Utah Travel Guide: Travel and tourist information, things to do and see in Utah

With the biggest, most beautiful and most pristine landscapes in North America, Utah has something for everyone: from brilliantly colored canyons, across endless desert plains, to thickly wooded and snow-covered mountains. This unmatched range of terrain, almost all of which is public land, makes Utah the place to come for outdoor pursuits , whether your tastes run to hiking, off-track mountain biking, whitewater rafting or skiing.

Utah started out with the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake area in 1847. Today more than 65 percent of the population belong to the Mormon faith. The Mormon influence defines the state's modern culture. Despite appearing to many people as being a bit behind the times in terms of technology and society, the people are friendly and welcoming, the crime rate is low and there are a variety of fascinating and beautiful places of interest.

Southern Utah has more national parks than anywhere else in the US; in fact it has often been suggested that the entire area should become one vast national park. The most accessible parts - such as Zion and Bryce Canyon - are by far the most visited, but lesser-known parks like Arches and Canyonlands are every bit as dramatic. Huge tracts of this empty desert, in which beautiful pre-Columbian pictographs and Ancestral Puebloan ruins lie hidden, are all but unexplored; seeing them in safety requires a good degree of advance planning and self-sufficiency.

In the northeast of the state, the Uinta Mountains remain uncrossed by road and form one of the most extensive wilderness areas in the US outside Alaska, while Flaming Gorge and Dinosaur preserve more desert splendor. Though the northwest is predominantly flat and dry, the granite mountains of the Wasatch Front tower over state capital Salt Lake City - a surprisingly attractive and enjoyable stopover - while Alta, Snowbird and the resorts around Park City offer some of the best skiing in North America.

It's nearly impossible to get anywhere in Utah without your own car . Amtrak and Greyhound serve Salt Lake City and a few provincial towns, but practically nowhere else. However, a couple of firms offer bus tours of the national parks, and if you're feeling adventurous, southern Utah also has an unbeatable range of mountain biking, river rafting, even hot-air ballooning opportunities.

Population: 295.734.100
Languages: English 82%, Spanish 11% (2000)
Currency: US dollar
Currency code: USD
Local Times:
U.S.A. - District of Columbia - Washington DC

U.S.A. - Florida - Orlando

U.S.A. - California - San Francisco

U.S.A. - New York - New York

U.S.A. - Nevada - Las Vegas

Country Dialling Code: +1
Voltage: 120V 60Hz
Electrical plugs:
2 parallel flat prongs

2 Parallel flat prongs with an earth connector

The USA is home to several of the world's most exciting cities, some truly mind-blowing landscapes, a strong sense of regionalism, a trenchant mythology, more history than the country gives itself credit for and, arguably, some of the most approachable natives in the world.

America was 'discovered' by Columbus in 1492 and for 500 years people have travelled here seeking a better life in the 'land of opportunity'. The land was fought over by colonial powers for centuries and finally won its independence from Britain in 1783. Despite the near annihilation of the Native American population, one of the bloodiest civil wars the world had seen, and racism (Native Americans were not granted citizenship until 1924 and racial segregation was the norm until as late as the 1950s), the American people have succeeded in forging one of the worlds most united, democratic and tolerant nations, a fascinating melting-pot of cultures, and the undisputed military and economic heavyweight of the world.

The country is made up of 48 contiguous states of the continental USA, plus the huge state of Alaska, northwest of Canada, and the volcanic islands of Hawaii, 2,000 miles (3,219km) out into the Pacific. There are also the US territories, which include Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Midway Islands and US Virgin Islands. Tourism is focused mainly in the great cities such as New York and Washington, as well as sunshine states such as Florida, California and Hawaii. However the mind-blowing landscapes, found in the wealth of magnificent National Parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Adirondacks, as well as spectacular sights like the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains, are what make the USA so unique. With all this on their doorstep, it's easy to understand why a significant proportion of Americans have never bothered getting a passport.

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Utah Travel Guide

Utah Suitability Profile