Terri Ramsey Beavers Utah is known for its luminescent red rock formations, towering canyons with clear water, world-class hiking and snowshoeing, as well as those snow-capped vistas. There’s also Olympic-standard bobsledding, salt lakes, and the best snow in the world. There are lots of good reasons to visit Utah, whatever your budget and these are just a few of them.
The Ultimate Winter Destination
Utah knows how to do Winter the right way. The colder months of the year offer a lot of options to explore the national parks, hike the canyons, and ford the narrows. Utah is known for skiing, and the apres-ski is fantastic too. There are excellent bars, pubs, and restaurants for everything from the best pizza to the best warming cocktails surrounding the resorts.
Ex-Olympic Park
Utah hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Unlike a lot of the ex-Olympic venues, the park built for the event is still in use. Anyone can visit, and there are a lot of things to try, including the chance to bobsled down the original Olympic run, where you can get up to 70mph on ice, or 80pmh on wheels! Where else can you do that?
Five National Parks
Utah has five national parks in the state, all of which are well-worth seeing. These parks, called the Mighty Five, are unusual for parks in one state, as each one has completely unique geology and views, so they all have a character of their own. Visit Bryce Canyon for the bright red hoodoos. See the arches, or visit Zion for a rugged, rich mix of biodiversity and winding rivers.
Rivers And Mountains
Utah has some very diverse scenery, so you’ll never be bored. Stay near the edge of Zion National Park in Springdale, and you can take a helicopter ride to get an incredible view of the whole area. After you’ve seen Utah from above, you can take a stunning hike through the Narrows to see it from the other extreme. During the summer, you can traverse these wearing whatever you like, but in the winter, you will need a drysuit to do this. Getting deep into icy waters is not a good idea without the proper equipment and clothing. Many of the guided tours can take up to five hours, but it’s time well spent, and you’ll never forget the experience.
Sundance
The Sundance festival hasn’t been based in Sundance for quite a long time, but the Sundance Film Festival in Park City is still well worth a visit if you can find somewhere to stay. Sundance is hosted every Winter, and is America’s largest independent film festival. It also has the first showings of many of the movies that create a buzz. There are 200 screenings to choose from, as well as Q&As with directors, and many parties across the town. Park City is packed with restaurants, boutique stores, coffee shops, and bars, so there are lots of things to keep you busy in between film screenings.