hours of driving left to Salt Lake City easy breezy.

Salt Lake City’s view from the freeway as you enter the city was beautiful – gigantic snow capped mountains, the Rocky Mountains, which surrounded the unique gothic architecture of the city’s downtown. Our Airbnb was close to the city’s downtown (5 minutes by car), even closer to the city’s staple park, Liberty Park, and was spacious, clean, and modern. After we settled into our Airbnb, Liberty Park was perfect for our family. There was plenty of grass for all of us to run around on to get the ants out of our pants, a couple of huge jungle gyms for the kids to swarm around on, and the trees that lined the park gave it a unique and beautiful character. Since we were exhausted by this point, our evening excursion to Smith’s was perfect – a huge, very nice grocery store on the first floor, and a clothing and toy store on the second floor that had everything we needed – it was a blend between a Whole Foods and Safeway and Kohl’s and Target, but on a local to Utah level.

Salt Lake City’s proximity to the surrounding Rocky Mountains was ideal for our Winter journey. Our first full day brought us 30 minutes outside of the city to Donut Falls in the Wasatch Mountain State Park. The quick drive up the mountain was beautiful, and the Donut Falls sled area was equally picturesque. Our family had a blast walking on the short, 5-10 minute snowy trail to the sled spot, and went up and down, and up and down, the sledding hill many times. The sledding hill was the perfect size for Henry and Andrew, and was also a blast for us adults. One recommendation is to bring a sled for each kid, and waterproof snow gear for all. That night we took a cozy and festive inner-city drive through downtown Salt Lake City, notably through Temple Square, which had a magnificent lit up cathedral and holiday lights that were hung up all throughout the downtown.

A dog sled tour opened up our second day in Salt Lake City. Just 30 minutes outside of Salt Lake City was the Rancho Luna Lobos Dog Sled Area near the world renowned Park City. This experience was outstanding, especially since Henry and Andrew, and Emily and I of course, love dogs. With over 30 dog sled trained and well treated Huskies and several St. Bernard’s, we learned all about the sport of dog sledding, the trainers and caretakers of these amazing dogs, and got to engage first-hand with the dogs, which was a thrill. Two of the Huskies, who were brothers, were the dog form of Henry and Andrew – chasing, jumping on, wrestling, and playing with each other. With Park City only 5-10 minutes away, it was an easy decision to swing by the historic, world famous ski town. We cruised through the downtown, which had festive holiday lights and brought the old west, mountain town feeling to life. After our quick drive through the downtown, the kids asked if we could go to “the people sledding place” (not the dog sledding place, haha) – this brought us to Park City’s City Park to sled. This was the perfect place to sled with the kids – within downtown Park City and had a Charlie Brown Winter feeling to it. You have to represent the “Peanuts” in Utah in December! The finale of this already very eventful day was a family photo shoot with the one and only Britanee Walker at McPolin Barn. This barn was located in a scenic and absolutely beautiful area 30 minutes outside of Park City. This was one of my favorite family photo shoots – Winter wonderland with a ton of fresh snow, a festive wreath, and ski sloped mountains in the background. The day concluded at our hotel for the next two nights – the Zermatt Resort in Midway.

Leg 3 of 4: Midway

With 1 full day in Midway, and not just any day – New Year’s Eve – we took full advantage of this cute, snowy town. The Zermatt Resort brought Switzerland to Midway, and with a snowy trail around the hotel, a morning coffee and hot chocolate walk around the hotel woke us all up quickly. The morning was launched with a drive through the scenic and snowy Wasatch Mountain State Park. Once the kids got antsy, we did what we do best in Utah – found a hilly, snowy golf course named Homestead Resort to sled on, walk around, and play in the snow. Snow play was followed by a diary milk farm tour at Heber Valley Milk. Before heading back to the hotel, we took a quick drive through the Main Street of downtown Midway, which was a really cute town, and hit up the town’s local Bakery for a warm, delicious, local lunch. After downtime in our Swiss-themed hotel, our New Year’s Eve concluded with a bang – Ice Castles at Homestead Resort! This experience was awesome – neatly carved ice sculptures that were lit up in a variety of colors, ice caves, and ice slides for the kids and adults – so much fun. And to make it better, it was the last day of the infamous 2020.

Leg 4 of 4: Zion National Park

The next morning we set out early from Midway to Zion National Park. The 5 hour drive was quite scenic – more beautiful snowy mountains and vast fields with farms and ranches, and Provo and Cedar City had character and opened our eyes to what city life in Utah looks like. As the snow dissipated, and the mountains started to dry up and showcase a jagged, rugged, and dinosaurs-used-to-live-here feel, we knew we were getting closer to Zion. Arriving to Zion warps you into a new world, where you bring vast country, old west, enormous mountains to life. If you have ever been on the Disneyland ride, Thunder Railroad, the drive through these mountains is exactly that – on a bigger and more real-to-life level of course.

Our family spent 1 day and 2 nights in Zion at the Zion National Park Lodge, and by this tail end part of our trip, 1 full day of adventure through a corner of the park with our 5 and 3 year old was the perfect amount of time. Our morning started with breakfast at the main lodge, followed by the Lower Pools 1.5 mile roundtrip hike, which was across the street from the Zion lodging we spent our 2 nights. This hike was perfect for the kids, not too steep, the trail was wide enough, and the distance was spot on. The only issue with hiking in January on this trail are the icy parts, which could be very dangerous if you’re not paying attention – please take care. The hike was followed by playing soccer on the big grassy field in front of the park’s main lodge, which was surrounded by the amazing mountains – the smallest we have ever felt playing soccer. After a bit of downtime, we continued our hiking expedition with the Virgin River 2.5 mile round trip hike. We needed to take a 20 minute shuttle bus ride up to this hike from our lodging, but the buses are quick, efficient, and clean, and the scenic cruise up to the hike is a fun part of the adventure. This hike was absolutely beautiful – tucked between the Virgin River and the mountains and ending at a side pool in the river for water play (freezing cold water play in January) and amazing photos. Although our stay was short and there is a lot more to adventure through, Zion National Park in the Winter included Jurassic Park style Rocky Mountains that were crusted with snow, bringing a very exhilarating feeling to the gigantic rock formations that make you feel tiny and on top of the world at the same time. We will return.

Due to our exhaustion and readiness to get home, we buckled up and decided to make a hefty, I mean hefty 1 day driving journey back home to San Francisco from Zion. This 12 hour journey included a lot of geographical variety, and key stops included River Rock Roasting Company at the base of Zion National Park, Las Vegas for a quick cruise by the famous strip, Barstow, and Fresno, until the long journey brought us home – depleted but fulfilled that we safely completed our Winter road trip to Utah and back with our Christmas tree still standing in our living room, welcoming us home with cozy comfort.

Are you interested in other family getaways with kids and toddlers? Read more here:

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