I only have 5 days in Utah, where should I go ...

[Eric Rose]

I will be driving so will have transportation. The trip is planned for the latter part of September. If you had to rank your must do photo locations where would they be??

Thanks,

Eric

 

[naturephoto1]

Hi Eric,

That is a tall order. There are so many National Parks to see. If you want to go to SE Utah, you may want to consider Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Dead Horse State Park. These 3 parks are all clustered around Moab. South western Utah has Bryce and Zion National Parks as well as Capital Reef NP (didn't get there) as well as Cedar Breaks National Monument (also didn't get there). Be aware it is a big state. Getting from SE Utah around Canyonlands to Bryce NP is about 8 hours. All 4 of the National Parks that I visited and Dead Horse Point State Park are well worth visiting. For what it is worth, I would suggest either the SE or the SW National Parks (and if on the SE also Dead Horse Point). Anything more in 5 days is way too much.

I can show you photos in my gallery for these parks if you need to see them.

Rich

 

[MenacingTourist]

Utah is a big state and you could burn up your whole day just driving. Tell us more about your trip and we should be able to narrow it down for you. For instance, which part of Utah will you be entering? South from Arizona (red rocks), west from Nevada (salt flats), east from Colorado (Moab) or north from Idaho/Wyoming (mountins)?

You get the idea.

 

[JBrunner]

To expound on the earlier posts,my best advice is to pick an area and concentrate on it, if your primary goal is photography, rather than watching mile markers go by. Any of the areas mentioned have literally a lifetime of shooting available in them. You are visiting at a great time of year for shooting.

 

[noseoil]

Eric, pick a spot you like then do it. It is too tempting to see too many areas, only to find you spent more time driving than shooting. Bryce, Zion, Arches, etc. all offer more images in one small area than you can hope to cover in a few days. It will take a day or two just to understand the light in the area. JB has the right idea on this one. Best of luck, tim

 

[photobum]

Living in New Jersey "The garbage state" take it for what it's worth. But I could photograph the rest of my life within 50 miles of Moab and not be bored.

I almost had my wife convinced it was a great place to retire to. Then she heard about the summer temps...

 

[Jim Jones]

I've traveled through much of Utah, and agree with the previous posts. Perhaps Arches National Park offers the most in a brief trip. If driving from the east, approach Moab and Arches via Highway 128. It offers fine photo opportunities along the Colorado River, especially just after sunrise and before sunset. Nearby Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point are less spectacular and require more time on the road. My favorite spot in the whole world for photography is the scenic overlook on eastbound, not westbound, I-70 at about mile 102 or 103. It lacks the spectacular scenery of Arches or Zion or Monument Valley, but is great for Edward Weston's type of photography. It also has the all-important restrooms. The southern edge of Utah is also great: Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, etc. Do lots of homework before the trip. Check a major bookstore for travel guides. You might want a Utah atlas. Check specific attractions online. In my Navy days I sometimes spent as much time gleaning information on liberty ports as I had time to actually enjoy them. It paid off. A detailed map of places like Arches, and data from the Naval Observatory, lets you predict sunrise and sunset light on some features. Some areas, like Mesa Verde, are special for those with an interest in the AmerInd culture. Other interests may lead to other areas. Let us know your itinerary and we can be more specific. Always start your day with a full gas tank, plenty of water, and perhaps some snacks. Take plenty of film or (forgive me, APUG people) memory cards. I used a wide range of lenses.

 

[Dan Fullerton]

Eric, I have visited Utah many times and always end up in Arches Park, it seems each trail up a canyon yields opportunites from close-up shots to unending vistas. I returned to the same exact area over three seasons (I am there during the winter months) and always found new things to photograph that I previously missed. Your question is the same as I often heard about limited time in an area (I retired from Alaska). Either consider this a "see as much as you can" and plan for future trips, or select one area this time and plan for future trips.

 

[Eric Rose]

Eric, I have visited Utah many times and always end up in Arches Park, it seems each trail up a canyon yields opportunites from close-up shots to unending vistas. I returned to the same exact area over three seasons (I am there during the winter months) and always found new things to photograph that I previously missed. Your question is the same as I often heard about limited time in an area (I retired from Alaska). Either consider this a "see as much as you can" and plan for future trips, or select one area this time and plan for future trips.

