Complete Utah

Framed by the snow-capped peaks of the Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah and the spiritual heart of the Mormon community. The majestic Temple Square complex, with its granite temple and the famous Tabernacle of extraordinary acoustics, marks the orderly, light-filled historic centre. Just beyond the city stretches the Great Salt Lake, an immense expanse of briny water home to migratory birds. Its privileged location makes Salt Lake City an exceptional ski base: the renowned resorts of Park City, Alta and Snowbird, host of the 2002 Winter Olympics, lie just a few kilometres away. In summer the surrounding canyons invite hiking, mountain biking and high-altitude trekking. A young food scene and thriving craft breweries enliven a centre in full transformation. Salt Lake City blends devotion, alpine nature and outdoor living in a surprising union.

Park City is the most famous ski resort in Utah, an old silver-mining town transformed into a refined winter destination, host to Olympic events in 2002. Its picturesque historic Main Street, with saloons, galleries and restaurants, retains the charm of the pioneer past. Each January it hosts the Sundance Film Festival, a world showcase of independent cinema. Its vast ski areas and famous snow make it a paradise for winter sports. Between mining heritage, cinematic glamour and legendary slopes, Park City is the alpine jewel of Utah.

Surrounded by red sandstone spires and wind-carved plateaus, Moab is the outdoor-adventure capital of Utah. Set along the Colorado River, this lively town is the gateway to two spectacular national parks: Arches, with its more than two thousand natural arches including the famous Delicate Arch, and Canyonlands, where the gorges stretch as far as the eye can see. Mountain biking on the legendary Slickrock Trail, rafting the Colorado rapids, hiking and off-road tours draw travellers from around the world. At sunset the rock glows with orange and crimson hues, while at night the pristine skies reveal a brilliant Milky Way. Don't miss Dead Horse Point, with its breathtaking view over the river's bends. Moab is the perfect starting point for those seeking the American desert in its wildest form.

Canyonlands National Park extends into the heart of southeastern Utah, where the Colorado and Green Rivers have carved a boundless labyrinth of canyons, mesas and red-rock pinnacles. Vast and wild, the park is divided into spectacular districts such as Island in the Sky and The Needles, offering dizzying panoramas and absolute silence. It is a realm of deserts, natural arches and starry skies of rare purity. Canyonlands is one of the grandest geological wonders of the American Southwest.

As you head south, the landscape of Utah becomes increasingly spectacular. The road winds through a primordial territory of rocks, petrified dunes, strange boulders like the stone sombrero that gives its name to the town of Mexican Hat, and the winding meanders carved by the San Juan River. Mexican Hat takes its name from a curious sombrero-shaped rock that crowns it, a tiny outpost in the desert of southern Utah along the San Juan River. A gateway to the spectacular landscapes of Monument Valley and Goosenecks State Park, where the river coils into deep meanders, it is a stop loved by travellers of the West. The starry skies and red expanses enchant at sunset. Mexican Hat is a solitary pause in the epic American desert. Monument Valley raises in the desert on the Arizona–Utah border its iconic spires of red sandstone, an immortal symbol of the American West. Part of the Navajo Nation, this sacred landscape has been captured in countless films and photographs, with its mesas and pinnacles outlined against the sky. Navajo-guided tours reveal the culture and legends of the place. Monument Valley is the grand, silent quintessence of the American frontier.

Today's stage takes you from Monument Valley to Page and Lake Powell in about 2 hours (200 km), crossing the largest Native American reservation in the USA, the Navajo Indian Reservation, which extends beyond the Arizona border into New Mexico and Utah. Page was founded in the heart of the northern Arizona desert as a small service town for the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, and is today an ideal base for exploring some of the most spectacular landscapes of the American Southwest. A few minutes away opens Lake Powell, a vast turquoise reservoir set among red sandstone canyons, a paradise for boat trips and houseboats. Nearby lie two icons of travel photography: Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon with undulating walls pierced by beams of light, and Horseshoe Bend, the dramatic curve of the Colorado River wrapping around a rock spur. The area, home to the Navajo Nation, offers guided tours, fiery sunsets and starry skies of rare purity.

For the first stretch of road to Kanab, you have the choice of two roads, one more scenic but longer (RT 89A - approx. 370 km), the other faster (RT 89 - approx. 300 km). The 89A, known as the Fredonia-Vermillion Cliffs Scenic Byway, crosses the Colorado River at Marble Canyon, the scenic Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and the town of Fredonia, typical of the American West, and ends in Kanab, merging with RT 89. RT 89 from Page, where you cross the Colorado River near the impressive Glen Canyon Dam, is more direct. You can briefly stop in Kanab, known as Little Hollywood, due to the many films shot in the picturesque surrounding region in the 1950s, before continuing to Mount Carmel Junction, where you leave Route 89 for Route 9, which will take you to the spectacular Zion National Park. Kanab lies in southern Utah, nicknamed “Little Hollywood” for the many Westerns filmed across its red-rock landscapes. This frontier town is the ideal base for exploring some of the American West’s most spectacular natural wonders: nearby are the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and the famous undulating canyons of The Wave, in the Vermilion Cliffs area. Kanab is also a convenient launch point for Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks and the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Between slot canyons, hiking trails and remarkably clear night skies, it is a perfect destination for lovers of nature and great outdoor adventure. Zion National Park astonishes with its imposing walls of red and white sandstone, carved by the Virgin River in the heart of south-western Utah. The main canyon is explored on foot along legendary trails such as Angels Landing and The Narrows, where one walks through water between narrow gorges. Hanging waterfalls, sculpted monoliths and lush vegetation create an extraordinary contrast. Zion is the ideal destination for those seeking spectacular canyons, unforgettable hikes and the red majesty of the American Southwest.

Less than two hours away from Zion is Bryce National Park. Bryce Canyon National Park reveals one of the most astonishing landscapes on Earth, a vast natural amphitheatre dotted with hoodoos, amber and pink rock spires sculpted by erosion on the Utah plateau. Viewpoints such as Sunrise and Sunset Point offer breathtaking views at dawn and dusk, while trails descend among the formations into the heart of the canyon. The high elevation ensures some of America's starriest night skies.

the road from Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef will be one of the most memorable of the trip traveling along Scenic Byway 12. This scenic byway traverses extremely varied landscapes: remnants of ancient seafloors, the highest alpine forests on the planet, stunning red and pink rock spires, and expanses of wild sage. Capitol Reef National Park preserves, in southern Utah, the spectacular Waterpocket Fold, an immense wrinkle of the earth's crust nearly a hundred miles long. Among honey-coloured sandstone cliffs, narrow canyons and ancient pioneer orchards, it offers geological landscapes of extraordinary beauty. Native petroglyphs and solitary trails tell the story of this remote land. A lesser-known yet magnetic park, where Utah's red desert reveals all its grandeur. Provo stretches at the foot of the imposing Wasatch Mountains, on the shores of Utah Lake, a lively university city home to Brigham Young University. The orderly centre, the mountain trails of Provo Canyon and the Bridal Veil Falls make it an ideal base between culture and nature. In winter the nearby ski resorts are a short distance away. Provo is the ideal destination for those seeking majestic mountains, youthful life and the welcoming atmosphere of Utah.