From Desert Waterfalls to Wind-Carved Hoodoos: Dive into Utah’s Wild Dreamscapes

Some say it’s impossible to please everyone – those folks have never been to Utah. Here in the Beehive State, you’ll find something to spellbind each of your road trip companions—from your partner, to your skeptical teenager, to your littlest toddler. After all, it’s hard to resist enchantment when magic and illusions lie around every corner.

In the town of Mexican Hat, you’ll see a 300-pound stone that appears to levitate, and in Grand Staircase-Escalante, you’ll touch canyon walls that seem so alive they almost ripple in the sunlight. Near Cedar City, a waterfall flows straight from the rock itself, and at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the very ground glimmers as if it’s made of glass. The best part? You don’t need to be an endurance athlete to reach any of it: each of these incredible dreamscapes is accessible to explorers of any skill level. 

If hiking isn’t your family’s thing, gas up the car and make for the Burr Trail Switchbacks, a serpentine roadway that’s widely considered the most scenic drive in Utah. And if you need to stretch your legs, take the short stroll through Fantasy Canyon, a sculpture garden of rock formations. Many of the fins and towers resemble animals, or monsters carved of stone. 

Between Utah’s wind-hewn hoodoos, otherworldly waterfalls, and jaw-dropping drives, there’s something here for the whole family to love—and to talk about at the dinner table for years to come.