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Utah Travel

Francisco Coronado was Spain’s most rH ambitious conquistador, but even he had to admit defeat when it came to exploring Utah. In 1540 he reported to Mexico that the land north of the Grand Canyon was impenetrable desert unsuited to human habitation. For the next three centuries Utah largely remained a mysterious black hole on the North American continent. Not until 1843 did explorer John C. Fremont systematically survey the country “around which,” he wrote, “the vague and superstitious accounts of trappers had thrown a delightful obscurity.”

Fremont’s reports described a severe and forbidding land filled with “rivers and lakes which have no communication with the sea” and “savage tribes which no traveler has seen or described.” Thus forewarned, most American pioneers avoided the mountainous badlands. Those who entered, seeking a shortcut to California, soon wished they had not. Their suffering and misadventures became public lore through the lyrics of one of the West’s most popular songs, “Sweet Betsy from Pike”:

They came to the desert and salt water lakes,
The ground it was teemin’ with varmints and snakes,
Beset by wild Indians, Comanche and Sioux,
Tis a glorious tale how they ever got through!

Parry Lodge, Utah

My husband, Myles, and I are big fans of old Western movies and television shows. So when we planned a trip to Kanab, Utah, we had to stay at the 89-room Parry Lodge, where celebrities like John Wayne, Glen Ford and Roy Rogers stayed while filming Westerns.

Historic Cove Fort, Utah

When Utah was still a territory, with miles and miles of forbidding wilderness between settlements, Cove Fort provided a way station for travelers and their livestock.

Today, this historic site "in the middle of nowhere" provides a welcome respite for modern travelers--and a glimpse into our pioneer past.

Golden Spike National Historical Site, Utah

If you're passionate about trains and history, there's one place you absolutely must see: The Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory Summit, Utah, near the north end of the Great Salt Lake.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

MOST FOLKS know all about Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park. But virtually right next door, little-known Kodachrome Basin State Park offers red-rock formations that not even its more-popular neighbor can match.

Kodachrome Basin is known for its colorful sandstone spires called "sand pipes". Nearly 70 of them stand in the park, some soaring up to 170 feet tall, and geologists say you won't find them anywhere else.