What's up guys! We're here in Utah, and in this video we're going to show
you 10 of the best places to visit in the state. So hope you enjoy it!
Utah
is located in the southwest of the United States. Known as one of the nation's great outdoor states,
Utah is home to incredible desert landscapes, towering red rocks, sheer mountains,
and twisting canyons. In fact, there are five National Parks and another 11 National Monuments,
historic sites, and recreation areas. A road trip is one of the best ways to see the sights,
which is also how we've explored the state a few times ourselves. In this video, we break down 10
of the best nature places to visit in Utah. Make sure to watch until the end as we also give our
top travel tips as well as itinerary options for your own trip around the state. Now let's dive in.
We're Zac and Ine. We make helpful videos about
destinations around the world so you can easily plan your own adventures.
One of the most
iconic areas of Utah are the Bonneville Salt Flats, found west of Great Salt Lake along the
I-80 near the Utah-Nevada border. The Salt Flats can easily be seen from the highway,
but the most exciting way to explore them is by driving on the flats. It's easiest
to access via the famous Bonneville Speedway in the west, near the town of Wendover. Here,
it's perfectly flat with a thick crust of salty soil that looks like snow. If you're going to
drive out there, just make sure it hasn't rained recently, otherwise your car could get stuck.
One really fun thing to do at the Salt Flats is to take these cool perspective photos, because
the landscape is just so endless.
Once you're done driving and taking pictures on the Salt Flats,
make sure to wash your car and Wendover to avoid damage to your car's parts and paint.
Sitting just outside the town of Moab, Arches is one of the most famous and scenic national parks
in the U.S. People from all around the world are drawn to its breathtaking stone arches and rolling
petrified dunes, that took millions of years to form into the shapes that you see today. There
are over 2,000 natural arches scattered across the park, but the most popular one is Delicate Arch.
A 3 mile or 4.8 kilometer round-trip hike takes you to the stunning arch and it's definitely
worth it once you get to the top. Another great hiking trail is the maze-like Fiery Furnace, but
you can only enter with a ranger or an individual permit which needs to be pre-booked in advance.
Canyonlands is the other National Park that sandwiches the town of Moab across from Arches.
With a footprint of over 330,000 acres or 133,500 hectares, the park is immense.
In fact, Canyonlands is split up into three zones; the Needles, which is a mecca for hiking, the Maze
which is remote and only accessible by four-wheel drive, and the Island In The Sky, which attracts
the majority of sightseers. The latter one boasts amazing vistas looking out over carved canyons.
Highlights include the expansive Green River Overlook and the beautiful Mesa Arch.
This part of the park is also best combined with a visit to the nearby Dead Horse Point State Park,
boasting more impressive canyon views in our opinion. It's only a 10 minute drive
from the Island In The Sky park entrance and the colors here look amazing at sunset.
Located south of Canyonlands National Park is Natural Bridges National Monument.
Here, you'll find some of the largest naturally-formed rock bridges in the entire world.
There are three main bridges; Kachina, Owachomo, and Sipapu, all of which are accessible by short
hikes. The most rewarding trail in the area is the Sipapu Natural Bridge out-and-back trail,
measuring 1.4 miles or 2.3 kilometers round-trip. The trail itself is steep and includes short
ladders and stairs in some sections, which adds to the fun. If you combine the hike
with the Scenic Loop Drive, you can easily explore the park in about two to three hours.
Definitely recommend doing one of the hikes here at Natural Bridges,
because you can really see the whole shape of it from below.
Situated in the Eastern High Desert Zone near the town of Hanksville
and Capitol Reef National Park, you'll find the otherworldly Bentonite Hills.
This is an immense place with terrain that looks similar to the planet Mars. There's even a Mars
Desert Research Station located here with the aim of doing field study research. And while the
research facility itself is private property, the landscape beyond is accessible and open to visit.
To get here, drive 20 to 30 minutes down the North Cow Dung dirt road until you pass by the
research station and you come to a sign that says "leaving state lands lease for research".
A couple of minutes past here, you'll find a very colorful grouping of hills
with pre-stepped paths to follow. The best time to visit is during blue hour about 30 minutes
before sunset as you can see the deepest colors of blue and green in the hills.
While it's not the most famous National Park in Utah, Capital Reef offers some interesting
landscapes and is a great stopping point between some of the other state highlights.
The red canyons, rock spires, cliff walls, and arches can be explored on the Capitol Reef
Scenic Drive or by hiking. The most impressive hike is undoubtedly the Cassidy Arch Trail,
named after the famous outlaw Butch Cassidy. The hike is 3.5 miles or 5.5 kilometers round-trip
and climbs about 680 feet or 210 meters. At the top, you have a great view of the arch.
Other highlights in the park include watching the sunrise or sunset from Sunset Point, walking
through the orchards at the historic settlement of Fruita, and seeing the petroglyphs in the rocks.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a huge area of rugged terrain in the south of Utah.
