Best Utah Hikes, Natural Wonders, and Adventures

Utah is amazing! And there's still tons more stuff on my to-do list. 

Hikes

• Coyote Gulch Sneaker Route to Jacob Hamblin Arch - The rest of the gulch is great if you want a long hike, but the arch is the real wow factor.
• Delicate Arch (Arches NP)
• Landscape and Double O Arches (Arches NP)
• Angel's Landing (Zion NP)
• Zion Narrows (Zion NP)
• Queen's Garden Trail (Bryce Canyon NP)
• Navajo Loop (Bryce Canyon NP)
• Mesa Arch (Canyonlands NP)
• Golden Cathedral
• Corona Arch - Short, adventurous, scenic, and great payoff!
• Chesler Park Loop/Druid Arch (Canyonlands NP) - Beautiul and diverse, but a very long day.
• Lake Blanche -  Don't stop at the first lake, follow the flow to find cool waterfalls.
• Yant Flat - A short hike to a really cool view of colorful quilted rock above a canyon.
• Hickman Bridge (Capitol Reef NP)
• Red Reef Trail - Easy and pleasant hike into a water-carved canyon that doesn't always have water.
• Spring Creek Canyon - Not a destination hike, but if you can't get tickets to Kanarraville Falls then go here and see some pretty canyon sections.
• Grand Wash (Capitol Reef NP) - Flat stroll through a nice large canyon
• Moonshine Arch - Pleasant little hike to a nice arch

Slot Canyons

• Alcatraz - (rappel) - Challenging, varied, and beautiful
• Baptist Draw/Upper Chute - (rappel and clearance) - Lots of fun scrambling, long slot sections, and a really cool rappel. 
• Arsenic Canyon - (rappel) - Awesome opening series of three rappels (better done as one long rappel), cool slots and downclimbs and a very scenic climb out.
• Larry - (rappel) - Long, cool, even longer without a shuttle.
• Southern Baptist - (rappel and clearance) - Some very cool canyon but long walk out.
• Zero G - (clearance) - Did this without rope even though we brought one. Adventurous with a few crazy slots, downclimbs, and swims.
• Little Blue John - (rappel) - Short and sweet with some cool rappels.
• Ding and Dang Canyons - My first one so I love it. Fun scrambling and cool rocks.
• Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Canyons - Peekaboo is an AMAZING sculpture. Spooky is nice and tight with some scrambling.
• Black Hole of White Canyon - Bring a life jacket to swim through some smelly water, but it's a great adventure in a beautiful canyon.
• Yankee Doodle Canyon - (rappel) - A convenient little canyon that has a bit of everything.
• Leprechaun Canyon, Middle Fork - I went from the bottom up to avoid rappelling, but this canyon is shockingly tight. Challenging and cool.
• Hogwarts Canyon - (rappel) - Super short but packed with scenic rappels and features.
• Blarney Canyon, Left Fork - (rappel) - Nice little canyon with a cool rappel into a dark slot.
• Box Canyon of Maple Canyon - I don't know if this is technically a slot canyon, but it's tall and narrow with some fun scrambling.
• Bull Valley Gorge - Beautiful and impressive with fun downclimbs
• Zebra and Tunnel Slots - These two are really short and different from each other but cool.
• Moonshine Wash Canyon - A nice long loop with some good narrows and climby parts. Might have to hike a bit more without an offroady car.
• Crack Canyon - Cool rock carvings, small narrows sections, and fun climby bits.
• Willis Creek Slot Canyon - A pleasant walk through ever-deepening slot sections.
• Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyons - Some pretty sections, but lacks the adventurous feeling.
• Shillelagh Canyon - (rappel) - Nothing wrong with it, just a bit ho-hum compared to others nearby.
• Red Hollow Canyon - A real easy, short section of red rock slot for the family. Double the distance if you can climb up the first dry fall.
• Furniture Draw - Baby's first slot canyon.

Caves

• Timpanogos Cave National Monument - Beautifully decorated cave tour.
• Crystal Ball Cave - I've been to a LOT of show caves in the west, but this one has features I've never seen elsewhere. Not a ton of stalagmites, but you can't argue with a crystal ceiling. 
• Goblin's Lair (Goblin Valley State Park) - Like a beautifully lit cathedral, fun to climb into.
• Garner Cave - A small wild cave above Ogden that has some fun.
• Tabernacle Hill Lava Tubes - By Fillmore, one intact lava tube and one with skylights that leads to a cool totally collapsed section.
• Gandy Warm Springs - Nothing spectacular as a spring, but the little cave you can swim into is a cool and unique experience for the state.
• Mammoth Cave - A fun little lava tube exploration that even has a belly crawling section. Nearby Bower and Duck Ice Caves are poke-your-head-in small experiences.
• Bloomington Cave - Good if you want to crawl around and explore, but not much to see.

Waterfalls

• Kanarraville Falls - a pretty creek hike that turns into a slot canyon that turns into adventurous falling water. So good, but tickets for 3 people already cost more than a national park entrance fee. Sheesh.
• Bridal Veil Falls - No hiking, just park! Very pretty.
• Bullion Falls - Cool falls and hike
• Adams Canyon - In Layton, a very pretty alpine canyon with a decent waterfall at the top.
• Stewart Falls - Tall falls, nice hike
• Grotto Falls - Nice easy hike, pretty.
• Rocky Mouth - In Sandy, short and sweet with a cool little waterfall in some rocks.
• Upper Falls - Hey it's a waterfall.
• Hidden Falls - Nice little waterfall just a hop from the parking lot.
• Water Canyon - Small waterfall in a cool canyon feature.
• Cascade Falls - Not an impressive waterfall by itself, but a very scenic hike and the fall comes out of a cave!

