Utah, IN Road Trips

Dixie refers to the low-lying area in the southwest corner of the state. It contains the city of St. George, and the climate is more closely-related to the southwestern deserts than it is to the rest of the state, with low annual precipitation, hot, dry summers, and mild winters with infrequent snowfall. Early settlers were able to grow cotton in the area, hence the name Dixie (a name for the cotton belt of the southern U.S.). The Wasatch Range is the heavily-populated region of basins and valleys between the Wasatch Mountains on the east and on the west by the Great Salt Lake (to the north) and the Oquirrh Mountains (to the south). 3/4 of Utah's population lies in this portion of the state, which stretches from Brigham City in the north to Santaquin in the south. Ogden, Salt Lake City, Sandy, Orem, and Provo are on the Wasatch Range. The benches are former shorelines of the ancient Lake Bonneville on the higher slopes along the Wasatch Range. Residential development on the Wasatch Range typically extends high onto the slopes of the Wasatch Mountains in some areas. Homes here are generally more affluent, as they provide spectacular views of the surrounding areas, and the benches receive more precipitation and much more snow than the valley floors. Mormons or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make up a majority of Utah's population, and their beliefs and practices are one of the strongest influences for public policy in the state, particularly when it comes to drinking, smoking, and homosexuality.

Utah is known for its outdoor attractions, including the "Mighty 5" national parks: Arches National Park, full of (you guessed it) natural arches; forested, mountainous Bryce Canyon National Park; Canyonlands National Park, an enormous wilderness of cliffs and gorges; Capitol Reef National Park, with sandstone canyons and Native American remnants; and Zion National Park, which has truly spectacular cliffs and rock formations. These five parks are just the beginning—Utah has a huge number of breathtaking natural sights. Meanwhile, Utah's cities are home to unique cultural attractions, including the headquarters of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City and the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. Skyline Drive – winds for over 100 miles (160 km) along the very top of the Wasatch Plateau, providing access to forested mountains, alpine meadows and numerous lakes, streams and camping areas. At elevations ranging from about 9,000 to 11,000 feet (2,700 to 3,300 meters) above sea level, it is one of the highest roads in America. Views of the mountain basins and surrounding valleys are marvelous.

Utah is also home to some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the world. Most of Utah's best ski areas are in Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon, which are both less than an hour's drive away from Salt Lake City. Utah has world class skiing regularly hitting 500 inches (12.7 meters) at places like Alta and Brighton however its trails are very hard to ski and the deep powder is very hard but mountains like Alta have great ski schools for the kids. If you like off-roading, Moab is home to the semi-annual Jeep Safari. The Safari will oftentimes run twice a year, one over Easter Weekend the other over Memorial Day Weekend. The desert terrain combined with its vast canyons can make for some fun and beautiful scenic drives, or wild rides with some very challenging obstacles. You can also bike and in some cases take an ATV out on the trails. For a less arid ride, try your hand at high mountain OHV riding through aspen and pine forests on the Arapeen ATV Trail System. Rock climbing can be done at Maple Canyon and Zion National Park. If this is not enough to satisfy your extreme sports cravings, consider snowkiting at high altitudes on Skyline Drive.

Expect to encounter fry sauce at some point; it's basically mayonnaise and ketchup with a bit of pickle relish added. It was invented by Don Carlos himself, of Don Carlos' Bar-B-Q restaurant in Utah. Locals put it on their french fries and just about anything else. Pastrami cheeseburgers can be found in some local chain fast-food places, and they're exactly like what they sound like: a cheeseburger topped with a pile of pastrami. Many restaurants serve local foods, and the Beehive State, although named for their residents being as busy as bees, is blessed by having a strong local honey industry. During the summer, look for sweet corn, cherries, peaches and other stone fruits, as well as Bear Lake raspberries in the north and Green River melons in the middle of the state. On the sweet side, Jell-O sales may have declined a bit, but there's still plenty of pie. Utah's scones are deep-fried pastries, more like frybread or sopapillas, and usually made large and served with butter and honey, sometimes for breakfast. An ice cream shake is so thick that it can stand up in your cup. The two main universities produce their own ice creams: Aggie Blue Mint ice cream is tinted blue and has white chocolate and cookies mixed in, but around BYU, locals prefer LaVell Vanilla ice cream, which is named after a football coach. A potluck or cooperative meal of any size will probably include something baked in a Dutch oven pot, at least one Jell-O salad, with bright green lime flavor being the favorite, and – if you're lucky – a casserole dish full of funeral potatoes.

