Photo story: discover the nature and heritage of Utah from all angles

Mesa Arch can be found in Canyonlands, one of Utah’s famed Mighty 5 national parks, known for their cinematic rock formations and red hues. “Each park has its own personality and visitor experience,” says Karen Garthwait, National Park Ranger for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. “I’m continually impressed by the silence you can experience at Canyonlands. Between wind gusts or a raven’s ‘gronks’, there might be nothing but your own thoughts or heartbeat. It’s eerie and wonderful and rare in today’s world, a reminder of what national parks preserve.”

Bryce Canyon National Park is punctuated by the world’s largest concentrations of hoodoos — flame-coloured rock chimneys emerging from the canyon’s cliffs. The popular one- to two-hour Navajo Loop Trail takes hikers towards some of these geological wonders. Walkers start out at Sunset Point, gazing towards the expanse of whimsical spires, before dipping down the rim to the canyon floor, taking in iconic rock formations such as Wall Street, the Twin Bridges and Thor’s Hammer.

The morphing moonscapes of Capitol Reef National Park are lesser known than Bryce or Zion, but their appeal is no less arresting. This is the perfect place to slow down: visitors can look out for the names of pioneers carved in the walls of Pioneer Register in Capitol Gorge; pick seasonal fruits in the fields and orchards of Fruita; or admire the Temples of the Sun and Moon, two stark sandstone monoliths that have become a favourite pit stop for photographers.

Outside the national parks, Utah promises just as much allure. The state’s wild landscapes come to the fore with a bike ride along the Aquarius Trail, which connects the peak of Brian Head to the town of Escalante. That’s 190 miles of the state’s countryside to play with, threading together its hut system — five pit stops of shipping containers repurposed into dinky boltholes for resting up and refuelling.

It’s thought there are more slot canyons in Utah than anywhere else in the world. Severing tears into the state’s soft rocks, these narrow gorges finger their way downwards for thousands of feet — sliced to just a sliver at the bottom — giving visitors the chance to rappel down and clamber through. Located near Kanab, Red Canyon — known as Peek-a-Boo Canyon by locals — is a narrow passage under towering sandstone walls, accessible via a journey in a four-wheel-drive vehicle through a desert landscape.

Utah’s 27 scenic byways are sights in their own right. “Our roads don’t just lead to beautiful places; they go through them in all corners of the state,” says Brett Prettyman, former outdoors editor at The Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s really hard to beat Highway 12, particularly the elevated red rock stretch between Boulder and Escalante.” A breathtaking stretch over 123 miles, this road links Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef national parks with a whole lot of natural and cultural wonders in between, from twisting canyons and red rock towers to pine forests and pioneer towns.

With 426 downhill trails, Park City is a heaven for skiers — in fact, the US Ski and Snowboard team picked it as its headquarters. “I’ve skied all over the world and can confirm Utah truly has the Greatest Snow on Earth,” says three-time Olympic skier Heidi Voelker. The moniker isn’t for nothing: favourable conditions over the Wasatch Mountains — home to 11 of the state’s 15 ski resorts — cause lighter snow to fall on top of heavier snow, a recipe for perfect powder.

Non-skiers can find a range of other winter activities available throughout the state. Visitors who explore the Narrows, the narrowest section of Zion Canyon, in the colder months will experience a different take on Zion National Park. On this roundtrip hike, visitors wade through the North Fork of the Virgin River under 1,000ft-tall, zebra-striped canyon walls, sculpted by centuries of erosion into whorls and boulders.

On a clear night, visitors can see the Milky Way above Kodachrome Basin State Park. Glimpses of constellations abound in the Beehive State, home to the world’s highest concentration of International Dark-Sky Association certified locations — 23 in total, including communities, parks and protected areas. “The dry air combined with higher altitude makes for excellent night sky viewing conditions,” says local photographer Prajit Ravindran. “The local community is also active in their efforts to curb light pollution, enhancing the night sky viewer’s experience.”

Every summer after nightfall, stargazers mill about Cedar Breaks’ primary overlook, Point Supreme, eyes trained towards its dark skies. As part of its commitment to its Dark Sky certification, the National Monument holds stargazing programmes with rangers and naturalists throughout the warmer months. Here, Cedar Breaks National Monument Rangers host a stargazing demonstration at Brian Head Resort in Dixie National Forest, near Cedar City.

The rusty-red House on Fire ruins, sculpted from the Cedar Mesa sandstone up a shallow gorge in Mule Canyon, is a great place to discover the state’s ancient heritage. The Ancestral Puebloans (sometimes known as Anasazi), who lived here between 700 and 2,500 years ago, used these well-preserved granaries to store corn, Indian ricegrass for bread-making and other crops. Arrive at 10am to catch sunlight streaking along the cliff overhang like the lick of flames.

Twin Rocks Trading Post, a shop in Bluff, features ancient art as well as work by some of the best Southwestern Native American artists. One of them's Elsie Stone, considered one of the most accomplished Navajo basket makers. This craft dates back centuries: archaeological excavations at key sites across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have unearthed baskets thought to have been crafted thousands of years ago by the ‘Basketmakers’ of the pre-Ancestral Puebloans.

Around 150 million years ago, dinosaurs stalked the forests that once flourished in Utah’s Emery County. With the world’s most complete record of prehistoric life, visitors can find mounted dinosaur skeletons interspersed among actual discovery sites. For anyone who wants to see palaeontologists still at work in one of the world’s largest dinosaur graveyards, there’s the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, an open lab where experts unfold the secrets behind this gargantuan mass of excavated dinosaur remains.

Travellers can fly from the UK to Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. Rent a car or motorhome to explore the scenic byways and see more of the landscape, small towns, state parks and lesser-known attractions.

American Sky offers a customisable 10-night self-drive trip through Utah’s five national parks and Monument Valley. From £1,799, including return flights to Salt Lake City, vehicle rental and accommodation.

For more info, visit visitutah.com/uk.