National parks in Utah

the fossilized skull of camarasaurus dinosaur

100ESSENTIAL NPS Photo / Dan Johnson

National Monument · CO

Dinosaur National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument is one of the most underrated free parks in the American West, and that perfect experience score is earned honestly.

Woman raises her arms while standing in front of a sandstone butte

100ESSENTIAL NPS Photo / T Sigmon

National Recreation Area · AZ

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Glen Canyon is essentially a 1.25-million-acre outdoor resort anchored by Lake Powell, one of the largest reservoirs in the country.

A red rock landscape and plateau forest glows with the morning sun

90ESSENTIAL NPS Photo / Peter Densmore

National Park · UT

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon punches well above its size.

a broad stone arch with rock pinnacles in the distance

90ESSENTIAL NPS/Neal Herbert

National Park · UT

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands is one of the most genuinely wild places in the American national park system, and it demands respect for that wildness.

Wingate Sandstone cliffs behind historic barn and farmhouse

90ESSENTIAL NPS Photo

National Park · UT

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef is the Utah canyon park that rewards people who actually show up.

A triangular sandstone mountain overlooks green and yellow foliage. A cloudy blue sky is overhead.

90ESSENTIAL NPS/Shane Carte

National Park · UT

Zion National Park

Zion is one of the most visited parks in the country for good reason: the sheer scale of its red and cream sandstone canyon walls is genuinely arresting, and the activity roster runs from lazy shuttle rides to serious canyoneering.

The ground falls away from the viewer creating brilliant rock formations of pink, red, and orange.

86ESSENTIAL NPS Photo

National Monument · UT

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Cedar Breaks punches well above its modest $10 entry fee.

A crowd of people sit and watch the sunset at delicate arch.

84EXCELLENT NPS/Veronica Verdin

National Park · UT

Arches National Park

Arches delivers something genuinely rare: a landscape so geologically improbable it feels staged.

Two replica victorian age steam locomotives face each other on the original railroad grade

64WORTH IT NPS Photo

National Historical Park · UT

Golden Spike National Historical Park

Golden Spike is a genuinely singular American history site, the exact spot where two railroad crews met in 1869 to complete the transcontinental railroad.

A white canvas wagon sits in front of a large rock buttress with mountains in the distance.

62WORTH IT NPS Photo

National Historic Trail · CA

California National Historic Trail

This is not a park you visit so much as a history you inhabit across a 5,000-mile corridor.

Red cliffs line a highway as seen from a high point with grass in the foreground.

62WORTH IT NPS photo

National Historic Trail · IL

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail

This is not a trail you hike end to end on a Tuesday afternoon.

A rider in a red vest on a horse in a grassy patch surrounded by sagebrush with clouds in the sky.

61WORTH IT NPS photo

National Historic Trail · CA

Pony Express National Historic Trail

The Pony Express Trail is less a destination than a framework for a road trip across the American interior.

a natural bridge at night with the Milky Way arcing overhead

53NICHE NPS Photo / Jacob W. Frank

National Monument · UT

Natural Bridges National Monument

Natural Bridges punches above its modest entry fee with three genuinely massive stone bridges carved by water in a desert that looks like it has never seen rain.

52NICHE NPS

National Historic Trail · AZ

Old Spanish National Historic Trail

The Old Spanish National Historic Trail is less a destination than a framework, a 2,700-mile spine connecting museums, scenic roads, and trailheads across six states that trace the old mule-pack trading routes between Santa Fe and Los Angeles.

a stone structure at night with the Milky Way arcing overhead

51NICHE NPS Photo / Jacob W. Frank

National Monument · CO

Hovenweep National Monument

Hovenweep is a genuinely undervisited monument where Ancestral Puebloan towers perch on canyon rims and boulders with an almost theatrical drama.

A large sandstone arch - a natural bridge.

49NICHE NPS Photo / Scott Dowd

National Monument · UT

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Rainbow Bridge is a genuine geological marvel, one of the largest natural bridges on Earth, and getting there is half the experience.

Twisty helictites growing off a stalactite

36NICHE NPS/Ryan R Maurer

National Monument · UT

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Timpanogos Cave is a genuinely rewarding but physically demanding half-day monument.