The Parks of Utah

Antelope Island State Park is a beautiful park and recreation area on a 42-square mile island in the Great Salt Lake. The largest of ten islands in the lake, Antelope Island State Park lies in the southeastern portion of the lake near Salt Lake City and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels. The lake has extremely salty that do not support fish but is home to large numbers of brine shrimp which attract a variety of waterfowl, making for excellent bird-watching. Antelope Island is renowned for its scenic beauty with majestic mountains and rolling hills, pristine beaches, and shimmering waters, particularly at Buffalo Point and White Rock Bay. Activities in the park include swimming, sunbathing, kayaking, canoeing, bird and wildlife watching, visiting the historic Fielding Garr Ranch, horseback riding and photography.

Antelope Island State Park, 4528 West 1700 South, Syracuse, Utah 84075, Phone: 801-773-2941, Map

Arches National Park is a national park next to the Colorado River just north of Moab that features more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-renowned Delicate Arch. The aptly named park spans 76,679 acres also boasts a wealth of significant geological resources and formations, hoodoos, gargoyles, craggy sandstone towers and turrets, and spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding wilderness and distant snowcapped mountains.

A notable feature in the park is Landscape Arch, which measures 306 feet with the second-longest span in the world. Activities in the park include exploring the Visitor’s Center which features a wealth of information on the history of the area and the formation of the unique arches, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, scenic drives, camping, and photography.

Moab, Utah 84532, Phone: 435-719-2299, Map

Bear Lake State Park is set along the shores of Bear Lake on the Idaho border and features three recreation areas, namely East Side, Bear Lake Marina, and Rendezvous Beach. Formed 28,000 years ago by earthquake activity and resting at an elevation of 5,923 feet, Bear Lake is 20 miles long and eight miles wide covers 112 square miles and offers a wealth of family-friendly activities and watersports. Renowned for its striking green-blue waters which are the result of calcium carbonates suspended in the lake, the lake provides land and water-based activities all year round from swimming, boating, fishing, kayaking and waterskiing to hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, picnicking and camping.

Bear Lake State Park, 940 N Bear Lake Blvd, Garden City, UT 84028, Phone: 435-946-3343

Romantic Utah Parks

Bryce Canyon National Park is a sprawling reserve in southern Utah that is famous for its crimson-colored, spire-shaped rock formations known as hoodoos, which are formed by frost weathering and stream erosion, as well as other unusual geological formations.

Bryce Canyon is the main feature of the park, which is a collection of several giant natural amphitheaters found along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Spanning 35,835 acres, the park has several excellent lookout points, including Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point, and Bryce Point, which offers great photographic opportunities, with prime viewing times at sunrise and sunset. Activities in the park include hiking, backpacking, camping, scenic driving, stargazing, and cross-country skiing in the winter.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Unnamed Road, Bryce, Bryce, Utah 84764, Phone: 435-834-5322

Famed for its dramatic desert landscapes carved by the Colorado River, the southeastern Utah preserve of Canyonlands National Park is home to breathtaking rock formations, remote canyons, and towering rock pinnacles. Notable features in the park include the huge, flat-topped mesa with panoramic overlooks known as Island in the Sky, the remote canyons of the Maze, the white-water rapids flowing through Cataract Canyon, the soaring pinnacles known as the Needles, Horseshoe Canyon’s Native American rock painting.

Canyonlands National Park is a popular recreational destination offering a wealth of activities such as hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, camping, climbing, four-wheel driving, kayaking, canoeing, and white-water rafting.

Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Phone: 435-719-2313

Located in Utah's south-central desert and surrounding a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles known as the Waterpocket Fold, Capitol Reef National Park spans 378 square miles and boasts some spectacular landscapes of golden sandstone, beautiful canyons, and striking rock formations.

Notable features in the park include the Hickman Bridge arch, the Chimney Rock pillar, the white sandstone domes of Capitol Reef, and the towering monoliths of Cathedral Valley in the north. Capitol Reef National Park offers a variety of activities such as hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, camping, climbing, stargazing, and ranger programs.

Capitol Reef National Park, Torrey, UT 84775, Phone: 435-425-3791, Video

Family-Friendly Utah Parks

Cedar Breaks National Monument is a natural amphitheater, three miles in diameter and over 2,000 feet deep with a rim elevation of over 10,000 feet above sea level. Tucked away in the mountains above Cedar City, the U.S. National Monument boasts a variety of interesting things to see and do from high elevation camping and excellent hiking trails to groves of ancient trees and out-of-this-world views along the Circle of Painted Cliffs. Cedar Breaks’ majestic amphitheater is situated on the western edge of the Markagunt Plateau and provides spectacular photographic opportunities, while a modern campground located on the edge of an alpine meadow in the dark-sky park is the best place for astral viewing and stargazing.

Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT-143, Brian Head, UT 84719, Phone: 435-586-9451 or 435-586-0787

Dead Horse Point State Park is a state park near Moab that covers 5,362 acres (2,170 ha) of breathtaking desert landscapes and dramatic panoramic vistas of the Canyonlands National Park and the Colorado River. Named after a natural corral by cowboys in the 19th century, where horses often died of exposure, Dead Horse Point rests 2,000 feet above a gooseneck in the Colorado River and features several incredible overlooks, picnic areas, a campground, visitor’s center and a 9-mile (14 km) loop hiking trail. The park also features a mountain bike trail called Intrepid Trail with loops of varying levels of difficulty and is famous for being featured in the final 'Grand Canyon' scene of the 1991 film Thelma & Louise.

Dead Horse Point State Park, 1594 W. North Temple, Suite 116Salt Lake City, Utah

Located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains at the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers, Dinosaur National Monument is a United States National Monument that preserves a treasure trove of fossils in the area. Located on the Utah border with Colorado, Northeastern Utah’s dinosaur legacy comes to life in the park with a variety of activities to enjoy from touring the dinosaur quarry which features an array of ancient bones and fossils, hiking the nature trails, heading on driving tours around the park, white-water river running, backpacking, fishing, mountain biking, bird-watching and photography. Dinosaur National Monument is also a dark park, offering some of the best stargazing and astral viewing in the state.

Dinosaur National Monument, 11625 E 1500 S, Jensen, UT 84035, Phone: 970-374-3000

Located in the Clear Creek Canyon in Sevier County, Fremont Indian State Park and Museum is a state park that preserves and protects the archaeological remains of the Fremont culture. Opened in 1987, the park features a museum that preserves treasures from the site, including arrowheads, baskets, and pottery, as well as informative exhibits and a film about the Fremont Indian village that was uncovered, hands-on activities, and guided rock art tours. There are several hiking trails around the park as well as two campgrounds, Castle Rock Campground, and Sam Stowe Campground.

Fremont Indian State Park, 3820 Clear Creek Canyon Rd, Sevier, UT 84766, Phone: 435-527-4631