Arches National Park

Arches National Park in southeastern Utah contains the largest concentration of natural arches in the world. The 76,518-acre park boasts over 2,000 arches, as well as other awe-inspiring sandstone formations such as spires, pinnacles, fins and balanced rocks. The park’s most famous natural landmark is Delicate Arch, which appears on Utah’s Centennial license plates. The park’s red and orange colored sandstone contrasts sharply with the blue-hued La Sal Mountains in the southern horizon. Two of the park’s most popular scenic areas are the Fiery Furnace, a maze of narrow canyons and rock formations of nearly every shape and size, and Devil’s Garden, a concentration of several arches, including Pine Tree Arch, Wall Arch, Navajo Arch and Landscape Arch, the park’s longest span.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park is a series of natural amphitheaters full of colorful rock spires, pinnacles, fins and arches. The park’s natural formations of all shapes, sizes and hues, formed because of millions of years of the erosive forces of wind and water. Visitors can view the park’s fantastic scenery by strolling along the rim, descending below the rim one of its many trails, by stopping at viewpoints along the park’s 18-mile scenic drive, by horseback through guided rides offered by a local outfitter, or even on one of a nearby tour company’s scenic flights. Whichever way you decide to see the park, during your visit you will enjoy pleasant temperatures, amazing visibility, excellent air quality and one of the darkest night skies in North America.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park is an enormous spectacle of sandstone scenery, boasting scenic mesas, buttes, chasms, spires, pinnacles and arches. Utah’s largest national park in land area, Canyonlands features three distinct districts, the Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze. The Island in the Sky, located approximately 30 miles from Moab, is the most accessible portion of the park. Sitting 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain, the Island in the Sky offers breathtaking views of the panoramic White Rim and offers short trails to natural landmarks such as Whale Rock, Mesa Arch, and Aztec Butte. Named for its colorful sandstone spires, the Needles District is the park’s southeastern corner. It provides many opportunities for overnight trips, long day hikes, and four-wheel drive adventures to natural landmarks and scenic areas such as Angel Arch, Chesler Park, Druid Arch, the Joint Trail, and the confluence of the Colorado and Green rivers. The southwestern corner of the park, the Maze, is the least accessible and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle to access.

CapitolReefNationalPark

Called the “Sleeping Rainbow” by local Native Americans, Capitol Reef National Park received its name because of its white sandstone domes atop red sandstone cliffs that resemble the dome of the U.S. capitol and other capitols. Another one of the park’s distinct features is the 100-mile long Waterpocket Fold, a ripple in the earth’s crust caused by a major geological shift that revealed an ancient, buried fault. The park also features arches, narrow gorges, natural bridges, pinnacles, monoliths, ancient rock art and the remnants of a Mormon pioneer town, Fruita, including a barn, a one-room schoolhouse and orchards. The area around Fruita is Capitol Reef’s most visited. It is home to the park’s visitor center and 15 hiking trails, including Cassidy Arch and Hickman Bridge. The park also boasts a 25-mile long scenic drive that leads to trailheads such as Capitol Gorge and Grand Wash.

GrandCanyonNationalPark

A World Heritage Site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon is an amazing geologic spectacle. The deep chasm is 277 miles long and an average of one mile deep and 10 miles wide. It contains an excellent record of three out of the four periods of geologic time as well as significant biological and paleontological resources. The park is divided into two sections, the North Rim and the South Rim. The South Rim hosts the most visitors and is open year round while the North Rim, approximately 1,000 feet higher in elevation, receives fewer visitors and is open seasonally. Both rims provide breathtaking views of the enormous canyon. Hikers descending below the rim and river rafters see a bottom-up view of the canyon that includes lush greenery, scenic side canyons, waterfalls, and ancient Indian ruins.

Lake Powell

Lake Powel, part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona, is the second largest manmade lake in the United States. Named for early Colorado River explorer Major John Wesley Powell, the main attraction of the lake for water sports enthusiasts is the opportunity to cruise through the water in a boat or jet ski and view spectacular red rock scenery. The only way to access most of Lake Powell’s 96 major canyons is by watercraft. One of the lake’s highlights is Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge in the world. The lake’s shoreline is longer than the entire west coast of the United States. A popular destination for houseboating, the lake is home to outfitters that provide boat tours to some of its most scenic areas.

Zion National Park

The oldest and most visited national park in Utah, Zion is a 229-square-mile spectacle of breathtaking cliff-and-canyon landscapes formed from millions of years of erosion by the Virgin River and its tributaries. Zion National Park’s most-visited section is Zion Canyon, which displays some of the park’s most famous natural landmarks, towering stone monoliths that rise to heights 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the canyon floor, including the Court of the Patriarchs, Angels Landing, and the Great White Throne. In addition to its rock formations, narrow canyons and forested plateaus, the park is an incredible showcase of biodiversity, boasting more than 1,000 species of plants, 291 bird species and 78 species of mammals. Zion National Park is home to everything from lush hanging gardens to harsh desert environments. Zion boasts a wide array of hiking trails, from the easy ¼-mile stroll to Weeping Rock to the strenuous four-mile ascent to Observation Point, one of the most spectacular top-down viewpoints of Zion Canyon.