My Top 10 Utah Scenic Photo Locations

My Top 10 Utah Scenic Photo Locations

Desert landscape in Kanab, Utah at sunset with red dirt trail, sparse bushes, and distant mesas under a partly cloudy sky.

TEN

  • A tiny town with great views and some decent hikes. You’ll find it rarely gets busy here, like when they have their annual hot air balloon festival in February. They’ve got two or three great restaurants, a cute ice cream parlor, an art gallery, etc. and even a small reservoir—Jackson Flat. But it’s too hot for my taste in the summer.

  • Zion National Park, Lake Powell, and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

NINE

  • This small mountain town is known for its Swiss-inspired character and annual Swiss Days festival, not to mention Ice Castles every winter! The scenery is amazing, and there’s a nifty hot springs cave at The Homestead that you won’t want to miss.

  • Salt Lake City, Park City, Strawberry Reservoir, Jordanelle State Park, Bridal Veil Falls, and Sundance Resort.

Rock formations and cliffs in a desert landscape under a blue sky at Goblin Valley State Park.

EIGHT

  • This place is an other-worldly spot amongst the San Rafael Swell. If you make reservations in advance you can camp here, but the nearest hotel is in Hanksville, 30 minutes south. Some say it’s not worth the $20 per car fee, but I beg to differ. Be sure to explore the Goblin’s Lair while you’re there. You can either hike to it or pay for a guide that will help you repel into it from above.

  • Little Wild Horse Bell Canyon, Hanksville, Green River, and Capitol Reef National Park. Moab is a bit farther at an hour and a half away.

Person riding a red dirt bike down a sand dune with mountains and trees in the background at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

SEVEN

  • A surreal place where a lot of people go for some epic ATV adventures. But you can enjoy the dunes just as well on foot. Rent a board at the visitor’s center for some crazy fun sand surfing. Make sure you use a protective cover on your camera—unless you want to get it professionally cleaned when you’re done for all the sand that your lens will pull in—speaking from experience.

  • Zion National Park and Kanab, Utah. If you don’t mind driving an hour and a half in the opposite direction, you’ll reach Page, AZ where you can check out Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell.

SIX

  • The Red Cliffs Recreation Area in southern Utah is a treasure trove of discovery. You can camp here, explore the easy trails, find dinosaur tracks, and maybe even see a Gila monster or Mojave Desert Tortoise—if you’re lucky. It’s too hot during the summer though.

  • St. George, Zion National Park, Quail Creek State Park, and Sand Hollow. If you drive an hour and a half, you’ll reach Valley of Fire State Park, just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.

A forest scene with numerous tall aspen trees with yellow leaves, some fallen logs on the ground, and a bright sky visible through the canopy.

FIVE

  • Most people travel from Salt Lake City to St. George via I-15, but Hwy 89 is more scenic and you can enjoy checking out the small towns along the way. Once you get to Salina, Utah, you’ll take a short detour to go east on I-70. After about 10 minutes, you’ll see an exit for Gooseberry Rd. Drive up this canyon, pull off where you’d like, walk around—tons of beautiful spots, especially in the fall. When you’re done, head back toward Salina, then you can go south to Kanab, passing Zion National Park along the way (Hwy 89 and I-70 overlap a little).

  • Big Rock Candy Mountain, Butch Casidy Childhood Home, Fremont Indian State Park where you can reserve a teepee and spend the night at this camp ground that includes a sweet little museum.

FOUR

  • In the summer, ride the tram to the top of this 11k foot mountain for wonderful views of the Salt Lake Valley. There’s a nice place to eat and you can hike all the way down (4 miles) for pics of the scenery and possible wildlife, like moose, deer, etc. You can also hike part way down and ride the rest of the way on the chairlift.

  • Salt Lake City. Also, Brighton and Park City, but you actually have to go back down Little Cottonwood Canyon and access the other canyons in order to reach them.

Scenic view of red rock cliffs and mountains under a partly cloudy sky, with green trees in the foreground.

THREE

  • This is a beautiful part of Zion National Park, but oddly separate from the portion most people visit in Springdale, 50 minutes away. If you drive south from Salt Lake City on I-15, it takes almost 4 hours to get there. It’s a much quieter Zion experience than the main park with a short scenic drive and some hikes too. You can visit both ends of Zion and stay in La Verkin, Utah for a less expensive trip.

  • St. George, Quail Creek State Park, Sand Hollow State Park, and Cedar City, where they have the annual Shakespear Festival.

A desert landscape in Capitol Reef National Park with rugged mountains, sparse vegetation, a winding road, and a cloudy sky.

TWO

  • This is a lesser known, and less crowded national park with incredible red rock views. It’s got a historic district with orchards and pie and petroglyphs not far from the visitors center.

  • Anasazi State Park Museum, Lower Calf Creek Falls, Fish Lake.

Dry golden grass in a field with snow-capped mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.
A large bison grazing on grass in an open field with rocks and clouds in the background.

# ONE

ANTELOPE ISLAND

I’ve experienced so many incredible moments here. The scenery is amazing, and there is a very high likelihood that you’ll see bison. You also might see pronghorn, coyote, rabbit, and a myriad of birds, like grebe, burrowing owl, pelicans, and more. Time it right—October through March—for fewer bugs & less smell. You can camp too, but the visitor’s center is being revamped until early 2026.