Utah is one of the most majestic, awe-inspiring states and has been such an unexpected joy in my…read morelife - if you had told me 10 years ago that I'd be spending a significant part of my life in Utah I never would've believed you lol. Exploring Utah over the past 4-5 years has changed me - I have developed such a deep appreciation for the deserts and canyon lands that I used to vehemently dislike thanks to the Beehive State! Our 45th state is packed full of burnt orange cliffs and slot canyons, deep green rivers, towering multicolored mountains and hoodoos, unlimited arches and natural bridges, well preserved dinosaur footprints, and an insane amount of petroglyphs and pictographs dating back many thousands of years. I thoroughly enjoyed combing through my Utah photo collection from the past several years and I hope my pics will give you a sense of the vast land of adventure this state holds! When my son got out of the marines, he announced he was moving to Salt Lake City to go to college with his marine "brothers" - at the time I was absolutely devastated bc I thought he'd always live with me forever until the end of days (as I'm sure all mothers do LOL) - but he went off to make a life for himself with his newfound military bros (how dare he??!!!) His decision ended up being such a wonderful turn of events in all our lives - not only did it open up a whole new world of outdoor adventures and American history to explore, but it also brought so many wonderful people into our lives and given us a whole new branch of our family!! His military bros are the most fantastic people and their families have all become part of our family! The outdoor activities and wildlife are unparalleled- and the people are the kindest I've ever encountered. My son has utterly thrived in Utah and excelled at "The U" in his engineering major. This state will forever hold a special place in my heart! It's a hidden gem and I hope it stays that way - but I don't think it will bc apparently it's one of the fastest growing state in the US waaaa!! So I highly recommend visiting - but also please don't so it won't change LOL!!

Just Go (#10) We've…read morevisited the Great State of Utah many times over the years. This is an updated review. We love Utah because they have some of the most beautiful National Parks, which I mentioned extensively in my original review. We even revisited Bryce Canyon during Covid year (2020)... it was a great place to social distance ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Aside from these iconic national parks we also found some national monuments, landmarks and small towns to visit including Virgin Town. If passing by don't forget to stop at the Buffalo Trading Company and try their awesome buffalo burgers... and did you know that there is a real UP House located in the southwestern City of Herriman? You won't find Carl, Ellie and Russell here, though. This house isn't cartoon. Old Irontown (Cedar City) - located in the southern part of Utah Old Irontown is said to be the very first ghost town in Utah. What we found was an off-the-beaten trail that led to the historical part of Old Irontown and a charcoal kiln was one of the landmarks in the ghost town... no ghosts, just a bunch of fire ants! Yikes! Park City Historic Main Street - I was charmed by this popular historic mountain town. Lots of shops and restaurants, bars and breweries, entertainment, galleries, and nearby hotel and lodging. It was once a silver town and hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002. Reminded me of Virginia City in NV. Bonneville Salt Flats (Wendover) - this was cool! We drove here in 2020... can't practice anymore social distancing than being here at the Salt Flats. We drove a mile out from the west rest stop area and checked out this densely packed salt bed. I had no idea that Southern Utah was once a dinosaur stomping ground (no pun intended) and that inside the St George Dinosaur Discovery Site @ Johnson Farm is the original intact track surface. Thank you Great State of Utah... so much natural beauty! Review #1348 updated

Bill is a super chill guy that helped us get sorted out before heading out to kayak on the lake!…read moreThere's a big map of the lake that he showed us and gave us all the ins and outs. We ended up kayaking across the reservoir, Bill got some sick footage of us! We found some treasures on the banks, too. Great rates, great gear, great service, 100% recommend.

Though it was a bit confusing to find, and there was a bit of a search for staff, we ended up…read morehaving a great time. Bill was our guide, and he was very great at his "job". You can tell when someone enjoys what they do! I feel like we could've spent hours out on the water if it didn't get quite choppy with the wind trying to head back to the dock. We lucked out and it was just the 3 of us out on the water for the tour, me and my sweetie in a double canoe. Bill took pictures of us and while crunched in a canoe with a life vest isn't a flattering look for me, I certainly didn't care at the time. We even helped clean up the area with our haul of trash! The water was warm and we definitely wanted to return but the weather was rainy for the days after. We will return when we can! Thank you so much to Bill and Ken and Josh for such an experience!! It was worth it!! And Bill, you touched our hearts when you said you missed my dad (having only heard stories of him that day!).

