Exploring Utah
By Kimberly Graf. Published on April 25, 2025
Utah has one of the most beautiful landscapes in all fifty states. Its location at the shift between desert and forests creates some truly unique features. It takes the rock formations from Arizona to the south and put them with the forests and mountains of Colorado to the east, and from that geological combination comes some beautiful areas. So that's what we're looking at today: Utah's natural surroundings!
Potash Scenic Byway
There are a lot of scenic byways to travel in Utah. This might be a short one, but it's worth the drive to see all that this particular area has to offer. Potash Scenic Byway lies between the Arches National Park and Canyonlands, and this 34 miles stretch is by far the best way to go. The length of this paved road runs between high sandstone cliffs on one side and the Colorado River on the other.
You will find a world that is full of the classic red rocks that make this particular part of Utah so fabulous. Below you stretches the Colorado River which, to the south, was responsible for carving the Grand Canyon. The drive takes you through and around huge rocks and high hills, all in a bed of gravel with sparse vegetation. Eventually, you will come to the Potash plant, which is the namesake for this road.
You'll find the setting basins for the potash a bit beyond this point, which are dyed blue to help in the making of this mineral. Though they are behind fences, you can get some great pictures with the blue pools butted against the red rocks.
Beyond this, you'll get more of the Moab, Utah scenery that makes this place so popular. You'll be able to get close to the Colorado River again, where you can see it stretching away below you. There's a pull-off not too far away that allows you get out and see better views, but it's a primitive set up. The end of the byway, just beyond this point, is where it enters Canyonlands National Park from a back way.
Though this is only a 34-mile drive, you're going to want to take it slow because of the road. It might take you several hours to travel the length of the byway!
The Mighty Five
Utah is home to five incredible National Parks, and you can see them all within about 6 hours of drive time. We recommend you do this over the course of several days so you can take the appropriate amount of time to appreciate each park.
We're going to start in Utah's first National Park, Zion. It has a unique environment, blending colorful sandstone formations with narrow canyons, and every so often between them is an oasis of sorts with still pools. There are weeping rocks, which are slowly being eroded by rainfall filtering down through the rocks and vegetation. You can go on any number of hikes and explorations here.
We recommend taking at least a few hours to explore the area and get to see some of the displays and more popular natural attractions.
Our next stop is Bryce Canyon, which is almost an hour and a half away. It's a wonderland of rock formations that have been left as they are by erosion. Because the sandstone in this area is so soft, there are some very strange and wondrous shapes that the rocks take. You can take the shuttle around to the different highlights of the park, which include a ton of different 'hoodoos'.
Go backcountry camping if that's your thing, because it's going to be beautiful. And if you camp here at all, you'll get to see the gorgeous blanket of stars – free from any light pollution. It's well worth spending the night here!
Next up is Capitol Reef National Park. Here is the Waterpocket Fold, which is just what it sounds like – a wrinkle in the earth's crust! Within the stretches of this strange geologic feature are canyons, domes, and bridges – natural formations that wouldn't occur otherwise. This 'monocline' is a beautifully unique thing to explore. Take one of the numerous hikes but remember to take a camera. You're going to want to get some pictures of this unique place!
Arches National Park is 30 minutes away. The main feature of this park is the red rocks and all of the different forms and shapes. Of course, there are giant arches, which is the main feature that this park boasts, as well as towers and balanced rocks that you can take a look at. So much of this park seems to defy the laws of physics. It's a red rock playground!
The last stop in the Mighty Five is Canyonlands. Where most of the other parks focus on the stunning upwards formations of rocks, this park is nearly entirely dedicated to erosion. You can wonder among the buttes and cliffs, carved by the Colorado River. There are four different parts of this park, and you can take a gander at each of them.
These include the Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and The Rivers. Each of these is exactly what they say they are – Island in the Sky is a huge platform butte, The Needles is all about eroded towers of stone, and of course the Maze is a fun place to go hiking and check out the fissures in the rock.
The trip from Zion to Canyonlands is a total of 360 miles long, which is great for about five days of checking out these great parks!
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