Utah

Country

United States

Continent

North America

Best Cities to Visit

Salt Lake City
Ogden
St. George
Moab
Park City

Size

84,899 KM²

Population

3,271,616

Spending Budget

$2,479 - $2,889

Famous For

The greatest snow on Earth
Five national parks
Real Salt Lake
The Utah Jazz pick and roll
Slickrock mountain biking
Seven national monuments and two National Recreation Areas
Sundance Film Festival

Best Time to Visit

January
April
May
August
September
October

History

The southern Utah region was explored by the Spanish in 1540, led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado while looking for the legendary Cíbola. A group led by two Catholic priests—sometimes called the Domínguez–Escalante expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the coast of California. The expedition travelled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. The Spanish made further explorations in the region but were not interested in colonizing the area because of its desert nature. In 1821, the year Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, the region became known as part of its territory of Alta California. European trappers and fur traders explored some areas of Utah in the early 19th century from Canada and the United States. The city of Provo, Utah was named for one, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah was named after Peter Skene Ogden, a Canadian explorer who traded furs in the Weber Valley. In late 1824, Jim Bridger became the first known English-speaking person to sight the Great Salt Lake. Due to the high salinity of its waters, he thought he had found the Pacific Ocean; he subsequently learned this body of water was a giant salt lake. After the discovery of the lake, hundreds of American and Canadian traders and trappers established trading posts in the region. In the 1830s, thousands of migrants travelling from the Eastern United States to the American West began to make stops in the region of the Great Salt Lake, then known as Lake Youta.

Present Day

Since the establishment of the Alta Ski Area in 1939 and the subsequent development of several ski resorts in the state's mountains, Utah's skiing has become world-renowned. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world (the state license plate once claimed "the Greatest Snow on Earth"). Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and this served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues built along the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. Preparation for the Olympics spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city. In 1957, Utah created the Utah State Parks Commission with four parks. Today, Utah State Parks manages 43 parks and several undeveloped areas totalling over 95,000 acres of land and more than 1,000,000 acres of water. Utah's state parks are scattered throughout Utah, from Bear Lake State Park at the Utah/Idaho border to Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum deep in the Four Corners region and everywhere in between. Utah State Parks is also home to the state's off-highway vehicle office, state boating office and the trails program. During the late 20th century, the state grew quickly. In the 1970s growth was phenomenal in the suburbs of the Wasatch Front. Sandy was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country at that time. Today, many areas of Utah continue to see boom-time growth. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit, eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly. Management of transportation and urbanization are major issues in politics, as development consumes agricultural land and wilderness areas and transportation is a major reason for poor air quality in Utah

Future

Without a plan to address the projected 1.5 million additional residents who will live in Utah by 2050, the future may look something like this: worsened air quality increased traffic congestion and a continued lack of affordable housing. But as elected officials, business leaders, community organizers, transportation agencies and developers came together downtown Tuesday morning, they outlined a different vision — one that would provide more transportation choices and housing options, preserve open space and link development with transportation decisions. “The Wasatch Choice for 2050 is about a vision for the [community],” said Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. “Something that we choose for ourselves, where we’ve improved our air quality, where we don’t have traffic congestion. And that really takes planting seeds today — making decisions today that will have an impact over the next 10 to 20 years.” The Wasatch Choice 2050 vision will update the existing 2040 blueprint — which was created with the help of a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — on how to handle population growth along the Wasatch Front over the next 30 years. The Wasatch Choice 2050 vision is currently in draft form, but Wasatch Front Regional Council Executive Director Andrew Gruber anticipates it could have some big impacts. For one, he says the plan would provide residents with access to 57 per cent more jobs within 30 minutes of their homes in the next 30 years, improving the state’s air quality by reducing commute times. He also anticipates the plan could save municipalities close to $6 billion by linking development and transportation decisions. The initiative’s success depends on cities and counties working together with other stakeholders to create “bottom-up” solutions to local problems.

Must Visit Places ------------

Zion National Park

Less than a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, Zion National Park features some of Utah's most outstanding scenery. Red rock cliffs, waterfalls, and stunning vistas are some of the key attractions. Many of the park's most impressive sites are found in Zion Canyon, along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, which follows the valley floor. From spring until fall, a sightseeing bus takes visitors through the park along this route, stopping at all the major sites and trailheads. This makes touring the park very simple. In winter, you can drive this route in your own vehicle. The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway runs east-west through the park and is also a must-do drive. This self-drive route takes you high above the valley and offers incredible views from the lookouts. Sometimes referred to as a vertical park due to its sheer vertical walls, Zion is a hiker's paradise. The most popular hikes in Zion are accessed off the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive and the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. Here, you'll find everything from simple walks along the valley floor to cliff-side trails, like the famous Angel's Landing trail, which is not for the faint of heart or anyone with a fear of heights.

Arches National Park

Stunning stone arches and rolling petrified dunes, backed by the often snow-capped peaks of the La Sal Mountains, make this one of the most scenic parks in Utah. Arches National Park is home to more than 2,000 natural stone arches. The most famous of these, and the most photographed, is Delicate Arch, standing like a horseshoe jutting out of the ground, framing the distant mountains. Numerous walking trails and hikes lead to the most popular arches and other interesting rock formations. But many of the main highlights can be seen right from the scenic drives through the park and easily accessed from the parking areas. The best places to visit in the park are Devil's Garden, Delicate Arch, Fiery Furnace, Double Arch, Park Avenue, Balanced Rock, the Windows, Broken Arch, and Sandstone Arch.

