Utah

Parks

  • National Park

    Arches

    Moab, UT

    Discover a landscape of contrasting colors, land forms, and textures unlike any other. The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive rock fins, and giant balanced rocks. This red-rock wonderland will amaze you with its formations, refresh you with its trails, and inspire you with its sunsets.

    Double O Arch

  • National Park

    Bryce Canyon

    Bryce Canyon, UT

    Hoodoos (irregular columns of rock) exist on every continent, but here is the largest concentration found anywhere on Earth. Situated along a high plateau at the top of the Grand Staircase, the park's high elevations include numerous life communities, fantastic dark skies, and geological wonders that defy description.

    Bryce Canyon Amphitheater

  • National Historic Trail

    California

    Various States CA,CO,ID,KS,MO,NE,NV,OR,UT,WY

    Follow in the footsteps of over 250,000 emigrants who traveled to the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s: the greatest mass migration in American history. The California National Historic Trail is over 5,000 miles long and covers portions of 10 states. Step into history along more than 1,000 miles of ruts and traces from travelers and their overland wagons.

    Chimney Rock was an important emigrant landmark in western Nebraska

  • National Park

    Canyonlands

    Moab, UT

    Canyonlands invites you to explore a wilderness of countless canyons and fantastically formed buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Rivers divide the park into four districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the rivers themselves. These areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, but each offers different opportunities for sightseeing and adventure.

    Spires of Cedar Mesa sandstone in Chesler Park (Needles District)

  • National Park

    Capitol Reef

    Torrey, UT

    Located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country, Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles.

    Strike Valley and the Waterpocket Fold

  • National Monument

    Cedar Breaks

    Cedar City, UT

    Crowning the Grand Staircase, Cedar Breaks sits at over 10,000 feet and looks down into a half-mile deep geologic amphitheater. Come wander among timeless bristlecone pines, stand in lush meadows of wildflowers, ponder crystal-clear night skies and experience the richness of our subalpine forest.

    Cedar Breaks amphitheater

  • National Monument

    Dinosaur

    Vernal, Utah & Dinosaur, Colorado, CO,UT

    150 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed here. Their fossils are still embedded in the rocks. Today, mountains, desert, and rivers flowing in canyons support a variety of life. Petroglyphs reveal the lives and connections of Indigenous people to this land. Homesteaders and outlaws found refuge here. Whether your passion is science, adventure, history, or scenery, Dinosaur offers much to explore.

    Camarasaurus skull still embedded in the quarry face

  • National Recreation Area

    Glen Canyon

    Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ,UT

    Encompassing over 1.25 million acres, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based & backcountry recreation. The recreation area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history.

    From Alstrom Point you can see Gunsight Butte, Padre Bay, and Navajo Mountain

  • National Historical Park

    Golden Spike

    Brigham City, UT

    One of the greatest technological achievements of the 19th century is the completion of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States. Visitors to the park can see the location of the Last Spike Site, 1869 railroad construction features, walk or drive on the original railroad grade, and get an up close view of Victorian era replica locomotives.

    Promontory Summit, UT Last Spike Site

  • National Monument

    Hovenweep

    Blanding, Utah & Cortez, Colorado, CO,UT

    Hovenweep preserves six prehistoric sites built between A.D. 1200 and 1300 which may have served as ceremonial centers. Explore a variety of structures, including multistory towers perched on canyon rims and balanced on boulders. The construction and attention to detail will leave you marveling at the skill and motivation of the builders.

    Architectural details from the Holly Site

  • National Historic Trail

    Mormon Pioneer

    Various States IL,IA,NE,UT,WY

    Explore the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail across five states to see the 1,300-mile route traveled by Mormons who fled Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1846-1847.

    Martin's Cove at Devil's Gate in Wyoming

  • National Monument

    Natural Bridges

    Blanding, UT

    Three majestic natural bridges invite you to ponder the power of water in a landscape usually defined by its absence. View them from an overlook, or hit the trails and experience their grandeur from below. Declared a National Monument in 1908, the bridges are named "Kachina," "Owachomo" and "Sipapu" in honor of the Ancestral Puebloans who once made this place their home.

    Owachomo Bridge

  • National Historic Trail

    Old Spanish

    AZ,CA,CO,NV,NM,UT

    Follow the routes of mule pack trains across the Southwest on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. New Mexican traders moved locally produced merchandise across what are now six states to exchange for mules and horses.

    Red Rock Country, pack mules, Gunnison River

  • National Historic Trail

    Pony Express

    Various States CA,CO,KS,MO,NE,NV,UT,WY

    It is hard to believe that young men once rode horses to carry mail from Missouri to California in the unprecedented time of only 10 days. This relay system along the Pony Express National Historic Trail in eight states was the most direct and practical means of east-west communications before the telegraph.

    Three men on brown horses walk up a sagebrush covered ridge.

  • National Monument

    Rainbow Bridge

    Rainbow Bridge National Monument, UT

    Rainbow Bridge is one of the world's largest known natural bridges. The span has undoubtedly inspired people throughout time--from the neighboring Native American tribes who consider Rainbow Bridge sacred, to the thousands of visitors from around the world who visit it each year. Please visit Rainbow Bridge in a spirit that honors and respects the cultures to whom it is sacred.

    As you approach the viewing area from the docks, Rainbow Bridge peeks out from behind the cliffs.

  • National Monument

    Timpanogos Cave

    American Fork, UT

    The visitor center, caves, and cave tours are closed for the 2024 season. Hike your way past stunning vistas to explore a hidden underground world. Taste the thrill of caving as you twist and bend to enter beautifully decorated rooms. Learn the science behind formations and hear stories of cave exploration and preservation. Experience and discover as you go – geologic mysteries await

    A water drop clings onto the edge of a orange stalactite, surrounded by white stalactites.

  • National Park

    Zion

    Springdale, UT

    Follow the paths where people have walked for thousands of years. Gaze up at massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red that soar into a brilliant blue sky. Experience the tall, stretching walls of a narrow slot canyon. Zion’s unique array of plants and animals will enchant you as you absorb the rich history of the past and enjoy the excitement of present-day adventures.

    Temples and Towers of the Virgin

By The Numbers

These numbers are just a sample of the National Park Service's work. Figures are for the fiscal year that ended 9/30/2020.