My family and I went a road trip to Utah the first week of July (how it’s already been two months is beyond me). I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was the best family vacation of all time! Here’s why: Utah is unbelievably pretty. Like out-of-this-world, surely-I-am-on-a-Star-Wars-planet beautiful. Today, I’m sharing how we explored Utah’s beauty ourselves.
To the Destination
We drove (yes, we drive everywhere). Since it was roughly 20 hours to our destination, we split it in two legs. We left around 6 or 7 am (CT) Thursday morning and arrived at our hotel in Cheyenne, WY around 10 pm (MT). We had about 6 hours to go on Friday. I don’t have much to say about our drive there, except that my brother Joey and I made a bomb road trip playlist, I read two books, and got hooked on Netflix’s original series Sweet Magnolias.
Antelope Island--Great Salt Lake--Salt Lake City
Our vacation was divided by two locations: Sandy, which is just outside of Salt Lake City, and Panguitch, a little town neighboring Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. In both places, we stayed at amazing Airbnbs, which I’ll review in a bit.
We spent the Fourth of July in the great outdoors at Antelope Island State Park and the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Antelope Island is the largest of the ten Great Salt Lake islands. It was named by John C. Fremont, who mapped the land in 1843 and survived off pronghorn (antelope) during another trip in 1845. To kick off our outdoor adventure, we hiked Buffalo Point Trail. It was incredible! Utah’s landscape is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Next, we floated in the Great Lake Salt at Bridger Bay Beach. The water is gross, since it’s full of brine shrimp and brine flies, but you know what they say – you only float in the Great Salt Lake once. The cool water felt great under the sweltering sun. We also drove around the island, looking for bison, and we spotted a handful.
The Bonneville Salt Flats, which is a salt pan left over from Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, are hands down Utah’s most unique feature. It was about an hour drive from Antelope Island down I-80. It’s a desolate, bright white landscape that’s straight out of Star Wars (not the first time I thought that while in Utah). Walking and driving on the flats was scary at first because we kept thinking it was ice! The desert goes on for miles, salty ground as far as the eye can see, save for a few mountains.
Afterwards, we had a two-hour drive back to our Airbnb, but even that was amazing. A gorgeous orange sunset behind us, majestic purple mountains ahead of us with a full moon, fireworks shooting off everywhere, a killer playlist – all the proper elements of an indie coming-of-age film.
Our Airbnb in Sandy was the bottom level of our host’s house, to which we had private access through the back patio. The whole place was incredibly spacious for the four of us. It has two bedrooms, open kitchen/living room set-up, one and a half baths, a patio with a spectacular view of the mountains, and an inground heated pool. Our hosts, Don and Deanna, were helpful and friendly! They offered great advice on things to do in the area. The décor was super cute; I was obsessed with this giant map they had on their wall. They also had goats, chickens, and ducks on their property!
The next and last day at our first location was spent in downtown Salt Lake City. Traveling during a pandemic limited much of what we could do, but we still enjoyed our time. We got a free walking tour of the Mormon Temple (which was under construction, unfortunately) and ate Döner at Spitz. I hadn't had Döner over well over a year, so I was thrilled to find that gem.
One of my bucket list items is to visit all 50 state capitols, so we swung by the capitol building. We also visited the Utah Jazz arena, which had cool statues of John Stockton and Karl Malone. SLC is a beautiful city, though much smaller than I expected. I can’t wait to go back one day!
Nebo Loop--Panguitch
We took the long way – on purpose – to our next destination via the Mount Nebo Loop. It’s a 38-mile scenic byway that takes you through the Wasatch Mountains, climbing over 9,000 feet in elevation. The loop has plenty of outlooks to stop and enjoy the view, which we did several times. The best one gives you a look at Mount Nebo, the highest peak in the Wasatch range at towering 11,928 feet.
We arrived at our Airbnb in Panguitch in the late evening. The converted trailer home was the cutest place. It was colorful and homey. This location had a spacious game room with a trundle bed, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, open kitchen/living room set-up, and a front patio. Our host Doug was also helpful and kind! We did have trouble with key code lock, but that can mostly be attributed to user error.
Tuesday was a day to relax. We slept in and enjoyed the afternoon at Lake Panguitch. I read Fairest by Gail Carson Levine while my dad fished, and my mom and brother took a walk. The lake was too cold to swim, but it didn’t matter. We ate at C-Stop Pizza, a pizzeria recommended several times in our Airbnb’s guestbook. It was delicious!
Bryce Canyon--Arches Trail--Navajo Loop
Horseback riding was the first thing on our agenda for Wednesday. The tour, which we booked through Ruby's Inn, was a hour and a half and it took us to the rim of Bryce Canyon. Our trail guides were great! It was so much fun, though I was sore for a few days after.
After our horseback ride, we toured some of Bryce Canyon: Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. The rich red and vibrant orange landscape simply stunning! The national park isn’t actually a canyon but rather a series of natural amphitheaters, known for a distinct geographical feature: hoodoos. Hoodoos are a rock formation created by frost weathering and stream erosion. According to Native American beliefs, the hoodoos were Legend People whom Coyote tricked and turned into stone. I personally half expected to see Tuskin Raiders or Jawas scurrying around.
In the evening, we attended a Dark Rangers telescope tour. After a highly informative and mildly terrifying presentation called “Viewing the Void,” we got to check out Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, along with a few galaxies and star formations through their telescopes. (My apologies to Dr. Kuehn, if he is somehow reading this – I did not remember as much from Astronomy 101 as I should have.) We stayed past midnight for moonrise and seeing its craters up close was so worth it! It was incredible to see the Milky Way with our naked. Be sure to dress warm; it gets cold in the desert once the sun goes down! Thankfully, our guides had hot cider and cocoa, along with extra blankets and jackets.
Thursday was our final day. We began with a hike on Arches Trail in Red Canyon. That hike was a bit challenging but filled with incredible views. After that, we went back to Bryce Canyon and hiked the Navajo Loop. The loop has two main features: Thor’s Hammer and Wall Street. We started our hike with Thor’s Hammer and returned via Wall Street, which I think was the best way to take. Thor’s Hammer is a hoodoo that literally looks like Thor’s hammer, which is really fun. Wall Street is a path that goes through the narrowing canyon walls. The hike is supposedly only 1.3 miles, but I think that’s lie. Nevertheless it was worth the effort!
We ended the day with a rodeo at Ruby’s Inn. My favorite parts were the barrel racing and the kids riding sheep and goats.
The Drive Home
The views on I-70 as we drove home were spectacular! On one side of the road we had desert mountains, and on the other was covered in verdant forest. We were welcomed by humidity in Denver, where we stopped for the night. We saw the capitol building, so I got to cross another off! The second leg of the drive home was long and uneventful. I read The Rise of Skywalker novelization by Rae Carson and listened to the podcast What the Force's interview episode with Charles Soule.
Overall, I highly, highly recommend Utah as a vacation destination! It’s become one of my favorites. There was much more we could have done, so I can’t wait to go back. What is your favorite place to visit?
Comments