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A local's guide to Utah: red-rock parks, powder days, canyon hikes, small towns and the food you'll only find here.
Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pair canyon country with Salt Lake’s cultural venues, food and neighborhoods.
Fall is the season locals guard. The canyons above the Wasatch Front turn from green to gold and scarlet, usually peaking in the last week of September and the first week of October, and the crowds that fill the national parks in summer thin out just as the desert finally cools off.
The full fall guide →Utah has five national parks, more than any state but Alaska and California. All five fit in one week-long loop.
Utah’s oldest national park is a slot of sky above a green river, with sandstone walls rising 2,000 feet on either side. Hike into the Narrows, climb to Angels Landing or just ride the shuttle and look up.
Not a canyon at all but a series of natural amphitheaters carved into the edge of a high plateau, packed with thousands of orange and white hoodoos. Walk the rim at sunrise, then hike down among the spires.
More than 2,000 natural stone arches in a compact park just outside Moab, including Delicate Arch, the one on Utah’s license plates. Big views, short walks and easy access from town.
Utah’s largest national park, where the Green and Colorado rivers have cut a maze of canyons into the desert. Island in the Sky offers big views from the rim; the Needles and the Maze reward people who go further.
A hundred-mile wrinkle in the Earth’s crust, with pioneer orchards in its heart. The quietest of the Mighty 5, and the one where you can eat a slice of pie between hikes.
American Fork sits at the mouth of the canyon that bears its name: Timpanogos Cave, Tibble Fork and Silver Lake Flat reservoirs and the Alpine Loop are minutes from a historic Main Street, a big north-end park and Utah Lake’s boat harbor.
Lehi pairs Utah County’s biggest family attraction, Thanksgiving Point, with an old Main Street that still has a working 1906 flour mill, a square-doughnut bakery, a quirky pioneer museum and a rodeo that has run every June since the 1930s.
All five of Utah's national parks in one loop: Arches and Canyonlands from Moab, Capitol Reef and Scenic Byway 12 through the middle of the state, then Bryce Canyon and Zion. Spring and fall are ideal.
Two of the most famous parks in the country are only 90 minutes apart. Spend two days in Zion's canyon and one on Bryce's rim.
Two national parks, a state park with one of the best views in the West, and the Colorado River, all within 40 minutes of town.
A silver-mining town turned ski capital, 35 minutes from the Salt Lake airport. Two resorts, Olympic venues and a historic Main Street full of restaurants.
History, food and mountains in one compact city. The canyons start 20 minutes from downtown.
Thanksgiving Point's museums and gardens, a cave high above American Fork Canyon, the Alpine Loop over Mount Timpanogos and Sundance at the other end.
Skiers only, no snowboards · Legendary powder days
The 125-passenger Aerial Tram · Steep chutes and cliffy expert terrain
Night skiing under the lights · Snowboard and terrain park culture
Honeycomb Canyon · Short weekday lift lines
Largest ski resort in the U.S. · Town Lift from Main Street
Skiers only, no snowboards · Grooming and guest service