Utah Travel Tips for 2024
Utah is a popular tourist destination, with breathtaking natural landscapes, national parks, national monuments, forests, state parks, ski resorts, museums and millions of acres of open spaces. From the deserts to high mountains to the salt flats, Utah has something for every visitor!
Utah is home to five major National Parks: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches, and Capitol Reef. Many other national monuments, parks and historic sites dot the state, such as Glen Canyon, Cedar Breaks, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Valley of the Gods, Golden Spike, and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.
Urban areas such as Salt Lake City and Ogden offer exciting venues, lodging and dining options for visitors. The city is just a stone's throw from hundreds of miles of trails for hiking, running and exploring and a dozen ski resorts, including four within 30 minutes.
We have made many trips to Utah over the years, and traveled extensively all over the state. On this website we are sharing many of our original Utah photographs, trip tips, recommendations and commentaries. Special thanks go to Visit Utah for additional photography.
Spend several days and enjoy and explore Utah in 2024!
| Arch over Utah Scenic Byway 12 at Red Canyon, a recreation area managed at the U.S. Forest Service ... 13 miles west of the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park |
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Getting To and Around Utah
 I-15 and I-84 interchange near Trementon in northern Utah |
Utah is located in the Western United States, bounded on the north by Utah, Nevada to the east, Colorado to the east, and Arizona to the south.
Interstate Highways I-70 and I-80 cross the state in an east-west alignment.
I-15 runs north to south from the Idaho border through Salt Lake City and down to St. George before entering Arizona.
I-84 also runs south from Idaho and connects with I-15 at Trementon, and later runs towards the Park City area.
The major airport in the state is Salt Lake International Airport (SLC), with other smaller airports located around the state. SLC is located five miles northwest of downtown Salt Lake City. Air Canada, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, KLM Royal Dutch, Southwest and United and their affiliates serve SLC, including 90 cities with nonstop fights. International nonstop fights include Paris, Amsterdam, London and select cities in Mexico and Canada.
Lodging Options and Things to Do in Utah
Scenes in Parks and on the Open Roads Around Utah
North & South Windows ... at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah
Read more about Arches National Park |
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Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, with the road seen below
Read more about Monument Valley |
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View to the valley from part way down
the switchbacks down the Burr Trail
Read more about the Burr Trail |
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| Canyonlands National Park in Utah |
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Islands in the Sky Overlook, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
(Photo by Sandra Salvas, courtesy of Visit Utah)
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| Entering Capitol Reef National Park, near Boulder, Utah, on the Burr Trail |
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Hikers taking in the incredible view at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
(Photo by Sandra Salvas, courtesy of Visit Utah)
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| Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument in Utah |
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| The Grosvenor Arch within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Kane County, Utah, near Escalante. Located in northern Kane County, it is close to and south of Kodachrome Basin State Park and is accessed from the north or south via Road 400, a dirt road that traverses Cottonwood Canyon in the western portion of the national monument. |
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| Dirt Road 400 on the way to Grosvenor Arch |
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| Aerial view of the Moki Dugway in southeastern Utah, seen from the top of Cedar Mesa, with the Valley of the Gods below |
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| The scenic dirt road to the ghost town of Paria. It is located on the Paria River in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in central Kane County, Utah. It was inhabited from 1870 to 1929, and later used as a filming location. |
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| The Valley of the Gods is a scenic sandstone valley near Mexican Hat in San Juan County, Southeastern Utah. We last drove the roads here in a 4x4 Jeep, but the road through the valley is not that steep or difficult to traverse. Formerly part of Bears Ears National Monument, it is located north of Monument Valley across the San Juan River and has similar rock formations to Monument Valley. |
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Near the Valley of the Gods is the Moki Dugway, which features a winding road down a series of steep switchbacks. We have driven it multiple times ... an awesome experience!
(Photo by Sandra Salvas, courtesy of Visit Utah)
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| The community of Brian Head, at an elevation of 9,800 feet above sea level, is the highest town in Utah, as well as the second highest elevation town in the United States. It is located on State Route 143 and is east of Interstate 15. Brian Head is about three miles north of Cedar Breaks National Monument. |
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Scenes in and around the Salt Lake City Area
| The Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City |
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| The grounds of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City |
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| Built for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the Utah Olympic Park is located in Park City, just 25 miles east of Salt Lake City. The nearly 400 acre venue houses one of only four sliding tracks in North America, six Nordic ski jumps, a 2002 Winter Games museum, and a multitude of adventure activities. |
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Antelope Island State Park, near Salt Lake City, Utah
(Photo by Dave Sansom, courtesy of Visit Utah)
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| The Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden, Utah |
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| The Bonneville Salt Flats Special Recreation Management Area, west of Salt Lake City |
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Interactive Map of Utah
More Information about Utah
Visit Utah ... the Official Utah Travel website
