Utah's Most Spectacular National Reserves

In addition to including the largest proliferation of arches in the world (over 2,000 of them), Arches National Park is home to one of Utah’s most iconic landmarks: the ‘Delicate Arch‘. With dozens of scenic overlooks and trail-heads, a 40-mile scenic drive awaits, climbing up into a beautiful plateau with glimpses of far-off snowcap mountains.

Feel free to cater your trip to skill level or time frame: from hiking the longer routes such as ‘Double O Arch’ or ‘Tower Arch’, to going for an easier route such as the ‘Park Avenue Trail’ or anything in the ‘Window Section’. After hiking the maze of snaking trails through the scenic park or reserving a guided tour of the ‘Fiery Furnace’, stay in one of the parks nearby campgrounds (such as ‘Devil’s Garden Campground’) or visit the nearby town of Moab, rich with mountain biking trails if you’re looking for more adventure. Whether hiking, biking, backpacking, camping, canyonering, rock-climbing or photographing, come to bask in the unbelievable beauty created by nothing more than time and the movements of this great Earth.

Located in the south-east corner of Utah, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park sits in the heart of the Navajo Nation and stands as an icon of the American West. Often featured in Hollywood’s plethora of John Ford’s Westerns (including Stagecoach and the Searchers), the rugged and dramatic red landscape has become synonymous with the Old West. Monument Valley brims with culture, boasting the Goudling Film and Cultural History Museum in Goulding’s Lodge, The Dinosaur Museum in Blanding, Newspaper Rock National Historic Site, and the Bluff Fort Historic Site (displaying the legacy of trail-blazing settlers). Guided jeep tours also offer an alternative to hikes, in order to get up close and personal with Monument Valleys’ rugged and dramatic red giants. Wake up early to catch the sinuous shadows of the Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah’s first national monument), which houses three flowing-water-sculpted bridges, including ‘Sipapu’, the second-largest natural bridge in the world.

Deep canyons mirror the undulating waves of Utha’s Green and Colorado rivers, as the dips and curves separate to reveal towering mesas, pinnacles, spires and cliffs over a span of seemingly endless chalky, scarlet rock. This awe-inspiring park contains three distinct districts, making it the largest national park in Utah. Canyonlands encloses alluring natural solitude and millions of years of natural formations in its profuse red rock spires and sandstone fines of the Needles District, the jumble of stone and rock in its Maze district, and its views of curvaceous river banks from the Island in the Sky region.

The ‘Dead Horse Mesa Scenic Byway’ to the ‘Dead Horse Point State Park’ come acclaimed as must-sees, as they promise towering 2,000 foot views from above the winding Colorado River. Backpackers can hike the steep and strenuous White Rim, after spending the night in ‘White Rim’s’ campsite or the backcountry. For an easier route, traverse Grand View Point’s two mile loop to see lofty panoramas of the rivers. Or those more view-from-the-car inclined, can drive the 20 miles of paved roads, interlaced with striking views.