This guide is the result of 25 years of exploration. It's aimed at those of you who wish to experience all the Utah desert has to offer – its stark beauty, its complex history – often without the crowds. True, you’ll find some very popular attractions here but they’re included because I consider them to be unique or so unmissable that it would be a shame to ignore them.

​

Every hike or car trip is rated so you can decide what's best for you. The contents are highly subjective and certainly not exhaustive; I’ll never see everything in my lifetime, but I’ll try.

 

How to use this site

 

This is a not a trail guide site, though I have included some general directions in my expanded trip reports. Other people have done this better than I ever could. Most of the destinations can be found on the web or in the many guidebooks of the area, or by asking others. That’s how I found them. So pick an area,  check out my Resources page, do some homework and hit the trail.

 

If you have kids then you’ll know that it’s best if there’s a ‘reason’ for doing a hike. Many of these trips here have an obvious destination or ‘reward’ and been taken with children as young as seven, even on the longer and more difficult hikes.

 

There's also a hints and tips section which you may find useful, as well as ratings for all the trips: ease of access to the destination/trailhead, how 'quiet' the destination is likely to be, and the degree of of hiking difficulty - I’m assuming you’re of average fitness, and sensible. I started with small hikes and learned the ways of the desert before progressing to more challenging adventures. You should do the same.

 

The accompanying photos are the best I could find from our collection but there are some gaps. That's because many are pre-digital age, and also that I was predominantly shooting video.

​

Special thanks go to my wife, the Mellor family – our hiking partners for more than 20 years – and Rick Kaylin who joined us on many adventures and provided me with some of his stunning images.

​

Enjoy!

​

Bob Palmer • London UK