87 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Utah - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Utah

Carbon County, Utah

Nine Mile Canyon

Here, at the "world's longest art gallery," you'll find forty miles of ancient petroglyphs and pictographs.

Richfield, Utah

Pando, the Trembling Giant

One of the world's oldest and most massive living organisms is a grove of quaking aspens.

Springdale, Utah

The Narrows

The hike through a narrow river flanked by the 2,000-foot-tall walls of Zion Canyon is one of the best in the world.

Homestead Crater

This geothermal hot spring hides beneath a slowly growing mineral dome.

Bryce Canyon

Giant, natural amphitheaters made of delicate geological formations called "hoodoos."

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

This rugged area of red rocks and arches is often considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Green River, Utah

Goblin Valley State Park

Bizarre lunar-like landscape with thousands of large stone "hoodoos."

Fantasy Canyon

Sandstone rock formations that look like they belong on the cover of a progressive rock album.

See All 87 Things to Do in Utah See All 87 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Utah

Potato Doughnuts

The first American doughnut chain used spuds.

Funeral Potatoes

A casserole of cheesy, corn flake–topped tubers offers comfort to Mormons in mourning.

Blue Corn Mush

Adding juniper ash to this traditional Navajo dish gives it as much calcium as a glass of milk.

Pickle Pie

A motel restaurant in a tiny Utah town bakes this sweet and sour treat.

See all 9 things to eat in Utah See all 9 things to eat in Utah

Atlas Obscura Trips

Red Rock Astronomy & Cosmic Landscapes in the Utah Desert

Explore outer space from two of the most iconic national parks in the U.S.

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Stories
About Utah

Castleton Tower, standing tall and vibrating ever so slightly.

Climbers in Utah Scaled a 400-Foot Rock to Measure How It Moves

Scientists say Castleton Tower is always vibrating, but doesn’t seem in danger of falling down.

by Sabrina Imbler

August 27, 2019

A more flattened teapot became the standard.

Why a Computer History Museum Owns a Legendary Teapot

For computer-graphics researchers, it's both a tool and a meme.

An abandoned school bus under the Cisco sky.

You Can Apply to Spend a Month Making Art in a Utah Ghost Town

Welcome to Cisco.

by Evan Nicole Brown

The needles, still sharp after 2,000 years.

Found: The Oldest Tattoo Needles in Western North America

They could sharpen our understanding of Pueblo prehistory.

by Matthew Taub

February 28, 2019

Pando in the autumn.

Mule Deer Are Eating Away at the Most Massive Living Thing in the World

A special aspen grove needs the chance to regenerate.

by Matthew Taub

October 18, 2018

Castor seeds—look nice, very dangerous.

All the Very Bad Ways That Castor Seeds Have Been Used

Not only does it taste gross, but castor oil was used as an instrument of political control for years.

by Sarah Laskow

October 4, 2018

Union Pacific's No. 4019, pictured here in Weber Canyon, Utah.

One of the World’s Largest Steam Locomotives Is About to Make a Triumphant Return

Hold onto your engineer caps, railroad history lovers.

by Justin Franz

The lands of Bears Ears are a trove of treasures of geology, archaeology, and paleontology.

Found: A Rich Collection of Triassic Fossils at Bears Ears

Another wonder from a wild place now left unprotected.

by Vittoria Traverso

February 23, 2018

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