Scenic Views - These places don't really require a hike, just stroll from your car and look!

• Dead Horse Point State Park
• Cedar Breaks National Monument
• Grand View Point (Canyonlands NP)
• Gooseneck State Park
• Inspiration & Sunset Points (Bryce Canyon NP)
• Natural Bridge (Bryce Canyon NP)
• Mirror Lake
• Monument Valley - can see a lot from the road, but the paid views are pretty good too.
• Singing Canyon
• Little Grand Canyon Overlook
• Head of the Rocks Overlook
• Brian Head Peak - Drive right to the top of an 11,000 ft mountain.
• Gooseneck Viewpoint (Capitol Reef NP)
• Temple of the Sun and Moon (Capitol Reef NP) Some clearance, probably don't need 4wd.

Water Adventures - Most of these warrant boats/kayaks for a full experience! I don't like boating for it's own sake, my preferred bodies of water gotta have a little something extra.

• Rainbow Bridge National Monument - A great boat ride through Lake Powell and giant arch!
• Sand Hollow State Park - Paddle over to Sand Hollow Island to play on the red rock!
• Causey Reservoir - Go down the east arm for nice cliff views and jumping!
• Ogden River - Float beautiful nature in the heart of town.
• Homestead Crater - Maybe the coolest natural swimming pool ever.
• Flaming Gorge - Super beautiful cliffs
• Green River - The section that starts at the Flaming Gorge dam is beautiful with several rapids
• Colorado River - Just east of Moab, raft a few rapids, see a lot of scenery
• Weber River, Henefer to Taggert - it's pretty, it's convenient, it's much fun.
• Cathedral in the Desert - another of the many great places to explore in Lake Powell. Pair it with the impressive La Gorce arch. Lost Eden and Moki Canyons are also pretty drives.
• Gunlock State Park - Not the most scenic reservoir, but at low water levels there's (formerly) red rock to paddle around and cliff jump, and at high levels the drainage makes waterfalls.
• Bear Lake - A big beautiful natural lake (a Utah rarity) with probably the best beach in the state (technically the Idaho side).
• Sevier River - The section just north of Marysvale has convenient floating and rapids sections.
• Virgin River - You can tube this outside the park. Not extremely scenic or exciting, but nice.

Nature Areas - These places aren't really hikes, more like natural playgrounds. Good for kids!

• Fantasy Canyon - Mind blowing rock formations out in the middle of nowhere.
• Goblin Valley State Park - Welcome to the surface of Mars! So cool with great stargazing.
• Devil's Garden - Pictured above, it's like a natural Bedrock City.
• Double Arch/Windows (Arches NP) - Some great huge arches open for the exploring.
• Sand Arch (Arches NP) - A red-rock-enclosed shady area with a cool sandy floor.
• Hobbit Caves - Idyllic play area in Logan Canyon with a small stream, waterfall, and several tiny caves.
• St. George Narrows - Practice your red rock scrambling skills in a fun area that includes a short, super narrow slot canyon.
• Cascade Springs - A beautiful small boardwalk area with a natural alpine spring flowing into little pools and falls.
• Mushroom Rock -  Cool round erosion features for kids to play in, but a little trashed by partying locals.
• Little Egypt - Good if you want a small taste of Goblin Valley, but the real thing is much better.

Petroglyphs 

• Nine Mile Canyon - Lots of cool panels if you can find them
• Newspaper Rock (Canyonlands NP) - Pictured above
• Parowan Gap - Petroglyphs in a big rock feature
• Buckhorn Wash 
• Rochester Rock Art - Pretty cool panel and walk to it
• Petroglyph Slot (Snow Canyon SP) - Might have to negotiate a fence, but it's a cool red rock mazey area with petroglyphs found in tight canyons
• McConkie Ranch - Some interesting art after a short hike up

Mountain Biking

• Sardine Peak Loop - Hard climb, cool views, fun descent
• Brim Trail/Paper Airplane - Brim is gorgeous and not hard, but Paper Airplane has a cool sculpture on it. Maybe just do the whole Powder Mountain loop.
• Bearclaw Poppy - Lots of cool features.
• The Farm - Nicely made downhill/jump course.
• Cutler's Twist - Cool little trail in a pretty loop.
• JEM Trail - Fast downhill fun.
• Practice Loop/Lost World - At Three Peaks Rec Area, fun rocks and bridges.

Off-Roading 

• St. George - The area just south of Sand Hollow is amazing with dunes, rock crawling, trails and views.

Honorary Utah - Technically these are in other states, but they're just across the border and really seem like they belong to Utah.

• Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ - The most beautiful (not necessarily adventurous) slot canyon ever
• Great Basin National Park, NV- Home to a wonderful cave and beautiful alpine scenery
• Minnetonka Cave, ID - A nice little cave tour
• Bloomington Lake, ID - Rope swing, cliff jumping, beautiful water, awesome alpine setting, this lake has it all.
• Paris Ice Cave, ID - A fun little stop with some ice formations.
• Glitter Mountain, AZ - A small mine with scads of crystal pieces laying around for the taking. Very fun for kids, but be sure to follow the posted rules.
• Devil's Gate Slot Canyon, NV - This super short slot canyon may not be worth risking a non-off-road vehicle, but it's cool that it's a different kind of stone than most slot canyons.
• Cathedral Gorge State Park, NV - Just across the border is a fun playground of little caves and slot canyons in a cool erosion feature.