Hiker’s Guide to Utah

Utah is only a few hours away from Denver by car, and you can make scenic stops along the way as you take i70 west and pray for no traffic - stop and admire Glenwood Canyon, Palisade’s wineries and peaches, Fruita’s mountain biking trails, and any and all of the ski towns you weave through depending on the time of year you make the trip. Enjoy these recommendations for your next outdoor Utah adventure!

1. Get the AllTrails app for hikes

2. Do hikes early or try to find less crowded ones

3. Follow the Leave No Trace (LNT) tenants

4. Bring extra water! (Water restrictions are common in many National Parks aka they don’t provide you with any)

5. Utah has unique alcohol rules

6. Salt Lake City is beautiful

7. Moab is an outdoor adventure haven (5 hours from Denver) - mountain biking, skydiving, UTVing, hiking, rafting, etc.

8. Many areas are certified Dark Sky areas - look into this feature wherever you end up going as they’re beautiful for stars and night photos all around, and remind you of how small and embedded into the universe you are

9. Utah has many a lovely ski resorts including but not limited to Snowbird, Alta, Deer Valley, and Park City

National Parks & Hiking Recommendations

• Zion National Park

  • Observation Point Trail

  • Angel’s Landing Trail

  • Weeping Rock

  • Hidden Canyon Viewpoint

  • Kolob Canyons

  • Lava Point Trail to West Rim hike (can get dropped off at Lava Point from one of the adventure companies in town and hike back in)

  • The Narrows hike (look into wet/cold water gear)

  • The Subway (look into permits; can enter lottery day of)

  • Scenic drive (check shuttle schedule and parking; the drive is closed in the summer to cars and you have to take shuttle bus around the main areas)

  • BLM land for primitive camping (about 30 min outside Zion entrance)

• Bryce Canyon National Park

  • Fairyland Loop Trail

  • Peekaboo Loop Trail

  • Rainbow Point

  • Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail

  • Wall Street and Queens Garden Loop Trail

• Capitol Reef National Park

  • Scenic drive

  • Cathedral Valley

• Arches National Park

  • Delicate Arch Trail (most famous)

  • Drive the loop and make pitstops

• Canyonlands National Park

  • Druid Arch Trail

  • Mesa Arch Trail (most famous)

  • False Kiva Trail (unofficial trail)

  • Areas: Island in the Sky vs. The Needles vs. The Maze

  • Drive the loop and make pitstops

Other Areas

• Bonneville Salt Flats

• Cedar Breaks National Monument

• Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

• Dead Horse Point State Park

• Dinosaur National Monument (bring LOTS of bug spray)

• Flaming Gorge Reservoir (mostly in Wyoming)

• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

• Goblin Valley State Park (personal favorite)

• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

• Grandstaff Canyon

• Kings Peak (Utah’s highpoint)

• Lake Powell

• Mary Jane Canyon

• Monument Valley

• Natural Bridges National monument

• Potash Road Scenic Drive

• Reflection Canyon

• Sand Hallow State Park

• Snow Canyon State Park (near St. George)

• The Great Salt Lake