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The Mighty 5: A Guide to Utah’s National Parks
Southern Utah is an expansive desert wilderness that beckons travelers from around the world. One of nature’s great canvases, it features chiseled canyons, red rock hoodoos, delicate arches, soaring cliffs, and lonely unpaved roads. I’ve said it often and I’ll say it again: There’s no place quite like southern Utah. While the United States has its fair share of breathtaking landscapes, southern Utah is truly out of this world. The legendary area—home to some of the American Southwest’s signature attractions—boasts some of the most iconic desertscapes on Earth. Its swath…
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Best Hikes in Zion National Park
Zion National Park encompasses 232 square miles of pure awesomeness. The red rock wonderland boasts narrow sandstone canyons, soaring red cliffs, and pockets of lush vegetation that burst with life. From its intoxicating blend of brilliant colors to its serpentine canyons flanked with sheer walls, the Utah park brims with bucket-list backdrops and incredible hiking opportunities. I first visited Zion when I was fourteen. I remember standing in awe of the park’s towering rock walls and saturated color scheme. Three visits and sixteen years later, the park has not ceased…
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Things to Do in Arches National Park
Arches National Park is a masterpiece of nature and a beloved Utah tourist destination. Renowned the world over for its delicate rock garden, the national park is among the most iconic places in the United States. In Arches, giant sandstone arcs frame snowy peaks and juniper-clad desertscape. While the entire area is a red rock paradise, there is no doubt that these natural rock arches are its primary draw. Indeed, its signature sandstone span is so lauded, that it has become a symbol of the American Southwest—emblazoned on license plates,…
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Visiting the Island in the Sky: Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park offers some of the most enthralling vistas in the American West. Blanketing more than 520 square miles of the Colorado Plateau, it conceals winding river canyons, towering rock pinnacles, and ancient Native American settlements. The Colorado and Green rivers are the prime sculptors in the area. Aided by erosion, they have chiseled out a tapestry of gullies and mesas that fans out over the vast desert landscape. The majority of this immense area remains an obstacle for all but the heartiest back-country explorers. But in Canyonlands’ Island in…
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Hiking in the Canyonlands Needles District
Canyonlands National Park is a rugged wilderness of buttes and mesas that sprawls outward in a tapestry of oranges and reds. The Canyonlands Needles District is one of four distinct areas within the national park. It is an oft-forgotten wonderland of stone pillars that jut skyward like blunted needles. Among the area’s towering rock garden, it conceals some of the best hiking trails in the American Southwest. Although it isn’t as heavily trafficked as other areas in Utah’s Mighty 5, the hiker’s paradise boasts bewitching vistas, diverse topography, and unforgettable…
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Driving the Scenic Highway 12 in Utah
After visiting Capitol Reef’s Strike Valley, Dan and I found ourselves racing along Utah’s Highway 12 in order to catch a return flight to Seattle. Our path to the Salt Lake City Airport followed the Burr Trail to Boulder, then veered right—ascending a hair-raising road up Boulder Mountain, toward Torrey. Though spectacular views turned our heads every which way, the scenery sped by in a blur. I tried to snap photos of the moving landscape, but failed to capture its majesty through the car’s dusty windows. Then and there, we…
