Utah is one of our favorite states in the US for outdoorsy vacations. Why? Because we love hiking and travel photography, and the Beehive State is overflowing with opportunities for both.
But we’re not talking about run of the mill hikes and photo spots. Oh no, Utah is home to some of the most iconic and adventure-friendly landscapes in America. We’ve visited all 5 national parks in addition to Kanab and Salt Lake City, and we can’t wait to go back for more.
In this Utah travel guide we show you the parks, hikes and photo spots to add to your bucket list, along with an example road trip itinerary and when to visit.
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Unmissable Places To See In Utah
Our roundup of the must-visit places and hidden gem spots to get off the beaten path in the Beehive State.
Mighty 5 National Parks
Okay, let’s dive right in. Utah’s most popular travel destinations are its 5 popular national parks – Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion. We’ve been to them all, and what we like most is that they each something completely different.
It’s important to know that Utah also has tons of amazing state parks, national monuments and other recreation areas other than national parks that you should absolutely consider visiting. But for now here’s a little bit about the Mighty 5 to get you started:
Arches
Arches is one of our favorite US national parks because it’s easy to visit, it’s totally unique, it has fun off-trail hikes and the whole place is like one great big photography location. Devils Garden Trail is our favorite hike and Delicate Arch is our favorite sunset spot in the park.
Canyonlands
Canyonlands is a massive national park split into several different areas. The most popular area called Islands in the Sky is the place to prioritize because it’s near Moab and Arches. We love Mesa Arch at sunrise, it’s one of our favorite sunrises in the US.
Capitol Reef
Capitol Reef is the least well known and least visited of Utah’s Mighty 5 national parks. But we think it’s also the most family friendly park thanks to orchards, petroglyphs, easy hikes and scenic drives. We really like Hickman Bridge and Cassidy Arch trails.
Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon shocked us with its magnificent hoodoo-filled natural amphitheater, which was especially impressive as it glowed a fiery red at sunrise. We also loved hiking Queens Garden Navajo Loop inside the amphitheater. It’s easy to visit and it’s great for families.
Zion
Zion National Park is one of our favorite national parks for hiking. Trails like Angels Landing, The Narrows and The Subway are genuinely incredible experiences for adventure seekers like us. It’s a surprisingly small and jam-packed place but we absolutely love it there.
Need help planning your trip to Zion?
Our popular Zion travel guidebook helps you with planning every aspect of your visit, including the unmissable hikes, where to eat and stay, itinerary ideas and map!
View Zion Guidebook
Kanab
Have you heard of a small town in southern Utah called Kanab? We hadn’t the first time we planned our road trip around the American southwest, so we didn’t plan a stop in Kanab. And that turned out to be a mistake. A mistake we didn’t make second time around!
We used Kanab as a base to explore so many fun, exciting and visually spectacular landscapes around the Utah and Arizona border. And we also loved the town itself thanks to a chilled vibe, great restaurants and cheap hotels.
Here are the places we visited and recommend you go:
But the main reason we couldn’t miss Kanab second time around was so we could hike The Wave. We were lucky to win a permit because it’s the hardest hiking permit to win in the US thanks to sky high demand and very few daily permits. It really is an extraordinary place.
Salt Lake City
Okay, let’s claw ourselves away from the photogenic sandstone landscapes in southern Utah and head north to Salt Lake City. We only spent one day exploring SLC, which was enough to realize it’s a lovely place to walk around, especially the Temple Square area.
But we didn’t have any more time spare and that was a shame because there’s so many awesome looking things to see and do around Salt Lake City. Next time we’re in Utah, we’ll be prioritizing these areas in the north:
We’d especially like to go hiking in the Lone Peak Wilderness area to the southeast of Salt Lake City. There’s some cracking trails to waterfalls, lakes and towering peaks that are totally different to what’s on offer in southern Utah.
10 Fun Facts About Utah
- Utah has the youngest population in the US.
- One of the world’s largest open pit copper mines is in Utah.
- The Sundance Film Festival takes place in Park City.
