Utah: Rock Landscapes, Trails and Culture

Utah offers travelers striking rock landscapes, hiking trails, cycling opportunities and cultural attractions. When looking for a hotel in Utah, it’s worth first considering whether national parks, a designated scenic byway, activities or exhibitions will shape your trip. Different destinations offer different highlights; plan your overnight stays around the places you want to visit.

Rock Landscapes and Elevations

Arches National Park is home to more than 2,000 natural stone arches. Delicate Arch is the largest freestanding arch there. Its opening is 46 feet (14 m) high and 32 feet (9.8 m) wide. The round-trip hike to the arch is 3 miles (4.8 km) long and climbs 480 feet (146 m). These distances and elevation changes are specific details you can take into account when planning your outing.

Hoodoos define the landscape at Bryce Canyon: these rock spires, carved by erosion, remain standing. The canyon lies at elevations from 8,000 feet (2,438 m) to over 9,000 feet (2,743 m). Canyonlands features a different landscape of canyons, mesas and rock spires carved by the Colorado and Green rivers. These geological formations give each national park its own character.

Hiking, Cycling and Navigation

Hiking options range from the hundreds of miles of trails in Canyonlands to the opportunities described in Zion National Park, where there are both short walks and challenging outings. The trails in Canyonlands provide access to natural and cultural features. It’s also important for planning that the national park is divided into four distinct districts that are not connected by roads.

In Zion National Park, the Pa’rus Trail is open to bicycles, as is the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. Ranger-led programs give you the opportunity to learn more about the park. The San Rafael Swell Recreation Area offers opportunities for hiking and cycling. The area covers about 217,000 acres of eroded sandstone badlands, deep canyons and tilted rock slabs. The Wedge Overlook in the San Rafael Swell is known as “The Little Grand Canyon.”

Scenic Byways and Activities

Scenic Byway 12, also called the “A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway,” runs from Panguitch to Torrey. The route passes through winding canyons, by red rock spires, through pine forests and past pioneer towns. It is designated an All-American Road. Its endpoints, scenery and designated status are useful points of reference when planning a road trip as a central theme of your visit.

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument supports recreational activities including camping, hiking, canyoneering and off-road driving. This offers a different range of activities from a trip focused on hiking trails or a scenic byway.

Culture, Museums and Local Specialties

The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is also significant for its archaeological sites: Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont cultures left rock art panels, settlement sites, campsites and granaries there between 950 and 1100 CE. The Natural History Museum of Utah is the state’s official natural history museum. It has twelve permanent exhibitions across four levels on Utah’s natural history.

The Prehistoric Museum at Utah State University Eastern focuses on different topics: its exhibitions cover paleontology, archaeology and geology. In its archaeology hall, the museum displays the Pilling Figurines; the Discovery Area features a dinosaur dig and other hands-on activities. This lets you distinguish between a broad look at Utah’s natural history and exhibitions on specific archaeological, geological and paleontological subjects.

Food and regional products can also complement your trip planning. The Downtown Farmers Market has vendors from more than 100 farms and ranches within 250 miles of Salt Lake City. Utah Food Trails usually take a thematic approach and focus on local specialties. Visit Utah also offers a free printed travel guide, road map and national parks brochure to order.

Discover more destinations: Summit, Wasatch, Iron, Garfield, Grand, Salt Lake, Tooele, Davis, Washington, Carbon, Weber, Cache, Juab, Emery, Utah County, Uintah County, Hanover County, Augusta County, Box Elder County, San Juan County, Kane County, Wayne County, Sevier County, Sanpete County, Millard County, Duchesne County, Beaver County, Rich County, Okanogan County, Daggett County.

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