Southern Utah
Zion National Park
Utah’s oldest national park is a slot of sky above a green river, with sandstone walls rising 2,000 feet on either side. Hike into the Narrows, climb to Angels Landing or just ride the shuttle and look up.
Parks and monuments
Five national parks, a dozen national monuments and recreation areas, and dozens of state parks.
The Mighty 5 national parks
Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion: five very different parks across the canyon country of southern and eastern Utah.
Southern Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park
Not a canyon at all but a series of natural amphitheaters carved into the edge of a high plateau, packed with thousands of orange and white hoodoos. Walk the rim at sunrise, then hike down among the spires.
Eastern Utah
Arches National Park
More than 2,000 natural stone arches in a compact park just outside Moab, including Delicate Arch, the one on Utah’s license plates. Big views, short walks and easy access from town.
Eastern Utah
Canyonlands National Park
Utah’s largest national park, where the Green and Colorado rivers have cut a maze of canyons into the desert. Island in the Sky offers big views from the rim; the Needles and the Maze reward people who go further.
Eastern Utah
Capitol Reef National Park
A hundred-mile wrinkle in the Earth’s crust, with pioneer orchards in its heart. The quietest of the Mighty 5, and the one where you can eat a slice of pie between hikes.
National monuments and historic sites
Caves, dinosaur bones, ancient towers, natural bridges and the place the transcontinental railroad was joined.
National monument
Cedar Breaks National Monument
A 2,000-foot-deep amphitheater of orange and purple rock at more than 10,000 feet, ringed by meadows and bristlecone pines. Think of it as Bryce’s cooler, quieter sibling.
National monument
Natural Bridges National Monument
Three huge natural bridges in a remote canyon on Cedar Mesa, linked by a nine-mile loop road. Utah’s first national monument and the world’s first International Dark Sky Park.
National monument
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
Three linked limestone caves high on the wall of American Fork Canyon, reached by a steep paved trail. Ranger-led tours only, and some of the best helictites anywhere.
National monument
Dinosaur National Monument
A wall of about 1,500 dinosaur bones still in the rock, plus wild river canyons on the Green and Yampa. One of the best places in the world to see dinosaur fossils where they were found.
National monument
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
The canyons of the Escalante River, with sandstone narrows, waterfalls and some of the wildest country in the Lower 48. The monument was cut to a small fraction of its size in July 2026, but the surrounding public land is still open to explore.
National monument
Bears Ears National Monument
Twin buttes sacred to the region’s tribes, above canyons holding thousands of Ancestral Puebloan sites. The monument was cut by about 90 percent in July 2026; visit with care and respect wherever you go.
National monument
Hovenweep National Monument
Stone towers built by Ancestral Puebloans more than 700 years ago, perched on canyon rims along the Utah–Colorado line. Remote, quiet and remarkable.
National monument
Rainbow Bridge National Monument
One of the largest natural bridges in the world, a salmon-colored span 290 feet high, sacred to Navajo and other tribes. Reached by boat across Lake Powell or a long hike across the Navajo Nation.
National historical park
Golden Spike National Historical Park
Where the first transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. Working replicas of the two original steam locomotives meet nose to nose on the same spot.
National recreation area
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell)
Lake Powell’s red-rock shoreline winds through nearly 200 miles of flooded canyons. Houseboats, kayaks and side canyons make it one of the great boating destinations in the West.
State parks
Utah's state parks hold some of its best views, often with fewer people than the national parks next door.
State park
Dead Horse Point State Park
A narrow mesa-top overlook 2,000 feet above a gooseneck of the Colorado River. One of the most photographed views in the Southwest, minutes from Canyonlands.
State park
Goblin Valley State Park
A valley filled with thousands of mushroom-shaped hoodoos, called goblins, that you can wander among freely. A playground for kids and adults alike.
State park
Snow Canyon State Park
Red and white Navajo Sandstone, black lava flows and sand dunes, just minutes from St. George. Great hiking and biking almost year-round.
State park
Antelope Island State Park
The largest island in the Great Salt Lake, with free-roaming bison, pronghorn and bighorn sheep, salty beaches and huge sunsets. Reached by a seven-mile causeway.
State park
Kodachrome Basin State Park
Colorful sandstone chimneys and spires found nowhere else, named by a 1948 National Geographic expedition after the famous color film. A quiet base near Bryce.
State park
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
A field of coral-colored sand dunes that shift with the wind, tucked in a mountain valley near Kanab. Sandboard, ride or just roll down the slopes.
State park
Goosenecks State Park
A cliff-top viewpoint over the San Juan River, which loops back on itself in deep entrenched meanders 1,000 feet below. Small park, very big view.
State park
Sand Hollow State Park
Warm blue water surrounded by red sandstone and dunes near St. George. Boating, paddleboarding and some of Utah’s best off-road riding in one place.
State park
Bear Lake State Park
The “Caribbean of the Rockies,” a turquoise lake straddling the Utah–Idaho border. Beaches, boating and raspberry shakes in Garden City.
State park
Wasatch Mountain State Park
A year-round playground of trails, golf courses and fall color above the Heber Valley.
State park
Jordanelle State Park
A mountain reservoir between Park City and Heber, with beaches, boating and campgrounds against a backdrop of the Wasatch.
State park
Utah Lake State Park
Utah’s largest freshwater lake, on the western edge of Provo, with a marina, campground and big views of Mount Timpanogos.
State park
This Is The Place Heritage Park
A living history village at the mouth of Emigration Canyon, where Brigham Young first saw the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
State park
Fremont Indian State Park and Museum
One of the largest collections of Fremont rock art in Utah, along I-70 in Clear Creek Canyon. A museum and trails make it an easy stop.
State park
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
A reservoir and campground just outside the town of Escalante, with a trail past colorful logs of petrified wood.
State park
Great Salt Lake State Park
The closest place to Salt Lake City to touch the lake, with a marina, sailboats, a beach and sunsets over the water.