Stretching nearly 2 million acres or 810,000 hectares of canyons cliffs,
waterfalls, forests, and rock formations;
this place embodies a feeling of remoteness that can't be found in other parks, and it's impossible
to visit all at one time. For your first time visit, we recommend driving the Scenic Byway 12.
In this way, you can explore some of the park's highlights, such as Devil's Garden and the Lower
Calf Creek Falls. We stayed in the small town of Escalante that borders the National Monument,
and we left a link to the cozy yurts that we stayed in in the description below the video.
In the southern part of the Monument near the town of Kanab along Highway 89 are the
strange Toadstool hoodoos as well as Paria. This is a ghost town that's been used as a
film set in many old western movies. These colorful places are also worth a visit.
With brightly colored hoodoos dominating the landscape, Bryce Canyon is the most unique
National Park in all of Utah. Glowing in shades of orange, pink, and cinnamon, the rock pillars rise
up from the floor of a huge natural Amphitheater, truly taking your breath away. But it's not only
beautiful from the top, but also from below when hiking through the forest of hoodoos.
Our favorite hiking route is the scenic Navajo Trail and Queen's Garden loop trail combination,
and we've left a link to follow that trail on your phone in the description below this video.
Other things to do in Bryce Canyon include watching the sunset from Inspiration Point,
driving the scenic road towards Bristlecone Point, and taking in the rim views. Check
out our full Bryce Canyon video for more information about activities inside the park.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is located near the town of Kanab in southern Utah.
Formed by the wind, these sand dunes and rolling hills have a
slight coral pink color. But don't expect bright cotton candy tones.
Popular things to do in the park beyond climbing the soft sand mountains, are sandboarding,
ATV'ing, and of course taking pictures of the scene, or simply just playing in the sand.
Finally, Zion National Park is one of our favorite parks in the entire United States.
Known for its red rock cliffs, stunning vistas, and a beautiful lush valley,
this park features some of Utah's most outstanding scenery. Many of the park's
most impressive sites and hiking trails are found in Zion Canyon, which follows the valley floor.
From Spring until Fall, this part of the park is only accessible by shuttle bus. Undoubtedly,
the most famous and thrilling experience here is hiking the Angels Landing Trail, and we
have a video all about the full hiking route and things to know before you do it on our channel.
Other spectacular sights outside the canyon include the Watchman Trail,
the Canyon Overlook, and Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, which takes you high above the valley.
Our full Zion National Park video has more information on things to do in the park.
For a bonus stop, you can head to Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
The park is actually split between the Utah and Arizona borders.
Here, red rock buttes rise up from the orange and red desert floor, making for a dramatic landscape.
But since this park is generally easier to visit from the city of Page in Arizona, we highlight
the spectacular sight in our other video all about the best places to visit in Arizona.
As mentioned at the start of our video, we'll now break down our top three travel
tips that will help you have the best experience possible in Utah.
First, Utah is very dry so we recommend carrying lots of water in the car and on the trails.
We had five liters of water in our car at all times, since there's not always water available
on the remote roads. Most of Utah is also dusty and sandy, so you should also be careful with your
eyes. Wear sunglasses and avoid windy moments to minimize your chances of getting an eye infection.
Second, Utah's elevation varies considerably, and while it's hot and sunny in some areas,
it may be snowing in others. Some parks have limited availability in the winter,
while some towns almost shut down during the season.
For example, Bryce Canyon National Park is located at an elevation of
8,000 feet or 2,438 meters, so it may receive a snowfall during the winter months and into spring.
That said, you have to prepare for both low and high temperatures at any time you're visiting.
Third, some of the national parks and popular hiking trails require entry permits that need to
be secured well in advance. So make sure to check out the National Park website prior to visiting.
For instance, we needed a timed entry permit to enter Arches National Park as
well as some advanced reservations to do the Fiery Furnace hike and Angel's Landing hike.
We left a link to the National Park website in the description below.
Finally, it's best to rent a campervan or RV if you have the budget. We camped for about half
the time during our trip in the state, and it was a grind at times to constantly set it up,
take it down, and deal with the cold and the heat. Having a campervan makes for better sleep overall
and allows you to spend more time in the parks rather than setting up your camp each night.
Find links to some rental options in the description below the video.
We also put together a few itinerary options on the screen here for you depending on how many
days you're planning to travel around Utah. Salt Lake City or Las Vegas are the two best airports
to fly into, depending on which route you want to take and depending on if you're renting a car
or driving your own vehicle around the state. There are also a few other places in Utah that
are worth visiting if you have more time. We've put those on the screen here for you.
If you're planning your Utah trip, we recommend keeping things organized with our interactive
travel planner. Find a discount code in the description below. We also included
other links in the description that will help you with your trip around the state, such as
an interactive map to get to each place that we mentioned. We'll catch you on the next adventure.