I’ve visited Utah three times. May 2012, June 2018 and September 2024. I’ve detailed the highlights below.
May 2012: Flew into Denver and drove to Moab. We did this just to catch a Braves vs Rockies game in Denver. It’s faster to drive from Salt Lake (3hr 45min vs 5hr 25min)
The following are day trips from Moab:
Arches National Park:
Luckily I have always kept detailed records of all my hikes but I had to dig deep in the archives for these. We spent two days at Arches and did the following hikes. I’ve included pics of my original gps hike tracker that shows details and timing. We did Devil’s Garden and Delicate Arch. As always I’d advise getting there early but especially here because it gets very hot and obviously there is little shade.
Devil’s Garden Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/devils-garden-loop-trail-with-7-arches?sh=sxlnu6
Delicate Arch Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/delicate-arch-trail?sh=sxlnu6
On a different day, tried out mountain biking near Moab at Bar M trails. My first and only time mountain biking. It was actually quite fun, but I’m just not a confident cyclist. I’ve linked the trail info below. I noticed it was rated as “easy” but my memory objects.
Bar M trails
Bar M Loop Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/bar-m-loop-trail?sh=sxlnu6
⬆️ View from the mountain bike trails
Canyonlands National Park: We decided to see as much as possible so we rented a jeep and did a 4×4 tour. Definitely requires a skilled driver but this was an adventurous way to see most of the park. I’ve linked the AllTrails Jeep track below.
3D Jeep OHV Route on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/3d-jeep-ohv-route?sh=sxlnu6
June 2018 Trip—
Flew in and out of Salt Lake City: here for a conference so only had time to do two hikes and visit Antelope Island in the Great Salt Flats.
My favorite hike was Lake Blanche. Gorgeous alpine lake. I did this the day I landed and probably should have acclimated to the elevation first. It was a pretty hard hike at 7 miles with 2800 feet elevation gain but the views were absolutely worth it.
Lake Blanche Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/lake-blanche-trail?sh=sxlnu6
The next morning did a sunrise hike at Donut Falls before the conference.
Donut Falls Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/donut-falls-trail?sh=sxlnu6
One evening, caught sunset at Antelope Island State Park: it takes about an hour to get there from Salt Lake City and is the largest island within the Great Salt Lake
This was a highlight of the trip and the scenery reminded me a lot of mainland Greece.
Downtown Salt Lake was nice and well-organized. Walking around the city was a workout in itself with all the hills. Here are a few photos from the Capitol.
September 2024 trip—
Flew into Salt Lake City a day earlier than a work event in Park City.
We did sunrise at Lake Blanche because I loved it so much the last trip and it is only about 15 minutes from Salt Lake City in the Wasatch mountain range. We caught the sun just as it was peaking over the mountains and it was spectacular. The trail felt much easier without the heat and having a night to acclimate to the altitude. Here is the trail link again.
Lake Blanche Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/lake-blanche-trail?sh=sxlnu6
As others mentioned in the AllTrails reviews, a moose was right on the trail. ⬆️
The trail varies in landscape but walking thorough the aspens was a highlight
The steep rock scramble leading to the lake ⬆️
Twin Peak viewpoint
We had to be back at the airport early afternoon to get to Park city but he had enough time to walk the Ensign Peak overlook where you can see the entire city with the Wasatch mountains as a back drop.
Ensign Peak Trail and Overlook on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/ensign-peak-trail-and-overlook?sh=sxlnu6
Unfortunately we did not have much time to explore Park City. And while we didn’t have too much time for hiking, we did sneak off for this one which started from the hotel. If you start at the St. Regis, you have to climb 541 feet up the ski slope to the trail head
Deer Crest Outlook vis Summer View Drive on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/outlook–2?sh=sxlnu6
We stayed at the St. Regis Deer Valley which had very lovely views from our balcony as well as the rest of the property.
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/slcxr-the-st-regis-deer-valley/overview/
Looking forward to more trips to Utah to maybe explore Bryce and Zion in the future. Feel free as always to reach out with questions or if I can help you plan a trip!
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