Utah's liquor laws are known as one of the more peculiar things about the state. Liquor is sold only in state-owned stores and generally costs more than in other states. Beer used to contain slightly less alcohol (3.2% alcohol by weight [4% alcohol by volume]), but the law was changed to join the standard 5% ABV in November of 2019, which is now available in stores and restaurants. "Full strength" beer is available in bars, although not on tap, and liquor stores. In the early 2010s, state law changed the previous one-ounce limit on liquor in mixed drinks to a more standard 1.5 ounces. Secondary alcoholic flavorings may then be added to a mixed drink as the recipe requires. "Happy hours" and other drink specials are not allowed, so prices remain constant regardless of day or time. Keep in mind that driving after drinking is prosecuted aggressively in the state of Utah—and state law considers a person legally drunk with a blood alcohol content of .05% (i.e., 0.05 grams of ethanol per 100 milliliters of blood), as opposed to the standard of .08 almost everywhere else in the US. Although liquor laws in Utah are strict, they are not impossible. There are several kinds of establishments to know about: Private club. Memberships are no longer required at Utah's bars as of 2009. Bars can serve until 1AM (last call usually occurs between 12:15 and 12:45 depending on the number of people in the bar) and close at 2AM. Taverns. A tavern is a bar that serves only beer and requires no "membership". Restaurants. Many restaurants serve beer as well as hard liquor.

Take I-15 from Southern California and Las Vegas. It also enters from Idaho to the north, eventually connecting to Canada. I-80 connects west to Reno and northern California - the route begins in San Francisco. It also connects from Wyoming near Evanston, providing the quickest route from Denver to Salt Lake City. I-70 heads straight west from Denver, entering Utah near Grand Junction and providing quick access to the incredible desert terrain of southern Utah, although not to any of the urban centers. Bus service is provided by Greyhound. Amtrak runs the California Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago, stopping in Green River, Helper, Provo, and Salt Lake City. For more information, see Amtrak's website or Wikivoyage's article Rail travel in the United States. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC IATA) is the westernmost hub for Delta Air Lines, which offers nonstop service from 109 different destinations, most in the western US, but also from medium-sized cities in the central US and the large cities on the east coast. Nonstop service is also available from Paris-De Gaulle and 5x weekly service from Tokyo-Narita. American Airlines, United, and low cost airlines Southwest and JetBlue also serve Salt Lake City. Cedar City (CDC IATA) in central Utah is served with prop service to Salt Lake City, and St. George (SGU IATA) in southern Utah has prop service to Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Canyonlands Field (CNY IATA) (serving the Moab area) has service to Ely, Nevada (ELY IATA) and Denver on Great Lakes Airlines.

Nearly every city in Utah is laid out on a grid system, a vision of the original Mormon settlers. They generally feature wide roads, with a numbering system consisting of intervals of 100 originating from a central point (for example, heading north from the center, the first road will be 100 North, then 200 North, and so on). This system can be confusing for first-time visitors, but is easy to pick up and familiarize yourself with. The major exception to this is Ogden, which was settled as a non-Mormon railroad town and therefore possesses a different numbering system. Information on transit can be found from APTA. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) maintains a bus system with several routes, generally between Ogden and Provo. UTA also is responsible for the TRAX system, which is light rail running from the University of Utah to downtown Salt Lake to Sandy. For both bus and train, one-way fare is $2, and a transfer can be obtained upon request, which will allow you to board another bus or train within two hours. UTA also operates Frontrunner, a commuter train, running between Pleasant View, north of Ogden, through Salt Lake City to Provo. The cost of Frontrunner is $2-$9 one way depending on how far you travel. Fares have change frequently in the past, so check UTA website for updates.

While much of Utah is developed, there is a great amount of desert especially to the south and west. If going out to the deserts always take plenty of water (at least one gallon per person, per day) and sunscreen as well as light clothing. Let people know where you are going and when you expect to get back. Always be careful and watch for lightning while hiking. It's often best to hike in the early morning to avoid the possibility of hitting an afternoon thunderstorm. If caught in a storm while hiking seek shelter as quickly as you can. Also, if you see a thunderstorm nearby while exploring the slot canyons or the rough desert terrain of southern Utah, seek high ground immediately! Flash flooding is common in these areas, even when there is not a thunderstorm overhead. There is a great risk of avalanches after snow storms, especially outside of the boundaries of ski resorts. Stay in groups and have locator beacons. Scam artists target Utahns frequently, and property crime is a considerable risk. Lock up, use common sense, and store valuables and personal information out of sight. The violent crime rate is lower than that of the United States as a whole. When driving, be careful if you go on Utah State Route 261. The southern terminus of SR-261 contains Moki Dugway, a 3 mile (4.8km) unpaved road with lots of narrow switchbacks that traverses an 1100ft (335m) tall Mesa.