The 8 best road trips in Utah

19.10.2024 - 03:49 / lonelyplanet.com / Bryce Canyon

Oct 18, 2024 • 8 min read

Picture Utah and images of red-rock arches and deep canyons will spring to mind. However, the Beehive State adds up to much more than its landmark national parks. Taking a road trip across this ruggedly handsome US state will immerse you in the heart of America, taking in stunning landscapes, famous national parks, friendly small towns and roads that were made for driving.

Since you’ll be passing through one of America's most beautiful states, you can expect an abundance of jaw-dropping views. There are plenty of places to visit and plenty to do wherever you park up. Thankfully, many of the best vistas can be accessed via paved highways and scenic byways with plentiful roadside viewpoints, with Salt Lake City as a convenient hub. 

While most of Utah’s best road trips are accessible in a conventional car, some more rugged routes require an all-wheel-drive crossover or a high-clearance 4x4 vehicle. To really get to know this state, fuel up, roll down the windows and hit the road – here are the best road trips in Utah.

Best for tight itineraries

Panguitch–Torrey; 122 miles; one day

If you take only one road trip in Utah, make it this one. Along this route, linking the towns of Panguitch and Torrey in the national park-filled south of the state, you can experience much of what Utah is famous for in a single afternoon.

Highlights include red-rock tunnels, desert landscapes, nearly two million acres of pinyon pine woodland in Dixie National Forest, a summit overlook from 9000ft, and access to four of Utah’s greatest natural treasures: Zion National Park, Bryce National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Capitol Reef National Park.

With plenty of shops and stops along the way, you can easily make a day of it – or even a couple weeks of it, if you stop off to thoroughly explore the parks.

Planning Tip: Most road-trippers begin the route at Panguitch, just north of Bryce Canyon. The nearest air hub is Cedar City Airport, served by Delta Connections flights from Salt Lake City, with car hire firms at the terminal.

Best for dinosaur fans

Starting and ending in Vernal; 512 miles; 1–3 days

Utah is covered by deserts today, but millions of years ago, this was part of a coastal floodplain rich in flora and fauna. Evidence of this abundance of life comes in the form of dino footprints and fossils buried in the state’s desert cliffs and rocky outcrops – things visitors can easily seek out today.

For a trip back to prehistory, there’s no better route than Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Hwy. Starting and ending in the beautiful town of Vernal, this epic route travels in a diamond shape through Utah and parts of Colorado, following I-70, US 6, US 40, and US 191, among other roads.