Monument Valley

Like a scene from an old western film, red rock buttes rise from the orange desert floor, and occasionally a horse and rider even wanders by. This is Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, located on the Navajo Indian Reservation on the Utah-Arizona border. Numerous films and commercials have been shot in this scenic area, which is famous for its spectacular red mesas and stone pinnacles. Within the park is Valley Drive, a one-way, 17-mile, self-drive dirt road running between the buttes and through the dramatic landscape. Pullouts all along the route offer great opportunities for photography and soaking up the scenery. If you want to go beyond this one road to explore the park more fully, you must use a guide, which can be arranged at the visitor centre. If you don't have time for the drive, which is usually done at a snail's pace due to the curves and sightseeing stops, the view from the Monument Valley Visitor Center is spectacular, and one of the best viewpoints in Monument Valley.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park is Utah's version of the Grand Canyon, without the crowds. The park has three sections, but the main portion, which attracts the majority of sightseers, is Island in the Sky. This area offers incredible vistas looking out over carved canyons and beyond to the snow-capped mountains. It is arguably as impressive as the Grand Canyon in its own unique way, and far less visited. One of the main attractions in Island in the Sky is Mesa Arch. This beautiful stone arch, particularly stunning in the early morning hours or late afternoon, forms a window to the canyons, buttes, and torn landscape below. Also of note in this section is the White Rim Road, which runs down from the park to the valley below, following a dirt road of switchbacks along sheer cliff walls. This road is only for the brave. Visitors can catch a glimpse of the White Rim Road, across the road from the Island in the Sky Visitors Center. Canyonlands' Island in the Sky section is located not far from the town of Moab. The main access point is reached by heading north along Highway 191, beyond Arches National Park. The Needles District is located in the opposite direction, off Highway 191 heading south from Moab and takes about two hours to reach. The other two sections of the park, the Needles District and The Maze offer a slightly different type of landscape but are also impressive. These areas are more remote. The Needles area is one of the best places for hiking in the park, and A Maze is a popular place for 4x4 road trips.

Bryce Canyon National Park

The brightly coloured and tightly packed hoodoos that dominate the landscape at Bryce Canyon are what set this national park apart from the rest of the spectacular sites in Utah. Stone pillars, glowing in shades of orange, pink, cream, and cinnamon, jut up from the floor of a huge natural amphitheatre, creating a magical landscape that almost begs to be explored. A scenic drive runs through the park and provides numerous lookouts all along the canyon. However, it's worth venturing down into the forest of hoodoos on one of the numerous hiking trails in the park to fully appreciate these formations' size and unique shapes. Bristlecone pine trees are another surprise attraction found in Bryce. Bryce Canyon National Park is located at an elevation of 8,000 to over 9,000 feet and receives snowfall during the winter months and into spring. Temperatures up here, even in summer, can be cool to very cold. The best time to visit is from April to October, particularly if you are planning on staying at one of the campgrounds in the area.

Salt Lake City and the Mormon Temple

Salt Lake City is often associated with skiing and winter activities, and certainly many of the best ski resorts in the state can be reached within an hour's drive of here. But this is a city worth visiting, regardless of the season, and offers numerous attractions and things to do. Standing on Temple Square in the late 19th-century Mormon Temple, the largest Latter-day Saints temple and one of Salt Lake City's principal sites. The temple may only be entered by Mormons but it is definitely worth walking by to have a look. Other sites in the city include the Mormon Tabernacle and the State Capitol.

Park City and nearby Ski Resorts

Park City is a fun mountain town, about 45 minutes southeast of Salt Lake City, and home to some of Utah's best ski resorts. On the town's doorstep is Park City Mountain Resort, with lifts operating right from town, and just down the road is Deer Valley Resort, one of Utah's poshest ski resorts. Both of these offer outstanding terrain for all levels of skiers. Park City is also within an hour's drive of several other resorts, like Snowbird, Alta, and Solitude. Utah Olympic Park, also located in the vicinity, was used as a venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Today, it offers year-round activities for kids and adults, from ziplining and hiking in summer to bobsledding in winter. Also of note is one of Park City's most famous events, the annual Sundance Film Festival, held in late January.

Moab

For outdoor adventures in the Southwest, it's hard to beat the town of Moab. As the closest community to Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Dead Horse Point State Park, this area offers endless opportunities for hiking, biking, rafting, off-road adventures, and more. The rolling petrified dunes and surrounding mountains provide breathtaking scenery and offer a playground for numerous outdoor pursuits. Mountain bikers come here in droves in the spring and fall for outstanding riding. Although the town is known among mountain bikers for being the home of the famous and challenging Slickrock Trail, you can find trails here for all levels of bikers. When it comes to hiking, the trails in the nearby parks offer amazing scenery, including Utah's famous Delicate Arch. You'll also find some incredible campgrounds near Moab.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a huge area of rugged terrain, with a landscape of canyons, arches, hills, waterfalls, forest, and scrubland. It offers a sense of remoteness that is hard to find in other parks. Dirt roads, where you can drive great distances without ever passing another vehicle, are all part of the experience. Covering 1.9 million acres, this is the largest national monument in the United States, and it's managed by the Bureau of Land Management, not the National Park Service. Hiking is a popular way to explore the region. Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail offers some fabulous scenery and is one of the most photographed locations in Grand Staircase-Escalante. In the southern part of the monument is Paria, a town near the Paria River, founded in 1865, but abandoned by 1920. Remnants of the town and the nearby areas have been used in several western films.

Dead Horse Point State Park

Just outside of Moab, dead Horse Point State Park delivers one of the best lookouts of any state park in Utah. The main viewpoint looks over a gooseneck in the Colorado River carving through the colourful landscape. Cliff walls rising 2,000 feet and plateaus at various levels stretch out into the distance. On a shelf of land below the viewpoint, the Potash Road runs along a ledge. Looking to the left along this road, you can see Thelma and Louise Point, where the final scene of the motion picture Thelma and Louise was filmed.