Today, there are 59 National Parks; each is unique and spectacular in their own way. Last year, the National Park Service recorded over 307 million visitors to the 59 parks. Five of these parks reside in the prettiest state of the union: Utah. Many of the most popular parks are located in Utah, argued by most as being the prettiest state in the Union. These parks include Arches NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Canyonlands NP, Capitol Reef NP, and Zion NP. Because many Americans cannot visit national parks, I hope these photos help portray each park’s uniqueness.
5. Capitol Reef National Park
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Personally, I believe Capitol Reef is the weakest of the five. Located in south-central Utah, the park is composed of 378 square miles of desert landscape. Unfortunately, most visitors simply drive through the park via Utah 24. However, if you would like to hike on one trail, I would highly recommend the Hickman Bridge trek. It is a simple 2-mile round-trip journey that ends with a beautiful sight of Hickman Bridge, a 133-foot long natural bridge carved by the Fremont River.
4. Bryce National Park
Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful and awe-struck places in the world. When you visit for the first time, seeing the hoodoos will make you think it was Mars. A beautiful trek within the canyon is the Queens Garden Trail. The best way to experience it is to descend Sunset Point and ascend Sunrise Point because it is much more steep at the former than the latter.
3. Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands is a spectacular park located near Moab. Unfortunately, it does not offer many hikes in the Island in the Sky, but you can hike throughout the needles in the Maze. To get the best view of the canyon, you must drive through Island in the Sky. From here, you can see a canyon, within a canyon, within another canyon! You can also see a road on the canyon floor, Shafer Canyon Road. While it is amazing to be at the bottom, this is one of America’s 10 scariest and most dangerous roads.
2. Arches National Park
The National Park Service couldn’t have made a better name for this national gem. Arches National Park is also located near Moab, and has over 2,000 natural stone arches. The most famous arch, as seen in most advertisements in Utah, is Delicate Arch. This hike is 3 miles round-trip, and should be done closer to sunset to get the perfect sundown glare off the red stoned arch. At the top, you can go under the arch and see the vast valley of behind.
1. Zion National Park
Not only is Zion the most spectacular National Park in Utah, but also it is considered by many to be the best National Park in the United States, and in the world! The park is located in southwestern Utah, and offers beautiful scenery of red cliffs. If you wanted to hike one trail, I highly encourage hiking to observation point. This trail is 8-miles round-trip. From the top, you capture the most stunning view of the valley. The hike is not fear inducing like Angels Landing, and does not require you to be 4 feet deep in water as in the Narrows.