Are all the "off-road" areas freely accessable? Hey we will have a rental car, that's the same as a 4X4 isn't it LOL?

 

[mtbbrian]

Considering there are some 81,000 square miles of possibilities here, I would find an area you are more interested in and concentrate on it.
Southern Utah is great this time of year.
Have Fun!
Brian

 

[jimgalli]

If you want to photograph 48 year olds with multiple 15 year old brides, Hilldale's your place. They don't like photographers much though. Take the Holga in case it gets confiscated by some nasty 52 year old police chief who also has 3 or 4 teen brides.

 

[BrianShaw]

If you want to photograph 48 year olds with multiple 15 year old brides, Hilldale's your place. They don't like photographers much though. Take the Holga in case it gets confiscated by some nasty 52 year old police chief who also has 3 or 4 teen brides.

Your response could be read as a bit, ummmm, envious. But the Holga suggestion is DEFINITELY worth paying attention to! Also, best to notify next-of-kin prior to intruding on their turf.

 

[JBrunner]

Are all the "off-road" areas freely accessable? Hey we will have a rental car, that's the same as a 4X4 isn't it LOL?

Arches is a drive, park, and hike type of area that is fine for cars. Zion is the same, except you get to ride a shuttlebus. Same for Bryce, and most of the others. There is allot of shooting from the roads or from short (1-2miles) hikes to get to some of the features. You can also choose hikes that are much longer. Make sure you have water as the low humidity here will dry you out even if you're taking it easy. You don't need a 4wheel drive, unless you want to access more remote areas. If you do choose to go to remote areas and get off of graded gravel roads, you need a 4wd, and I don't mean a Subaru or stock SUV. If you do go offroad, watch the weather as many unmaintained roads in Utah follow bottoms prone to flash flood, or turn in to a clay based sticky greasy mud/glue that would stick an army tank.

 

[photobum]

Eric; Yeah, a rental is the same as a 4x4. I'm reminded of the story of the stock car racer, about 30 years ago. He took a rental and entered the Baha 500. I think Bruce Brown tells it in "On any Sunday"

As a flatlander I don't take my Jeep to Utah. Those dirt roads in Canyonlands would give me another heart attack. You pound a tent peg with a hunk of red sandstone and it crumbles in your hand. Then you want to drive on a 7 foot wide red sandstone trail with a 2,000 foot drop off? No thanks. Jeeps are made for surf fishing on a nice flat beach.

 

[mark]

Go to Aggie's house. Then hangout around Zion. Not necessarily in.

 

[Aggie]

Go to Aggie's house.

NO!

 

[eclarke]

I second Arches. My friend and I stopped by there just to look on the way to California and spent 3 days. The small road which goes east from the park is also pretty good. When I go back there, I plan to find a spot I like and just sit patiently until the light and sky do the right thing for me...EC

 

[Eric Rose]

Gee I guess I'm not on Aggie's Christmas list anymore. Ah shucks...

 

[Shmoo]

Arches and Canyonlands are terrific...tons of images to take with too little time (I only had 2 days...cried on the way out). There are a lot fewer people in Canyonlands and fewer services and rangers as well but it is breath-taking. Zion/Bryce/North Rim of Grand Canyon are quite a distance south, but easier to approach from the Las Vegas area. This is one of those cases where you won't make a bad decision...lucky you!

 

[raucousimages]

Pick one area and work around it. You can spend days just driving this state so find something you like and work it for a day. Remember in calculating travel time on dirt roads 20-40 MPH is good time on a fair road 3-5 MPH is common on many back roads in So. Utah. If it says it is a 4X4 road we ain't kidding. Compare your rental to the Jeeps and trucks you see in Moab. Stuck in the back country for a couple days is not a good way to spend your time. And most rental insurance will not cover off highway use. A problem has been tourists renting H2 or H3 Hummers in Las vegas and trashing them in Moab only to find they must purchase them.
Try Kodachrome Basin State Park if you are in the area.