Before booking your next adventure to red rock country, heres what you need to know. Arches, bridges, One of the Southwest's most gorgeous parks, Arches boasts the world's greatest concentration of sandstone arches. All rights reserved. This 6000ft-high flat-topped mesa drops precipitously on all sides,, Way far west of Island in the Sky, Horseshoe Canyon shelters one of the most impressive collections of millennia-old rock art in the Southwest. 2023 Lonely Planet, a Red Ventures company. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument encompasses vast and rugged terrain, revealing ancient fossils, picturesque slot canyons, and towering cliffs. Utah Road Trip: 3 Days 7 Different Ways - Red Around the World At 8749ft, Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in the Lone Star State. The sparkling waters offer excellent snorkeling and diving opportunities. Undulating through the Tularosa Basin like something out of a dream, these ethereal dunes are a highlight of any trip to New Mexico, and a must on every landscape photographer's itinerary. Highlights include the scenic drive, canyoneering Sulphur Creek, and hiking Hickman Bridge, Cassidy Arch, and Grand Wash. Arches, bridges, One of the Southwest's most gorgeous parks, Arches boasts the world's greatest concentration of sandstone arches. Winter is prime time for safari-grade wildlife sightings. Top Choice. Natural Bridge is another popular stop and is a stunning span of eroded red-hued limestone. Other trails include Devil's Garden Trail, Balanced Rock Trail, Fiery Furnace, and Park Avenue. It hugs the eastern edge of an 18-mile plateau, and the high altitude sets it apart from the other national parks in southern Utah. Called the River of Grass by Native American inhabitants, this is not just a wetland, or a swamp, or a lake, or a river, or a prairie, or a grassland it is all of those, twisted together into a series of soft horizons, long vistas, sunsets that stretch across your entire field of vision and the toothy grins of a healthy population of dinosaur-era reptiles. Angels Landing is a sheer-walled monolith 1,500 feet above the North Fork of the Virgin River. 13 Best National Parks in Utah to Experience Nature's Beauty More than half the park is a designated wilderness area, and the park service has curbed development to keep it wild. The exhibits, many of which are hands, Blanding's Dinosaur Museum is fascinating and highly ambitious; it's aim is to cover the complete history of the worlds dinosaurs. All Rights Reserved. First published April 1, 2016 Book details & editions About the author Lonely Planet 5,375 books772 followers OUR STORY A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. Dont miss the Fruita Rural Historic District, where the first Mormon homesteader arrived in 1880. From breathtaking landscapes to unspoiled wilderness, Utah is a popular destination for travelers looking for a fun and memorable family vacation. No state comes close to Utah in terms of highest concentration of national parks. Check the latest guidance in Utah before planning a trip, and always follow local health advice. State: New MexicoEntrance Fee: 3-day pass per adult/child, $15/freeGreat for: Family Travel, Photo Op, SceneryRead more:See the Southwest USA's most iconic landscapes on this epic road tripBuy the guide:Southwest USA travel guide. If you want to see all the highlights take the Arches Scenic Drive, a 43-mile route that takes about two to three hours to hike without stopping. Green iguanas, geckos, hawksbill turtles and wild donkeys roam the landscape. State: North Carolina & TennesseeEntrance fee: FreeGreat for: History, Wildlife, WalkingRead more: First-timer's guide to Great Smoky Mountains National ParkBuy the guide:Great Smoky Mountains National Park guidebook. Climb to Angels Landing, drive Hwy 12, and hike the Narrows; all with your trusted travel companion. Editor's note: during COVID-19 there are restrictions on travel and opening hours may vary. But some are better than others, depending on how you travel. If you have upcoming plans to travel to Maui, the state of Hawaiis tourism organization is asking you to postpone. It has the highest density of rock arches on Earth. The National Parks Service maintains 2,700 cherry, apricot, peach, pear, and apple trees planted by the early settlers. State: ColoradoEntrance fee: 7-day pass per vehicle $25Great for: Cycling, Family Travel, WalkingRead more:Introducing Colorado's National ParksBuy the guide:Colorado travel guide. Inside, there are 148 miles of mapped passages. This trail is 5.4-miles round trip, though not a loop, with an elevation change of 1,488 feet. Youve probably seen this park already on a Utah license plate or in an advertisement promoting the states great outdoors. Hike the Intrepid Trail or mountain bike along the exhilarating singletrack trails. Comprising more than 20,000 sq miles of brawny ice-encrusted mountains, this is the second-largest national park in the world. Its a tremendous resource, offering miles of shoreline, pristine reefs and 26 hiking trails. Hells Revenge and Elephant Hill are also popular off-roading trails and two of the most difficult in the world. Up to 6ft in diameter, they're strikingly beautiful, with extravagantly patterned cross-sections of wood glinting in ethereal pinks, blues and greens. State: South DakotaEntrance Fee: 7-day pass per vehicle $30Great for: Scenery, Wildlife, CyclingRead more:South Dakota's best scenic drivesBuy the guide:Western USA travel guidebook. All rights reserved. Given its small size, you can see and hike almost everything