Unbeatable Utah – 18 Outstanding Places to Visit

If I could only choose one state to visit ever again it would be Utah. It’s an unbeatable place to visit with so many great things to do – especially if the great outdoors calls you. I love the powerful landscapes and dramatic sunsets, the miles of hiking and biking trails, the fabulous dry powder snow and some of the best National Parks in the US.

Want to know where I’d go?

• Moab is one of my favourite destinations. The town is nothing special – it’s the area around the town that’s so incredible. Try a hike in nearby Arches National Park. It offers a landscape of otherworldly red rock formations and over 2000 natural sandstone arches. And before you visit the park, I highly recommend reading Edward Abbey’s famous book Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. He calls it the most beautiful place on earth and I think he’s got a point.

• Mountain bike the famous 10.5 mile Slickrock Trail and see if you can stay on your bike the whole time. I prefer the hikey-bikey version of this trail. The hazards are plentiful (half pipes, ledge drops, steep dips..), the views mind bendingly good. The sandstone you ride on holds your bike tire “like a pit bull holds a bone.” (David Crowell)

• Mountain bike or four wheel drive the White Rim Trail. It’s located in the Islands in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. The 103 mile loop typically takes a cyclist 3 – 5 days to ride it – and it’s usually done with the support of a vehicle. I did it in four days and had one major hill climb every day. It is one of the premier canyon rides in the world – and in fact sections of it made it onto the Imax screen when they followed Ed Viesturs on his training for Everest.

• Head to the Maze for hiking or biking. I spent a week in here with Rim Tours many years ago. There wasn’t a day that wasn’t spectacular. Hike into canyons to see petroglyphs, bike past weird rock formations and finish with a swim in Lake Powell.

• Canoe the Green River to the confluence of the Colorado River. Look for Butch Cassidy’s hangout. Just don’t do it in August when the temperatures are over 100F by noon, and your aluminum canoe is too hot to touch.

• Zion National Park in the western part of the state is a favourite for hiking – especially the Narrows hike on the Virgin River. Allow at least three days to explore the area. There is lots of lodging in and around the park.

• I have never been but I have spoken to many that swear by their yearly trip to the Red Mountain Resort near St. George. I want to go. Even your pet gets organic treats.
• Another place that’s been on my wish list for years is a trip to the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument. It covers more area than the state of Delaware. You get amazing desert scenery without the crowds. The Wave and Buckskin Gulch are two of the famous attractions.

• In the winter head to the La Sal Mountains, just east of Moab for some back-country skiing. There is a hut system in place though you’ll need decent navigation skills to find them. Or join a tour.
• Capitol Reef National Park is defined by the very visible Waterpocket Fold, a 100 mile long geologic feature, seen from the highway. The park is less well known than many but offers more great hiking and a trip back in time to Fruita – a former 200 acre frontier settlement.

• Dinosaur National Monument is a favourite of kids. You can see the dinosaur remains embedded in rocks. And in October of this year, a new visitor’s center will open. The previous visitor’s center featured lots of exhibits that helped bring the dinosaurs to life – even if you weren’t that into them. Hopefully they’ll do the same thing again. Elsewhere in the park look for drives through interesting country, hikes on remote trails to the river and if you’re lucky you’ll win the permit lottery to raft the Green or Yampa Rivers.

• Try some of Utah’s epic powder at downhill ski resorts like Alta, Park City, Snowbird, Deer Valley and Sundance.

• Visit the Bear River Bird Refuge in northern Utah, the largest freshwater component to the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem. Seventy two bird species nest in the refuge. You can get a sense of the place by driving or cycling a twelve mile road.

• Take a train ride on the Herber Valley Historic Railroad through Provo Canyon. The three hour return train ride travels only 16 miles in each direction and passes the Sundance Ski Resort.
• Drive I-70 at sunset. It’s drop dead gorgeous.

• Raft Cataract Canyon southwest of Moab, Utah. It’s famous for its big rapids, but unlike the Grand canyon the flow of water isn’t regulated. Scenery is outstanding too.

• Visit Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s famous for a giant natural amphitheatre, and whimsically shaped hoodoos and spires. It’s 1000 feet higher than Zion so it’s colder and wetter and the hiking season is usually later (May) because of snow at high elevations.

• Lake Powell, a giant reservoir on the Colorado River creating by flooding Glen Canyon, straddles the border with Arizona. It’s a premier spot these days for boating and swimming. You can rent motorboats and houseboats, or bring a kayak and explore hidden canyons. Camp under the stars at night.

Now can you see why Utah speaks to me? What would be the one state you couldn’t give up visiting?

Leigh McAdam

HikeBikeTravel

Photo credits:Slickrock Trail, Green River, Grand Staircase, Capital Reef, Dinosaur National Monument, Alta, Avocet, Cataract Canyon,Bryce Canyon,Lake Powell

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