Top 5 Reasons Southern Utah Is Where You Should Elope
Elopements are increasingly becoming more and more popular and not just due to the rise of COVID19, so today I want to share my top 5 reasons why southern Utah is where you should elope.
Weddings are expensive. Weddings are often largely what parents and other family members want for themselves and not as much for the couple. Weddings are a hassle, especially when a full-service planner is not hired to help. So what can you do?
You can do whatever you want. Some go to the courthouse. Some get a friend to get ordained online and share their vows next to their kitchen stove. And some choose to hit the road and do something that maybe mimics their lives and find adventure. If that’s you, then this list of the top 5 reasons southern Utah is where you should elope is all for you.
I’ve been to Utah several times and I’ve seen a good amount, though nowhere near enough. Last year I spent some more time in Southern Utah as I journeyed on a 10-person 200-mile running relay going from Capitol Reef to Zion. It was insanely difficult with peaks topping out at 9600’ and yet was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. From the dark, dark nights where the Milky Way nearly lights up the road to the feeling of being a part of something much bigger than ourselves as you trek up the Narrows in Zion National Park. Southern Utah is not just one of the most beautiful, it is not just one of the most intensely spiritual places, it is not just one of the most grand and open spaces you’ll ever see, there is something that connects you to it in a way that words don’t do justice.
Whether you are riding at 20 mph in Zion and craning your neck forward and sideways trying to see up impossibly vertical canyon walls, you can’t help but be in awe of nature. Or as the sun rises over the Bryce Canyon snow-covered hoodoos and the crunch of your crampons on the fresh Utah powder is the only sound for miles, you can’t help but feel supported. Or as you get lost in the weaving networks of slot canyons in Grand Staircase-Escalante, giving up any idea that you are in control and instead just stop and take in the beautifully empty canyons, the ghostly sounds the come from the top and remember that if you get lost to just go back and to not make your own road (but if you do, as I did, just climb out and follow the cattle tracks and pray you recognize something in the landscape to get back to your car).
Utah is for adventure. Utah is that piece of life you have been missing and never knew it. Utah will be a place where you will never forget your experience, it will change you.
So here are my top five reasons southern Utah is where you should elope:
Angels Landing
Dubbed one of the most dangerous hikes in the world as you will face 1000’+ drops on either side of you during parts of this hike with only a chain in your hand. This is not for the faint of heart or those afraid of heights (though I am terrified of heights and I did this in the middle of winter with crampons on my feet - not easy, and I was scared shitless), but make it to the top and I promise the views and the experience will be well worth it. Now if you can talk an officiant and photographer to join you on the hike, there is no wedding in the history of weddings that will beat your view or your story.
2. Bryce Canyon
If getting comfortably lost is more your thing, then Bryce Canyon is where you should head. Last time I was here, I was told that if I was going to spend any time in Bryce that I had better do myself the service of catching sunrise and sunset here. I followed these wise instructions and my time was all the better for it. Bryce has a magic all of its own with a massive network of trails and views as you are surrounded by what are called hoodoos. Hoodoos are these rock chimney formations, or even look a bit like giant stone mushrooms. While it may not sound like much, when you see the full scale of how these stand, how many there are, and as you inevitably shrink down to size standing next to these monoliths, you get a visual gulp of what nature can do. Now I can only imagine hiking down into the canyon before dawn with headlamps on and backpacks hoisted as you share your vows and make your promises to one another while spending the rest of the day exploring the trail network around you and finally enjoying sunset from the overlook before calling it a day.
3. The Narrows
If water is more your thing, then look no further than The Narrows of Zion National Park. I’ve been here twice, both equally memorable. Once in the middle of winter as I wore waders, neoprene socks and neoprene boots watching refrigerator sized ice chunks float down the Virgin River trying not to drop my strapless camera (I was perhaps a little too wreckless, but nothing happened) as I walked through the river on slippery rocks. And then once at the end of Summer in shorts and just the neoprene boots, still with cameras (though I had a strap this time) and it ended with an incredibly refreshing cannonball in a small swimming hole on our way back out. The Narrows is a directionally simple up and back hike, though it can be long and hiking upstream is not as easy as one would think. I’ve gone as far as three hours up to get just beyond the area referred to as Wall Street (a somewhat tighter canyon space) and there is still plenty left to hike for those willing to get chest deep, but all along the way there are some beautiful banks to picnic or simply take a break and would act very well for a quick sharing of vows before continuing on or heading back. A trip in the morning, before all of the tourist busses arrive could net you a near vacant canyon hike and a beautifully quiet moment to share with your partner - save for a few camera clicks of course.
4. Grand Staircase-Escalante
It’s a mouthful of a name for sure and I often found myself (and still do) saying “Staircase Grand Escalante” or “Grand Escalante Staircase”, but no matter what you call it here is where you come if you are looking to get off the beaten track and just want to find some time to be alone for some beautiful nights camping under more stars than most people ever see in a lifetime. One of the things the park is known for are its slot canyons. These are not like what you find in The Narrows, these are much shorter though no less awe inspiring. The time I went, I found myself the only hiker in the area I had chosen, Peekaboo Canyon. With walls that range from 15’ to 30’ and with a width in the canyon that’s often no larger than two people side by side. I distinctly recall hearing whispering voices echoing through the canyon, but there were no footsteps and no cars in the parking lot and no one to be seen anywhere. It was eery and entrancing all at the same time. The canyon was gorgeous with yellows and oranges and textures that felt otherworldy. This is definitely the spot to explore, and there is A LOT to explore as the Bureau of Land Managements bumpy dirt road that brings you out here (and yes, I would recommend an SUV or at least an all wheel drive car) also known as Hole in the Wall Road connects you to some of the spider vein canyons of Lake Powell in Arizona. But if you have some good friends and can get one ordained online, a few nights of camping and adventuring through Grand Staircase could be the best elopement and honeymoon ever.
5. Route 12-Route 89-Route 9
Needless to say, but you get nowhere without some good roads and few are better in southern Utah than these three roads. So maybe you want to try and see it all and a good RV or camper rental could be the splurge of the year for you. You create that perfect playlist, you pack what you need and you hit the road. Together, these three roads connect you to almost all of the major spots in southern Utah. You can start from the east at Zion National Park and wind your way through to Dixie National Forest, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase and finally Capitol Reef National Park - or go west and start in Torrey at Capitol Reef and go the other way. There is no better or worse way to go. This is the way to see it all and then just choose where you resonate with the most. Being out on the open road is the ultimate freedom, and what better way to start your lives together than with an epic road trip. Though if you haven’t roadtripped together maybe you hold off on that exchange of vows until the end of the trip, lest one of you finds yourself over it and leaving the other getting a carrot cake from the general store in Escalante (though I hope you don’t actually do that).
Utah changed me in so many ways and it happens every time I visit there, whether it’s a snowboard trip to Salt Lake City, a drive up through northern Utah to Idaho to visit family, watching sunrise at Bonneville Salt Flats, a 200-mile road race with a bunch of crazy friends, or a solo trip to Zion to get my head cleared.
Your wedding doesn’t need to be at all like anyone elses, and I honestly believe that how you start your marriage is hugely important and should be on your own terms and about what you both truly love.
Have any questions about southern Utah or looking to have a photographer for your elopement? Click below to contact me.