in a few days. Utahs five parks, however, are all located within a few hours' drive of each other. Hit the road and head into the vast desert on this eight-day adventure. This wilderness is home to bear, moose and elk in number and played a fundamental role in the history of American alpine climbing. State: OhioEntrance fee: FreeGreat for: Cycling, Family Travel, WalkingRead more:Where to find the USA's 12 newest national parksBuy the guide:Eastern USA Travel Guide. If you need a break from all that hiking, visit the Human History Museum or head to the Grotto for a shady picnic. Head to theChisos Basinfor the most dramatic landscape, but any visit should also include time in theChihuahuan Desert, home to curious creatures and adaptable plants and down along theRio Grande, the watery dividing line between the US and Mexico. With trees as high as 20-story buildings, Sequoia National Park is an extraordinary park with soul-sustaining forests and vibrant wildflower meadows. Just 5 miles north of Moab on Hwy 191, More visitors will be allowed to trek the Wave in ArizonaTravel between Colorado and Utah in a glass-domed train in 2021The Grand Circle is the ultimate US Southwest road trip, This article was first published February 2019 and updated March 2022. Visiting Arches: Arches is best-visited from nearby Moab, just a ten-minute drive south. Utahs national and state parks are full of natural wonders, each offering unique charm and extraordinary landscapes. Canyonlands National Park is Utahs largest national park and presents a stunning canvas of canyons, rivers, and mesas. Or you can lose the crowd while looking for Ancestral Puebloan rock art and dwellings in miles of isolated and undeveloped lands. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument encompasses vast and rugged terrain, revealing ancient fossils, picturesque slot canyons, and towering cliffs. For adrenaline junkies, Utahs national parks offer some of the most unforgettable adventures, whether you like challenging hikes or white water rafting. Keep in mind: as Utahs busiest national park (and third busiest in the nation), Zion campgrounds and hotels fill up fast. 2023 Lonely Planet, a Red Ventures company. These could easily be stretched into four day Utah itineraries or pared down to just two days in Utah. . Amazon.com: lonely planet utah Yosemite National Park might just be the crown jewel of all 61 US national parks Daniel Gonzalez / Getty Images, From Acadia to Zion: A complete guide to all 63 national parks in the United States. Introducing the United States' 63 national parks - Lonely Planet Cycling, Family Travel, Walking may be one of the smallest national parks in the US (and one of the only urban parks), but its main attraction, the Gateway Arch, is the largest manmade monument in the US. While not located in Utah, nearby Grand Canyon National Park is an essential addition to any Utah road trip. Visit Island in the Sky to see the view from this 6,000-foot high flat-topped mesa which provides some of the furthest-reaching views in Utah. State: ColoradoEntrance fee: 7-day pass per vehicle $20-30Great for: History, Winter Travel, SceneryRead more:Gaze at the stars in Colorado's incredible new dark sky parkBuy the guide:Colorado travel guide. It offers 16 miles of hiking trails, technical rock climbing, and horseback riding. Whats more, all five crack the top 20 most-visited national parks, according to the latest figures. Travel Stories. The first is either a single or multi-day hike through narrow canyons walls in the refreshing virgin river. Artifact Uprising Review: Does the Quality Justify the Cost. It stands 630ft high and symbolizes St Louis' historical role as 'Gateway to the West. The caldera has since filled with rain and snowmelt, creating a stunningly blue, pure lake the deepest in the United States at 1943ft to the bottom. Famous for its otherworldly sunset-colored spires punctuated by tracts of evergreen forest, Bryce Canyon National Park is one of the planet's most exquisite geological wonders. All rights reserved. Walking along the rim of the Bryce Amphitheater gives you breathtaking views of the silent city, full of dense and gigantic hoodoos, which are tall skinny shafts of rock. State: South DakotaEntrance fee: FreeGreat for: Scenery, Walking, WildlifeRead more:South Dakota's best scenic drivesBuy the guide:USA's National Parks. 2023 Lonely Planet, a Red Ventures company. Check out our roundup of top experiences in America's national parks. Highlights include hiking down into the Navajo And Queens Garden Loop, the Sunset to Sunrise rim trail, and seeing the canyon up close on a full moon night. She is a busy wife and mother to three teenagers who loves creating gluten-free recipes in her kitchen outside of Washington, D.C. She has a wealth of resources on how to manage a gluten-free diet. Seven tidewater glaciers spill out of the mountains and fill the sea with icebergs of all shapes, sizes and shades of blue, making Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve an icy wilderness renowned worldwide. Dead Horse Point State Park offers a mesmerizing panoramic overlook of the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park. With the famous 105-mile Skyline Drive and more than 500 miles of hiking trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail, there is plenty to do and see. Must-see attractions Utah, The Southwest - Lonely Planet Dinosaur National Monument straddles the Utah-Colorado border and preserves many dinosaur fossils and ancient petroglyphs.
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