Utah

Looking for the best hiking in Utah? We've got you covered with the top trails, trips, hiking, backpacking, camping and more around Utah. The detailed guides, photos, and reviews are all submitted by the Outbound community.

Top Hiking Spots in and near Utah

  • Boulder, Utah

    Backpack Death Hollow in Grand Staircase-Escalante

    22 mi / 1600 ft gain
    The most popular route into Death Hollow is from the Boulder airstrip near the town of Boulder, Utah.  The trailhead for the Boulder Mail Trail begins, or ends here depending on which way you are hiking.  Leave a car at the Highway 12 bridge over the Escalante River for the thru hike, or get luck...
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  • Sandy, Utah

    Photograph Little Cottonwood Creek at Snowbird

    2.0
    Little Cottonwood Creek flows right through Snowbird Ski Resort and there are a few beautiful locations to go shoot the river at. The best place to start hiking down the river is right by where the tram takes off. That is just below the Cliff Lodge and right by the Peruvian Lift. There's a res...
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  • Oakley, Utah

    Scale the Cliffs at Ruth Lake

    4.8
    Getting There From Evanston, take the Mirror Lake Highway 150 about 42 miles to the Ruth Lake trailhead and follow the easy hike up from the highway; just look for the signs directing you to Ruth Lake. The Trail/The Climbs Once on the trail, keep an eye out to your left and soon you'll see the cl...
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  • Salt Lake City, Utah

    Ensign Peak

    4.1
    0.97 mi / 354 ft gain
    This hike is a piece of cake with a sizable reward. It starts just up the hill behind the Capitol Building and ascends 350 feet over about 0.5 miles to the top on a very well marked trail. It's great for a family with young ones or maybe a quick post-dinner evening date. Parking is all along a re...
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  • Moab, Utah

    Backpack the Lathrop Canyon Trail in Canyonlands

    18 mi / 2130 ft gain
    Access to this trailhead is a few miles south of the Islands in the Sky Visitor Center in Canyonlands National Park. An easy drive from Moab or Interstate 70. Remember to get permits and check in with the rangers if camping. If just doing a day hike then no permits are needed. REMINDER: There is ...
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  • Tropic, Utah

    Hike Mossy Cave in Bryce Canyon

    3.2
    1 mi
    This short hike cannot be reached from the main area of Bryce Canyon, but with a 15 minute drive from the main entrance you can access this less crowded portion of the park. Check out a park map for the directions. This is very family-friendly, and is actually more of a "walk" than a "hike."It is...
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  • Provo, Utah

    Timpanogos Basin via Timpooneke Trail

    5.0
    9.78 mi / 3015 ft gain
    The wildflowers are normally at their peak from mid to end of July or the beginning of August. Depending on the amount of snow that year and how wet of a spring we had it could vary a little bit.  But anytime during the mid summer you will encounter amazing Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, and other co...
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  • Torrey, Utah

    Capitol Reef's Sulphur Creek Route

    4.8
    5.87 mi / 1191 ft gain
    This is a point-to-point hike that either requires a shuttle or 3 mile walk along highway 24. The starting trailhead is the Chimney Rock Trailhead which has limited parking. The ending trailhead is the Capitol Reef National Park Visitors Center. We only had one car so I dropped everyone off at th...
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  • Moab, Utah

    Photograph the Milky Way at North Window Arch

    4.7
    Arches National Park is a must see for all photographers, but especially for astrophotography. Many of the most common places to shoot are balanced rock, and Delicate Arch and there's a good reason, these are beautiful places. North Window Arch is much less common, and even on a moonless night,...
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  • Salt Lake City, Utah

    Trail Run Upper Big Water Trail to Dog Lake

    4.0
    6.2 mi / 1267 ft gain
    Drive all the way to the top of Millcreek Canyon until you can't drive any further. (They close the road further down the canyon in the winter so this trail is not accessible to cars in the winter.) There is a small parking lot at the end of the road, park here. The trail head is going to be on t...
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  • Logan, Utah

    Hike to the Wind Caves, UT

    4.5
    3.7 mi / 1000 ft gain
    As you drive up Logan Canyon, you'll see the trailhead on the left side of the road, just after Guinavah-Malibu Campground. It's a fairly steep hike, but also very well maintained. The Wind Caves are probably the most popular hike in Northern Utah and for a good reason. As you can see in the pict...
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  • Mexican Hat, Utah

    Camp at Muley Point

    5.0
    0.25 mi
    Muley Point on the southern end of the Cedar Mesa is one of the finest camping (and car camping) sites in North America, towering some 2400' above the San Juan River Canyon (and The Goosenecks State Park) looking south directly into the northern mouth of Monument Valley. It is a breathtakingly be...
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  • Salt Lake City, Utah

    Salt Lake Overlook via Desolation Trail

    4.1
    4.76 mi / 1729 ft gain
    This popular trail follows a portion of the Desolation Trail leaving from Mill Creek Canyon. The trail to the overlook is 4.75 miles round trip with a 1700 ft elevation gain. You begin at the Desolation Trailhead and then turn around once you have a view of the Salt Lake Valley. It is a perfect h...
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  • Moab, Utah

    Upheaval Dome Overlook

    4.0
    1.21 mi / 200 ft gain
    Upheaval Dome is a geologic structure whose origins have remained hotly debated for years. Some scientists say it is the site of a meteorite impact while others theorize it is nothing more than a naturally occurring salt dome. No matter what the true answer is, there is no question that this shor...
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  • Moab, Utah

    Explore Faux Falls

    1 mi / 200 ft gain
    Faux Falls is located near the Ken's Lake campground off Route 191, 20 minutes south of Moab. When I was there it was during several days of thunderstorms. The waterfall was really gushing. Not sure how much water is running when there hasn't been rain in a while. The falls can be seen from the ...
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  • Brighton, Utah

    Photograph Star Trails at Silver Lake

    1 mi
    Silver Lake is one of the easiest, most accessible hikes in the Wasatch, located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, close to the ski resorts of Brighton and Solitude.The lake is accessible all year; with a boardwalk or a well-signed path circling the lake through spring to fall. In the wi...
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