People Who See Images of Utah Often Suggest They Were Enhanced.  Or Taken Elsewhere. 
But When You Come Here, You'll Soon Realize Those Images Are Real.

Soaring granite peaks.  Red slick-rock arches.  Turquoise-colored alpine lakes. 

Seemingly bottomless canyons that ... at least in your mind ... just maybe you were the first to see.

Ancient ruins.  Sandstone hoodoos.  Glistening salt flats as far as the eye can see.  In some people's minds, ideal to run fast cars on.

Overpowering landscapes.  Roaring trout streams.  Multi-hued other-worldly sunrises.  Even better sunsets. 

With easy access from anywhere in the world.

And The Best Snow On Earth!

That’s right.  Utah.  A land that beckons to be explored.  But ... now more than ever ... deserves protection.

A single state that embraces:

• 5 national parks
• 7 national monuments (depending on the latest political charade)
  
• 9 national forests
• 45 state parks.

Millions of people flock to Utah each year ... mingling and sometimes making friends with those who live here ... to revel in an unparalleled mix of world-class outdoor recreation.  

A short list includes:

• skiing
• snow-boarding
• mountain biking and cycling
• hiking
• sight-seeing
• fishing
• hunting
• golf
• photography
• four-wheeling
• ATV touring
• boating
• water-skiing

You can come here to enjoy any of them.  All of them.  Or none of them.  Many people come just to hang out.

Within Utah’s borders lie all or parts of the Rocky Mountains, the Wasatch Mountains, the Great Basin, the Colorado Plateau, and the Mojave Desert.

You can drive from desert to alpine mountain wilderness in less than an hour!  An unparalleled array of climate, terrain and color. 

Not spread over a continent but concentrated in a single state.

And what fantastic designs the elements ... rain, snow, ice, rain and gravity ... have sculpted out of Utah’s rock.

Utah is a place where deserts cover a third of the landscape.  Doesn't that seem crazy when so many people come here simply to ski?

But those deserts account for so many more of our visitors.  In fact, visitors to our deserts ... our national parks ... blow away the numbers who come here to ski.

The Great Salt Lake Desert west of Salt Lake City with concrete salt flats.  The Sevier ... part of the the Great Basin ... in the west central part of the state.

And the Escalante to the south.  One of the driest regions in the USA.  But with some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet.

One of the best winter playgrounds in the world.  Home of the hugely successful ... and memorable to those who experienced them ... 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

If you remember that time frame, things were very tense around the USA just after 9-11.  Walking through security in downtown Salt Lake City was unlike anything people in this country had ever seen.

But the Games were awesome.  Because of what we experienced when we got through those insane check-points.  And you know what?  We survived.

Utah is a land where that same winter moisture ... resulting in those amazing Games ... produces spring-time wildflower displays unequaled almost anywhere.  Just my biased opinion.

With fall color panoramas that take your breath away.  And just make you feel good.

Stretching over most of the southern and eastern sections of the state is the Colorado Plateau.  Broad tablelands etched with deep valleys and canyons.  Home of many Utah travel secrets.

The lonely Henry and La Sal Mountains.  Home of an amazing array of wildlife.  Far from the ski resorts of the north. 

And ... of course ... the nauseating, often depressing traffic and congestion of the Salt Lake City-Provo-Ogden metropolitan area.

This is where you can experience Utah’s world-famous redrock country.  Truthfully unlike anywhere else on earth.

As Wallace Stegner put it, “No region in America, and so far as I know in the world, has a comparable power to evoke from human beings such responses of surprise, delight, and, above all, awe.”

He was talking about Utah.

Of course, this has been both a blessing and a curse.  Blessed with vast natural resources that normally accompany such beauty.  But the curse of over-crowding, exploitation and development threatens the very existence of these lands. 

As do people continuing to pour in from other places and deciding to stay. It's an often bitter fight between those wanting to preserve them and those seeking to profit from them.

I've rewritten these words once again in 2023.  But they haven't changed much from those I wrote when I first started this site many years ago.

If you’ve been here ... or live here ... it’s not a secret to you.  Many Utahns ... and I use that term loosely ... would prefer no one else found out about the place they call home. 

As you might expect, the last person that arrives wants to be the one who closes the door behind them.  They want to keep many of the Utah travel secrets just that.  Secrets. 

Well, it's "too late baby" as Carol King put it many years ago.

I get it.  People are going to continue to come here to visit.  And they're going to come here to stay.  Just like I did.

Maybe I can ... even in a small way ... help people understand how to try to love and preserve this land.  No matter what else they believe. 

This online guide wasn’t created by a faceless corporation.  Or the state visitor's bureau.

No.  It was written by a long-time resident ... of more than 40 years ... who came here from Canada with no intention of staying long-term. But I’m still here.  Taking names.

Sure.  This guide will tell you about the usual tourist attractions in Utah.  But it’ll cover much more.  It'll reveal to you secrets and experiences resulting from my living, playing and traveling here for more than 40 years.

I’ve hunted and fished these lands.  Camped in them.  Photographed them. Hiked through them.  I've watched all the sports teams ... pro and college ... here for more than 40 years. 

My wife was born here.   Lived here all her life.  Her family goes back multiple generations. 

We've explored this state together for more years than I care to admit.  You'll see photos here.  Lots of them.  Photos will often tell a story far better than words.  But that depends on who's writing those words.

Of course,  there are well-known attractions that draw millions every year.  You'll discover those.

But there are few places left in this country where
you can still almost get away from it all like you can here!

Although I've got to sadly admit, it's becoming a lot harder than when I first wrote those words several years ago.

There are still wondrous sights that are virtually undiscovered. 

There used to be a somewhat universal lack of knowledge ... decreasing at a depressing rate ... about Utah’s wild areas. That used to be comforting to old guys like me.

Nonetheless, I know that change is inevitable.  The world's population isn't decreasing despite the best attempts of some people. 

And then we got this:

Fodors named Utah as their
#1 top worldwide destination for 2016!

Whoops!  I remember thinking to myself, "looks like we were just found out."

So what happened?  Contrary to Utah's ultra-conservative, one-party, one-religion, often-arrogant ruling elite, the state has evolved.

From a resource-based economy ... controlled by oligarchs ... to one far more dependent on job creators, entrepreneurs and visitors from other places.

So, what do you want to know?  If you don't find it here, ask me.  I'll do my best to get you the answer.

I'll try to give you the information you'll need in making a decision to visit this beautiful state.  And spend your hard-earned dollars (euros, bitcoin, etc.) here.

Maybe I can help you know before arriving what you want to see when you get here.  And what you want to do when you get here.

Perhaps you might just learn about a few of the Utah travel secrets you didn't know about before.  Or couldn't find anywhere else.  You might want to experience one or two of them.

And ... if you already live here ... maybe it'll kick you in the behind to also experience some of them.

Go ahead.  Explore this site.  Clink on the links that stir your interest.

The buttons to the left and along the top ... maybe over-kill (can I even say that now?) ... contain links to all major sections of Utah Travel Secrets.  The titles are pretty much self-explanatory. 

Visit and revisit my blog.  And ask for my FREE ebook.  I've been told it contains far too much info to be free.  100+ pages.

As this site and blog continue to grow and evolve, you'll find more updated Utah travel secrets as well as some entertaining stories and opinions.

If you ever lose your way in this site, simply hit the “Home” button and you’ll end up back on this page.  Or, to find your way around, visit the "Site Map" pages and enjoy your visit.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Wasatch Mountains

Lake Powell

Zion National Park

Arches National Park

Great Salt Lake

Monument Valley