Topaz Mountain, located in Utah’s remote western desert, is a premier destination for rock hounds seeking the state’s official gemstone—topaz This rugged, sunbaked landscape offers a unique opportunity to find beautifully faceted amber-colored topaz crystals, which naturally fade to a clear or pale blue hue when exposed to sunlight The area, part of the Thomas Range, is well known for its rich deposits of topaz, as well as other minerals such as bixbyite, garnet, and red beryl On our visit, I was surprised at how e...

For a hike with expansive views, the Slickrock Trail is an exceptional choice Unlike trails that descend into canyons, this route traverses across expanses of slickrock, with panoramic vistas of the surrounding mesas, canyons, and the distant La Sal Mountains There are 4 official viewpoints and an unofficial one that overlooks the confluence of Little Spring and Big Spring Canyons A really nice hike Season Note: There isn't shade or water on this hike If hiking in the summer, I would recommend it either as a sunris...

As Highway 12 snakes its way over Boulder Mountain, on the south side of the range are Deer Creek Lake and Chriss Lake Each lake has its own trailhead just off Highway 12 This is a hike that, every time I would drive between Boulder and Torrey, I would think I should do someday When I finally visited in the fall of 2026, I thoroughly enjoyed the hike Chriss Lake is the shorter hike of the two lakes, with an out-and-back distance of about 325 miles if just visiting the lake To my eye, it is also less pretty, both as...

One of the things I love about living in Salt Lake City is all of the easy access to hiking From 10,000+ foot peaks in the canyons to the many trails in the foothills, it seems there is always something new to do to meet my motivation level for the day At about 3 miles and a bit over a 1000' of gain, the Heughs Canyon trail is, in my opinion, an excellent length for an after work or early morning hike The trail starts nondescriptly in a neighborhood and then quickly begins ascending through scrub oak 15 minutes up ...

Fremont Indian State Park is one of the often-overlooked gems in Utah It is an amazing state park that anyone with an interest in Native American culture, history, or art should put high on their list to visit I have visited Nine Mile Canyon many times over the years When I finally visited Fremont Indian State Park, I was dazzled by the amount and quality of rock art lining the canyon walls To me, it was as fascinating to visit as Nine Mile Canyon, though with easier access Even on a holiday weekend, we felt we had...

Tucked up near the northern Henry Mountains, along the transition zone between the mountain and desert environments, is the Rock Corral This natural feature creates a rock "corral" that ranchers used and closed with a log fence to contain animals Long before ranchers, however, Native Americans also used the area Signs of their time at the site are found in petroglyphs they left behind, as well as one of the largest concentration of grinding areas I have seen I assume the ancient peoples collected grasses and seeds ...

Near the Colorado-Utah border on I-70 in Rabbit Valley lies The Trail Through Time The 15-mile trail is a stone's throw from I-70, but transports visitors back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the area The trail is part of the active Mygatt-Moore dinosaur quarry that has been designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern As the trail winds its way along the benches, it visits several sites where dinosaur fossils can be seen in the rock This is like most dinosaur exhibits in the wild I have visited in that t...

A very popular family hike, Grand Wash offers a family friendly outing in a short package The round trip distance is 44 miles, or if you have two cars, it can be done as a one way 22 mile through hike For those wanting something shorter, I would recommend parking at the bottom trailhead on Highway 24 and walking up from the bottom This visits the best narrow section of Grand Wash in a casual 20-30 minutes one way from the trailhead For those wanting something longer, see the [my:linkToObject type="trip" id="543" te...

The San Rafael Swell has such an incredibly interesting and diverse history From dinosaur tracks, native peoples, early ranchers and homesteaders, miners, and even the Department of Defense! Above Buckhorn Wash, in the last 1940s, the Department of Defense quietly did classified testing in the sandstone here, known as the Morrison-Knudsen MK site The site, currently, has several large fenced off collapsed tunnels from this testing It is an interesting place to visit and ponder the history From the informational sig...

The Mule Hollow trail climbs about 1200' in just over a mile to the old Mule Hollow mine I could not find much information about the history of the mine, however it was surely mined in the late 1800's or very early 1900's, when mining first flourished in Big Cottonwood Canyon One can likely assume the name comes from the mules used to pack equipment up to the mine Currently this isn't much left of the site, with a couple of tracks and some metal pieces from the old camp strewn about a large tailings pile Some hunti...