Welcome to Utah

The Beehive State is a boon for outdoorsy types, nature lovers and geography buffs. Tucked into the American Southwest, Utah is home to snow-covered peaks, red-rocked canyons and hardpan salt flats.

In the northeast corner of the state, you’ll find two separate branches of the Rocky Mountains striding their way through the region. In northwestern Utah, visitors marvel at the Great Salt Lake Desert, home to the otherworldly Bonneville Salt Flats. In western Utah’s Basin and Ridge Region, adventurers explore low rolling mountains and scenic basins in one of the driest areas of the country. And in southern Utah, travelers navigate a vast swath of the Colorado Plateau—a world of craggy and crisscrossing canyons and valleys.

In southern Utah, be sure to take a swing through Monument Valley, where massive sandstone buttes and mesas tower as much as 1,000 feet above the valley floor. A few miles to the east is the Four Corners, where you and the family can stand in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all at the same time.

When you’re ready for a break from the great outdoors, pay a visit to one of Utah’s many quaint small towns and communities, where traditional and down-to-earth charm are found in abundance. Salt Lake City, in the state’s northwest corner, is what passes for big city fare in these parts. Highlights include Temple Square (the centerpiece of Mormon history and religion), Utah’s Hogle Zoo (home to more than 1,100 animals) and the Utah State Capitol building.

Adventure

In Utah, expect to put your hiking boots and photography skills to the test. With 12 national parks calling the Beehive State home, this is one of the most popular states in the country for nature lovers.

Zion National Park, in the state’s southwest corner, displays geography so spectacular and surreal it’s almost impossible to believe you’re not on the set of a science fiction movie. The oldest national park in the country, Zion is a hiker’s paradise, with more than 100 trails snaking their way through the canyon-laden Grand Staircase portion of the park alone.

In Bryce Canyon National Park, visitors are treated to a mesmerizing geological display of rock strata, rock spires and rock amphitheaters that defy comparison. You can hike the park, bike the park, horseback ride the park and even snowshoe the park (in winter).

Other highlights around the state include Canyonlands National Park, where you’ll find some of the wildest terrain (and ancient Native American petroglyphs) in the state, and Arches National Park, which is graced with more than 2,000 natural stone arches.

Entertainment

January can be a chilly time of year to visit the state of Utah, unless you’re planning to take in the state’s hottest event—the Sundance Film Festival. Held each year in Salt Lake City, this event is the largest movie confab in the country and one of the most prestigious in the world.

Summer brings Freedom Days, one of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations in the country, to Provo. The festivities kick off on July 1st and run for three days through to July 4th. There’s a Grand Parade, a carnival and lots of live music.

Throughout the entirety of summer, Salt Lake City rings in the Days of ’47 Parade, which aims to celebrate the Beehive State’s earliest pioneers. Between March and late July, the city hosts more than 20 different events, including a parade, a rodeo and a Family Festival.

As summer wraps up, there’s the Western Legends Roundup in Kanab and the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City. The former brings the Old West back to life through a range of events, including tree felling competitions and cowboy shootouts. The latter, meanwhile, serves up all the standard state fair attractions you’d expect (livestock shows and cook-offs) as well as few you wouldn’t (demolition derbies and rodeos).