The Stansbury Mountains seem often overlooked when compared to the much more heavily travelled mountains along the Wasatch Front Though not as dramatic, large, or expansive, the Stansbury Mountains hold a lot of charm in my opinion and, importantly to me, are a great place to find some solitude and space without crowds This hike visits the South and North Willow Lakes Many hikers do Deseret Peak, the Tooele County high point, as their first hike in the range and often don't return to the range to explore further Wi...

If you have ever driven this far out on the Hole-In-The-Rock Road, you have likely noticed Cave Point Like Sooner Rocks and Fiftymile Spring, Cave Point is an exposed area of Entrada Sandstone Entrada Sandstone is the layer that features prominently in Arches National Park Its soft structure weathers into rounded domes, potholes, arches, and deep overhangs Cave Point has obvious deep overhangs visible from the road, an...

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 area around Blanding is rich in archaeological sites This site, just south of town, is the Five Kiva Pueblo site Easy access, with a short hike, makes this is a fascinating place to visit if in the area It is one I had overlooked for many years as I passed through When we finally stopped to visit in 2024, we found it an amazing and fascinating site Note: A kiva is a circular underground room thought to have been used for spiritual ceremonies They were significant to the ancient peoples that built them and lived...

Everybody loves dinosaur tracks! Well, our family does, at least The Warner Valley Dinosaur Track Site is a well-known paleontological site located near St George, Utah It features numerous fossilized dinosaur tracks preserved in the sandstone of the early Jurassic Moenave Formation, dating back around 190 million years The tracks were left by various species of dinosaurs when this region was a muddy floodplain What we found particularly interesting about the site is the large number of tracks and different types o...

One of the highest road in Utah, the Skyline Drive is an incredibly scenic dirt road traversing the spine of the Wasatch Plateau The route has many options, with many opportunities for shorter outings The route described here clocks in at just over 100 miles with all but a few of those miles on dirt There are 2 sections to the Skyline Drive, North Skyline and South Skyline The north section, from Tucker in Spanish Fork Canyon to UT-264, is a little lower in elevation at about 9,000 ft and a more maintained gravel r...

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The Oak Creek Pictograph Panel is a small but very striking rock art site located just east of Oak City It is an easily accessible site that can be viewed directly from the road, making it a convenient stop for those visiting the nearby Oak Creek Campground The panel features four distinct anthropomorphic figures rendered in a deep red ochre pigment These human-like forms are characterized by a peculiar "spaded" or wide-footed stance, a visual detail that has sparked various interpretations over the years Some sugg...

At the base of the Henry Mountains, in the transition zone between desert and mountains, lies the Little Egypt Geologic Site The site is an exposed Entrada Sandstone area that has eroded into hoodoos, passages and small towers This is the same layer that makes up Goblin Valley in the San Rafael Swell, and is quite reminiscent of the goblins found there The area is fun for families or those that are young at heart to wander around and climb on the many formations I am not sure who had more fun on our visit, myself o...

Independence Rock, often called the “Great Register of the Desert,” is one of the most famous landmarks along the emigrant trails of the American West Located in central Wyoming, this massive granite outcrop rises about 130 feet high and stretches nearly 2,000 feet in length For thousands of years, it served as a landmark for Native peoples, hunters, trappers, and later, tens of thousands of emigrants traveling the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails The rock’s distinctive rounded shape and prominent position on ...