There are 2 parking lots for the trail, either one of them is fine, no fee is required. First one…read morecomes with brief instructions and maps. It's easy hike with slow elevation. The petroglyphs site is on the rock side or right side, so stay on right side. It's about 3 miles round trip, expect one and half hour. It is fun to explore and search for petroglyphs since there is no signs or indications where these petroglyphs are located. The history of petroglyphs is not as old as I thought, it's about 800-1000 years old. Many petroglyphs are located on cliffs facing by the Santa Clara River. These petroglyphs include abstract and geometric patterns such as parallel lines, herringbone and patterns, as well as figurative patterns such as dancing people and goats. The petroglyphs have spiral patterns, which I think are in memory of their legend ancestor Spider Grandmother. And these dancing people may be worshiping the ancestor. There is a goat head painted very ethereal, it's so beautiful even looks like modern paintings. Although it is introduced that there is an organization-the Land Mountain Research and Conservation Foundation, dedicated to protecting these rock paintings. But these rock paintings are still in their original state, there are no monitoring measures to protect the wind and rain, and there are no markings on the location of the rock paintings. You have to climb up and down to find them. We encountered other tourists who lost their way in finding rock paintings. I truly hope significant measures to take to preserve and label these petroglyphs, maybe more academic research should be done to interpret them.

The Santa Clara River Trail System has an awesome trail which leads to petroglyphs. This trail is…read moreknown as Templ'po'op Petroglyph Trail and you can reach it from Anasazi Valley Trailhead. The trail is 2.9 miles long and takes you through the desert until you finally arrive to the petroglyphs. There are a lot of petroglyphs here which makes sense because Templ'po'op translates to rock writing. To see many of these petroglyphs you must climb around a bit. Some rocks had plenty of petroglyphs on them while some only had one or two drawings. There is really a lot of stuff to see here. On the way back there are some beautiful views. This is a very kid friendly hike. Even climbing around the rocks to see the petroglyphs felt safe.

Great tour company! They are now in Washington, UT not LA Verkin. Took the Toquerville Falls tour…read morewith Aiden, great guide and highly recommend!

We had a great ride with Aiden today. We had 3 vehicles and a great guide to lead us on a fun…read moreride. Great equipment and the integrated heads sets made for a great time had by all.

The Virgin River Pass on Interstate 15 holds a golden spot in my heart and mind. It is sometimes in…read moremy dreams. When in the area, I always stop, and pay, here.

We didn't stay we just drove through to check out the site…read more We used the bathrooms they were clean and the sites were clean this place is beautiful surrounded by the canyon. It was empty when we went but it was hot like in the high 90's

St. George park is up in the hills of this small-sized Mormon town, and yes indeed it was full of…read moreMormons. I guess they think it is in style to wear the same quiet blue-jeans (or blue jean skirt) with button up white shirts and short-cropped hair..the entire family of 10...weird. But anyway, the park itself had a pretty cool view of the town, which in itself seemed to have few redeeming qualities. The red rocks reminded me of the Garden of the Gods from my home town and overall it was a cool place to stop and have a drink and look at the slowly meandering semi-trucks in the background (illegally I might add...there is no glass (and of course no alcohol) allowed in park). But you know me: rebel to a T. If you are around the area, check it out. And if you want to get that first kiss, I couldn't think of a better overlook...just watch out for the Mormon popo's.

Chase was a great trail guide! Very knowledgeable and friendly. Horses so well trained. It was a…read morefun and challenging experience. Would definitely do it again.

Admittedly, I've gotten in to the show "Heartland" lately and I wanted to lean in to my western…read moreside a bit. In my opinion, the best way to do that is to take a nice trail ride with some real live cowboys-and that's just what we did! Booking online is easy and the follow up instructions are clear with perfect map instructions to arrive at the meet up location. I got a few text reminders too. Chase and Jake were our guides and they did a wonderful job of making us feel comfortable. The horses, Junior and Sugar, were well trained and fun to ride. I appreciate that our trail was not just flat-we got to go up and down hills a bit to get the full effect. I felt like a real cowgirl! ;-) They were telling us that in the summer, they do rides up in Pine Valley, which is an entirely different landscape. I'd love to come back and give that a try!

I love that they provide custom tours. This is the place to go for intimate, custom tours that are…read moregeared for your level of activity and capability. The tours don't make you feel like you are on a marathon survival excursion, but easy, safe and geared to whatever activity level. I like that you can choose no hike but still see amazing sites!