ST. GEORGE — On a budget, Southern Utah visitors looking to explore “Utah’s Mighty 5” can turn to a new booking platform. 

According to Visit Utah, the state’s “Mighty 5” national parks are some of the most visited in the nation, with over 10.5 million visitors annually. The site states the five Utah parks — Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches and Capitol Reef — “beckon travelers to immerse themselves in not only the iconic national park but the state parks, national monuments and small towns that weave texture into Southern Utah.”

And Travelpass, based in South Jordan, Utah, focuses on making travel to these parks more accessible. It features “nonpublic” rates that offer discounts not available year-round. 

“The multi-supply platform of Travelpass allows us to access inventory for hotels from many different sources,” Austin Lowe, president of Travelpass, said. “We created a platform that allows us to access inventory for hotels the general public doesn’t know, but the hotel distribution channel is chaotic. It’s not as simple as, for instance, you take a hotel chain and they give you inventory. There’s a bunch of different ways to access that inventory, and we’re able to create a platform that accesses from many different sources.”

Travelpass’s founders were inspired by their love of travel, people and cultures, Lowe said.

“When we travel, we meet new people in new cultures,” Lowe said. “And that’s when your mind’s brought in. There’s more empathy, more compassion, more love. And there’s something about that experience.”

That feeling exists regardless of whether one travels in the States or internationally, Lowe said.

“That’s really the inspiration for travel paths; it is to a find a way to connect people, essentially to open new doors and reach people’s lives through travel,” he said.

Lowe advises those traveling to Utah’s Mighty 5 to go in the offseason. During peak travel season, hotel rates will be higher than the rest of the year. 

“Be flexible with your timing. So if you want to have some of the better savings, you most likely want to wait until the October time frame,” he said. 

However, Lowe said that if a family has to go in the summertime when the children are out of school, parents need to be flexible with locations. 

“Then figure out what type of hotel you want. Because if you’re flexible, then you’re able to look on the hotels or the outskirts of some of these destinations like St George and Moab,” he said. “And if you’re able to do that, you can look around and find some really good rates.”

Spring in Southern Utah can also be a budget-friendly time. But, Lowe said, traveling during then can also be tricky due to weather conditions.

“I think March, April and early May can be really good times, depending on the year. If you’re looking at this year in 2023, winter lasted forever, extended, like into June,” he said. “But other years, I’ve been there in March where the weather was phenomenal, and people aren’t traveling during that time because it’s just before spring break.”

Budget-conscious travelers to Southern Utah should also be aware of the altitude and dry air, as even those who think they’re in shape could be unprepared physically for hiking in the area. The altitude and dry air can irritate tourists not used to it. Lowe reminds people to hydrate before their trips and drink plenty of water while visiting the national parks, adding that many people overestimate what they can do in a day.

A free activity Lowe said visitors need to remember is to enjoy stargazing. For instance, Capitol Reef is one of the best places for stargazing in Utah. Also, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park are known for their celestial beauty. 

The National Parks Conservation Association lists the Dark Sky-certified parks here. The staff at Travelpass also obtain in-depth knowledge about different areas from local travel councils. Lowe said they take a course to get certified through the tourism boards to be more helpful to clients. 

“We can look from our booking volume and see the top destinations in the U.S. that people are traveling to based on our current customer list,” he said. “We will take the top 20 to 30. And each one of those cities has a tourism board and a site. We put our agents through a course and know what to do in those areas, where to eat, where to stay and when activities are there. And that way, they’re a lot more knowledgeable.”

To obtain discounted rates, sign up on the site and create a free profile. Lowe said to access the deepest discounts, call the company’s agents, who can assist in searching Travelpass’s inventory.

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