Utah Vacation

Utah offers a wide variety of things to do while on vacation. Enjoy the art and cultural activities in Salt Lake City. Go Camping at Bear Lake Garden City. Challenge your skiing skills at Snowbird. For those that aren't much for outdoor activities, Utah comes to the rescue with some great shopping!

Interested in taking a vacation in Utah? Have some questions? Post them up!

Hi there!- I am looking for any general info about Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, And Zion. I am trying to plan a short trip in Utah (about 5 nights) and am not sure which of the 3 parks are best. I was also wondering how many miles it is between the parks. (maybe I can do all 3).

Any info would be great, like: Which trails are best, good campgrounds, must sees....ANYTHING! Thanks So much!

Originally Posted by JessicaAstra

Hi there!- I am looking for any general info about Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, And Zion. I am trying to plan a short trip in Utah (about 5 nights) and am not sure which of the 3 parks are best. I was also wondering how many miles it is between the parks. (maybe I can do all 3).

Any info would be great, like: Which trails are best, good campgrounds, must sees....ANYTHING! Thanks So much!

I'll let someone else talk about what to do at the parks cause I haven't been to any of them (yet), but I do know it's about a 2 hour drive from Zion (SW area of Utah) to Bryce and about a 6 hour drive from either of those parks to Arches National Park. Not sure if those distances mean you can do all three...hopefully! Otherwise it might be a good idea to stick with Zion and Bryce since they're only a couple hours apart and that way you can see two fo the three.

[d360]

I've been to both Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park and I really enjoyed the hike up Zions Slot Canyon. See the virtual tour link. The water can be very unpredictable so check out all the precautions but I'd recommend a day each one of these. Easy drive between them.. 5 nights will be a fine amount of time for these three.

I haven't been to Arches National Park but I'd love to hear your feedback when you return. Enjoy! Dan

[fahartle]

Bryce Canyon is unbeatable in my opinion. One of the best places in not just Utah but the entire West. Just gorgeous!!

[buzz]

Zion National Park is also a must see place and one of the well known Utah attractions boasting its beautiful scenery and vistas. Millions of tourists travel to this place to see the huge variety of plants and rare species including Mexican Spotted owl, Desert Tortoise and Willow Flycatcher. So, Zion National Park is a perfect tourist spot that doesn’t deserve to be missed.

[Western Road Trips]

Every one of those places are awesome and can be visited in sequence for a nice road trip if you have about a week, or three. If you are thinking about visiting strictly for a salt lake city vacation or will have some time here during a business trip, here's a few all day, partial day, and full day ideas within reasonable distance of Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake strikes an amazing balance between nature and culture with vibrant subcultures of people into active and artistic persuits across the spectrum. The ideas below reflect this.

Catch a free local summer concert in July and August. Every Monday night at Liberty Park is a different ethnic performance or The Gallivan plays a free outdoor movie. Every wednesday night are 4 local bands at the Gallivan Center. Every thursday night is a big name national performer at the Gallivan Center.

Picnic at 11,000 feet atop hidden peak via the Snowbird Tram. Get back down to your car via the tram, hiking trail, mountain bike, mountain scooter, or paraglider.

Liberty Park/Tracy Aviary- 900 south 600 east. Liberty park is eight square city blocks and features great paths for skating/biking and jogging that circle the rest of the park. There is a state of the art tennis facility, a pond with paddle boats, two play grounds, a play fountain that depicts the local mountains canyons, the Chase Home Museum, and Tracy Aviary. Go for a run or go for a picnic.

Gallery Stroll - the art scene in Salt Lake goes on display on the third friday of every month at galleries throughout the city. Pierpont and Broadway are good streets to start on.

Ditch the heat and go for a scenic drive up into Little or Big Cottonwood Canyon. Stop at one of the trailheads and go for a hike if you have the time. Other good scenic drives are the Alpine scenic loop, Mt. Nebo Scenic Loop, Mirror Lake Scenic byway. Find more on byways.org.

The Olympic Park in Kimball Junction is great for people like to watch and for people who like to try amazing things. ride a bobsled on wheels, freestyle ski jump into a pool of water, or zipline down the nordic ski jump. Or just have a good time watching others try.

Historic Temple Square and the surrounding complex are at the heart of Salt Lake City physically and historically. You can take a guided tour of the grounds and surrounding buildings but entrance to the temple itself is strictly for devout members of the mormon faith. This is the home of the mormon tabernacle which performs regularly free of charge. Next door is the family history museum where you can research your own roots.

Walk directly from the city into the mountains in City Creek Canyon. This canyon is just north east of downtown and is closed to vehicle traffic so it is great for a stroll or a roll. Start at memory Grove park and walk up as far as you like. There are hiking trails and picnic grounds in the upper canyon.

Hansen Planetarium has scientific exhibits and laser shows.

Discovery Gateway is pretty cool for people of all ages.

The rock climbing wall at ****'s Sporting goods at the Gateway is pretty impressive in size and reasonably priced to try. If you like that, head over to The Front, Rockreation, or Momentum, Salt Lake's local indoor climbing gyms. If you want to try climbing on real rock cliffs in the local mountains, call Exum Mountain Guides.

There are miles of trails around Salt Lake City. The Bonneville shorline trail traverses along the mountains right above town. There are trailheads at City Creek Canyon, in the Avenues, above the University of Utah, and near the zoo. This trail system goes up and down and is popular among mountain bikers, trail runners, and hikers alike. A few more good ones are trails are the pipeline trail, dog lake, and desolation lake trails at the top of Mill Creek canyon (some dog and bike restrictions apply on certain days). The little cottonwood trail and cecret lake trail (no bikes) are good in little cottonwood canyon and the Wasatch Crest Trail is a long ridge top jaunt at the peak of the wasatch.

Take a nice chairlift ride at Deer Valley then coast down through serene meadows and aspen forests or "huck" yourself off drops and pin it through rock gardens on the "fireswamp". repeat. This is lift accessed mountain biking. It is also available at Wolf Mountain, Park City, Snowbasin, Sundance, and Solitude.

There's some salt lake trip ideas. I hope you have a good time!