Top 5 Hiking Trails in Utah
- Zion Narrows
The world-famous Zion Narrows, located in Zion National Park, is among Utah’s most prominent treks. This is Zion Canyon’s thinnest point, where you may walk directly over the Virgin River between two 2,000-foot cliffs on each side. The canyon is only a few feet wide at its narrowest point, and there are several good swimming spots.
The Narrows can be hiked in a day via the Riverside Walk from the bottom to the top (no permission required, and you can turn around whenever you want), but I highly recommend doing it as an overnight camping trip where you can stay in one of the 12 secluded campsites. A permit and reservation are required for this hike.
- Landscape Arch
Landscape Arch is located on the Devils Garden route, 0.8 mile north of the main park road. Along the route, don’t miss the 0.5-mile spurs to Tunnel and Pine Tree Arches. As you make your way from the trailhead, you’ll pass through sandstone fins that stand on end like gigantic wedges.
The Entrada sandstone contains Tunnel Arch, which looks like a subway tunnel and is located high on a cliff. The meaty Pine Tree Arch, on the other hand, is encased in a bulbous frame with an open center. Look for the gnarled juniper that protrudes from the bottom of the window.
- Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
In Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Golden Cathedral is a stunning, lonely climb through red rock landscape that leads to an emerald lake grotto at the end of Neon Canyon. The sun shines through a hole in the vast ceiling during various times of the day, producing incredible lighting for photographs.
Arrive early and carry a headlamp, food, water, and other day-trip supplies because the Golden Cathedral Trail is a lengthy, strenuous climb that requires navigation. In 2014, I went on this hike and saw no one else the entire time!
- Snow Canyon State Park
Snow Canyon State Park, Utah’s lesser-known jewel, is a hidden gem. Beautiful landscape and a variety of intriguing attractions are crowded into a tiny space, making this a fantastic spot for hikers.
While many excellent hikes can be done on their own, the best hikes can be combined into a half-day trip. This multi-day hike takes you past lava tubes and fields of crumbling black lava, as well as waves of Navajo sandstone and petrified sand dunes, spectacular vistas, and lava tubes and fields of crumbling black lava.
- Chesler Park
The 11-mile Chesler Park Loop and Joint Trail is one of Canyonlands National Park’s most impressive but under-appreciated hikes.
The sceneries in the area are diverse, with towering fire-red stone spires, shorter red-stone pedestals capped with white mushroom-shaped points, slickrock, and open spaces that provide a glimpse of the local vegetation. Massive stones make little passageways and tunnels in certain places.