Built as part of the Legacy Parkway in 2008, the paved Legacy Parkway Trail follows the Legacy Parkway from North Salt Lake to Farmington The trail is a gem, offering easy access for bikers, walkers, runners, and others For most of its length, the trail is within a stone's throw of the highway, which detracts a bit from the ambiance, but views of the Wasatch Mountains, Antelope Island, and wetlands around the Great Salt Lake make up for the highway noise The trail, on its southern end, connects to the Jordan Parkwa...

With 314, Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state The Ruby Mountains, south of Elko, are often touted as one of the crown jewels of the Nevada ranges Lamoille Canyon, the most visited area of the range, has been described by some as the Yosemite of Nevada I'm not sure I would go quite that far, but the Ruby Range is indeed beautiful, remote, and has an excellent thru hike that visits a large chunk of it The Ruby Crest Trail is between 33 and 37 miles depending on who you ask With small side trips for c...

Wow! If you are a mountain biker or trail runner, the Wasatch Crest is a must-do! This stunning trail traverses the ridge separating Big Cottonwood Canyon from Park City, then continues above Millcreek Canyon before dropping to either the upper trailhead in Millcreek Canyon or Park City It is an excellent outing with ever-changing views A few notes: The trail is high elevation and often has at least some snow patches into the summer Summer and fall are the recommended times to visit Summer finds the trail covered i...

The eastern reef, near where I-70 enters the San Rafael Swell from the east, is one of the most dramatic parts of the Swell to visit The Navajo and Wingate uplift is dramatic from a distance, and even more so up close Buckeyes Canyon is one of those rare canyons that descends from the top of the reef In its short, but steep descent, it passes through the Wingate and Navajo layers in a series of 10 rappels En route, it also passes through several unnamed natural bridges and gives a rare view of Tip Top Arch One of t...

Fallen Angel is my least favorite of the Angel Slots The canyon is short, with quite a bit of crumbly rock and somewhat light anchors There were no recent signs of passage on our descent, and several anchors required placement or replacement Because of this, it is probably best left for intermediate or better canyoneers with decent natural anchor skills Once down the short canyon, the exit hike is marvelous, passing a pictograph and petroglyph panel along the Dirty Devil before climbing an elegant exit route up the...

Kanarra Creek has blossomed in recent years as a family friendly narrows hike, and with good reason The hike is short, easy, and has several stunning sections and waterfalls Though the hike can be done year around, there is much wading In winter and spring when the weather is cold and flows higher in the spring, neoprene socks would be required to keep feet from freezing In the heat of the summer, this provides a welcome respite from the heat A must do if your traveling by on Interstate 15 near the sleepy town of K...

Smiling Cricket Canyon, also known as Poe Canyon and even L Canyon, was first descended by Mike Bogart and Jenny Hall in 1981 and called Poe Their bold descent went unrepeated and more or less unknown for almost 30 years In 2007, Jason Pease wandered the area looking for canyons and re-found Poe, naming it Smiling Cricket He descended it in the summer of 2008 with Mark Fleck Of the three canyons in the area Happy Dog, Laughing Baboon, and Smiling Cricket, Jason and Mark ended up in the biggest of the three He and M...

Parowan Gap is one of the must see petroglyph panels in Utah in my humble opinion A short drive off of I-15, it feels a world away Ancient peoples found this place interesting, and the gap is covered in petroglyphs These panels were likely etched by many different cultural groups over a long period of time It is believed several of the panels were used as a calendar, marking the equinoxes by using a gnomon to cast a shadow on a particular symbol during the equinox Given the gaps east / west opening, it makes sense ...

Separating the Wasatch Range from to the west from Woodruff, Randolf, and Wyoming to the east, the Monte Cristo Range runs north-south for about 30 miles State Highway 39 crosses the range and offers exquisite views and a winding road often frequented by motorcyclists Monte Cristo Peak, the tallest point in the range at 9,148, sits a very short distance off the highway and makes a great family friendly leg stretch when passing through the area A note on timing UT-39 is closed in the winter, roughly from November to...

Perched above the Price River, Grassy Trail is the site of both Native American visitation, as well as early railroad efforts The panels at Grassy Trail are a mix of "gringo graffiti" as well as older rock art, and quite extensive The site is fascinating Grassy Trail was a narrow-gauge railroad that was built in 1882 to connect Grand Junction Colorado to Helper Utah as part of a more significant Desert Mainline effort After only a few years of use, the track was upgraded and re-routed to a more direct path from Woo...