- Kings Peak near the border with Wyoming is Utah’s tallest mountain.
- After Nevada, Utah is the second driest state in the US.
- Every single county in Utah contains a portion of national forest.
- Salt Lake City had the first KFC (not Kentucky!).
- Utah is the 13th largest state by area.
- 55% of Utah’s population are Mormons.
- Park City has the largest ski resort in the US.
Road Trip Itinerary
If we wanted to road trip around the top highlights in Utah, this is how we’d plan an action packed 18-day itinerary starting in Las Vegas and ending in Salt Lake City:
Snow Canyon – Day 1
- Spend the morning in Valley of Fire State Park
- Then spend the afternoon in Snow Canyon State Park
- Spend the night at one of Springdale’s hotels near Zion
Zion – Days 2 to 4
- Hike Angels Landing, Emerald Pools, Pa’rus Trail and Watchman
- Spend day three hiking The Narrows and Canyon Overlook
- Either hike The Subway or hike trails in Kolob Canyons
Kanab – Days 5 to 6
- Drive to Kanab via Coral Pink Sand Dunes in the morning
- Spend the afternoon hiking Belly of the Dragon, Dinosaur Tracks and Moqui Sand Caverns
- On day six hike Buckskin Gulch or The Wave
Moab – Days 7 to 9
- Drive to Moab via Toadstool Hoodoos, Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley
- Spend day eight hiking Devils Garden, Windows and Delicate Arch in Arches
- Sunrise at Mesa Arch then explore Canyonlands Islands in the Sky area
Capitol Reef – Day 10
- Spend the day exploring the best of Capitol Reef
- Stay somewhere near Torrey
Grand Staircase Escalante and Glen Canyon – Day 11
- Early start to drive scenic byway 12 as far as Escalante
- Rent a Jeep in Escalante to explore the best of Grand Staircase and Glen Canyon
- Stay in Escalante
Bryce Canyon – Day 12
- Spend the morning hiking Queens Garden Navajo Loop
- Drive Bryce scenic road and stop at every viewpoint
- Watch sunset from the rim and stay in Bryce Canyon City
Cedar Breaks – Day 13
- Wake up to watch an amazing sunrise over Bryce Canyon amphitheater
- Drive higher in elevation to Cedar Breaks for a similar but quieter experience
- Hike and photograph the landscape all afternoon
- Stay in Cedar City
Park City – Days 14 to 15
- Drive to Park City via I-15 and stop at either Timpanogos Cave or Homestead Crater
- Spend day fifteen exploring Park City
Salt Lake City – Days 16 to 18
- Day sixteen is all about exploring SLC
- Visit Bonneville Salt Flats and the Great Salt Lake
- Go hiking in Lone Peak Wilderness
This awesome and efficient road trip itinerary stops at most of Utah’s touristy highlights and hidden gem spots. It’s exactly how we’d do it if we had 18 days spare and wanted to stay in Utah without crossing into Arizona, Nevada or Wyoming.
Want to see more? A lot of people follow our Salt Lake City to Yellowstone road trip itinerary each year, which works great as a standalone vacation or even better when tied in with Utah’s parks in the south.
When To Visit
Utah is a year round travel destination, but its busiest season is the summer despite hot temperatures. Spring and fall are slightly less busy with more comfortable weather, and winter is the quietest time to visit everywhere except the ski resorts.
We’ve traveled through Utah in October, November and December on different trips. The north was cold even in October, so we recommend visiting in June or September to get good weather without the crowds of summer or snow of a long winter season.
Southern Utah is different because it can be accessed all year. We did some parks in October and it was boiling hot during the day, but by November it was far more comfortable. We visited Zion in the winter and had trails to ourselves with warm days but freezing cold mornings and evenings. So there’s definitely a trade-off.
Keep Exploring
Are you planning a longer trip with stops in more states? Once you’re finished reading our travel guides for Utah, keep exploring nearby areas by heading over to the following pages:
We hope our Utah travel guide helps with planning your vacation to the American southwest!
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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