72 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.

Ryan Lamb

Added by Ryan Lamb

Richfield, Utah

Pando, the Trembling Giant

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

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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.

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Added by lewblank

Bryce Canyon

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

Added by CherrieGRuth

Homestead Crater

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

Added by gailberg

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

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

Added by ekoptev

Green River, Utah

Goblin Valley State Park

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

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Added by leiris

Fantasy Canyon

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

Added by David Crane

See All 72 Things to Do in Utah See All 72 Places

Atlas Obscura Trips

Science in the Field: Tracking Utah's Tiny Owls

Jun 5—Jun 9, 2019

Led by an expert avian biologist, experience one of the most secretive owl species in North America.

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Unique
Food & Drink
in Utah

Potato Doughnuts

Gastro Obscura

Potato Doughnuts

The first American doughnut chain used spuds.

Gastro Obscura

Added by hfritzmartinez

Funeral Potatoes

Gastro Obscura

Ritual & Medicinal

Funeral Potatoes

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

Gastro Obscura

Added by Sam OBrien

Blue Corn Mush

Gastro Obscura

Blue Corn Mush

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

Gastro Obscura

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Added by rachelrummel

Squid Ink Gelato

Gastro Obscura

Squid Ink Gelato

A jet-black, vanilla-flavored treat with hints of its marine origin.

Gastro Obscura

Added by beaustucki

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Explore Utah

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Stories
About Utah

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 04, 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

The Lehi Sugar Factory in Utah, early 20th century.

The Sweet Monopoly That Enriched the Mormon Church

A divine revelation led to the sugar beet business.

January 25, 2018

Road Canyon is one of the sites within the old borders of the National Monument.

Demystifying the Changes to Bears Ears National Monument

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

by Natasha Frost

December 05, 2017

Valley of the Gods.

The Wonders at Risk in Bears Ears National Monument

Treasures of geology, paleontology, and archaeology may be affected by changes to the monument's boundaries.

by Kelsey Kennedy

August 24, 2017

An 1859 map of the Great Salt Lake.

Utah's First Federal Surveyor Fled the Territory Fearing for His Life

And helped start a war between James Buchanan and Brigham Young.

by Sarah Laskow

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