Top Places to Visit in Utah

Utah has more national parks per square mile than almost any other state, and its canyon country is among the most visually spectacular landscapes on Earth.

Zion National Park near Springdale is Utah's most visited park. The Virgin River has carved a narrow, towering canyon — Zion Canyon — through sandstone walls that glow orange and red in the afternoon light. The Narrows hike (wading upstream through the Virgin River between 1,000-foot walls) is one of the most iconic hikes in the US. Angels Landing — a chain-assisted ascent to a knife-edge summit — is thrillingly exposed and unforgettable.

Bryce Canyon National Park is not a canyon but an amphitheater of hoodoos — orange and pink spire-shaped rock formations created by frost-thaw erosion. Sunrise at Bryce Point is one of the most photographed moments in American national parks. The park sits at high elevation (8,000–9,100 feet) and receives enough snow for winter snowshoeing among the hoodoos.

Arches National Park near Moab has more than 2,000 natural stone arches — the highest concentration of natural arches in the world. Delicate Arch (the most photographed arch) appears on Utah's license plate. Landscape Arch has a span of 306 feet — the longest natural arch in the world.

Canyonlands National Park is the largest and least developed of Utah's five parks. It divides into three distinct districts — Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze (accessible only by 4WD). The views from Island in the Sky overlook the convergence of the Colorado and Green Rivers 1,000 feet below.

Capitol Reef National Park is the most undervisited of Utah's five parks and arguably the most rewarding for those willing to explore it. The Waterpocket Fold — a 100-mile-long buckle in the Earth's crust — creates a dramatic landscape of domes, canyons, and natural bridges. The Fruita orchards (remnants of a 19th-century Mormon settlement) allow visitors to pick free fruit in season.

Moab is the outdoor adventure capital of Utah — gateway to Arches and Canyonlands, and a world-class mountain biking, road cycling, and off-road vehicle destination.