• Arches National Park

Has the world’s largest concentration of sandstone arches. They’re natural-formed, freestanding arcs that look the ideal place for a hardcore backpacking couple to get married. See some beautiful ones with trails leading to Delicate Arch, Double-O Arch, and the Windows sections of the park.

• Bryce Canyon

An extremely beautiful place you should try to see at night, if you can, to watch the Milky Way light up the drippy rock columns called hoodoos. If you’re there during the day, you’ll still have plenty to enjoy — hike up to Inspiration Point (or have a loved one drag you, as I did, if you’re not good at altitude, as it clocks in at over 8,800 feet) and survey the ombré mountains beneath you.

• Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge - Brigham City

Detour into the Bear River Wild Bird Refuge for the 12-mile driving tour. This 74,000-acre National Wildlife Refuge is an important resting, feeding, and nesting area for migrating birds. Depending on what time of year you visit, you’ll get to see American avocets, white-faced ibis, Tundra swans, American white pelicans, Snowy plovers, and Black-necked stilts.

• American West Heritage Center - Logan

Step back in time 100 years and take your turn at hatchet throwing, spinning wool, or have tea while playing parlor games. This living history museum inspires visitors to learn, live and celebrate what life was like in the Cache Valley between the years of 1820-1920. Spread across nearly 300 acres of open space are a historical farm, pioneer settlements, native American exhibits, a mountain man camp and more.

• Bluebird Candy Company - Logan

The Bluebird Candy Company has been creating hand-dipped candies and treats in their factory since 1914. Walk through the door and immediately the sweet smell of chocolate will beg you to start looking for the samples (FYI: they are by the register). After you’ve grabbed a taste, turn your attention to the picture window and watch the chocolates being hand dipped. Their irresistible clusters, caramels, truffles, and chocolates are made using locally sourced ingredients, which don’t have any preservatives or waxes, and their candy centers are made daily. Each are hand dipped then given a unique signature.

• Bear Lake - Garden City

Bear Lake is known as the Caribbean of the Rockies. After seeing the stunning turquoise water and white beaches, you’ll understand why. There is no shortage of recreational activities that happen year-round here. There are thousands of square miles of fun that include beaches, boating, fishing, water sports, hiking, snow skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, exploring, history, and so much more.

• Conestoga Ranch - Garden City

Located on 18 acres along the shores of Bear Lake is Conestoga Ranch. This is glamping at its finest. Stay in a modern version of a covered wagon (with a plush king-sized bed and electricity), or a traditional (yet very roomy) tent. Each spot comes with campfire valet service (s’mores kit included) and there is resort-wide wifi. Some tents have their own shower and bathroom facilities, but if yours doesn’t, there are private shower rooms available 24/7 (none of that public bathhouse stuff with a flimsy curtain and lukewarm water). The on-site Campfire Grill restaurant offers upscale yet casual dining and a wine and craft beer list to go along with it.

• Zion National Park

The canyon at the north fork of Virgin River is affectionately referred to as “The Narrows” — mainly because of the trail’s distinctive tapered paths surrounded by sheer cliffs. Trekking through the Narrows is a visually stunning experience featuring stark juxtaposition of teal waters and ochre canyon walls. Trekkers can choose from several options: a casual “bottom-up” day hike for the beginners; a strenuous “top-down” 12-hour day hike; or a two-day backpacking trek through 16 miles of Zion’s most famous canyon. All “top-down” hikes — read: anything above beginner-level — require Zion permits. Keep in mind that the Narrows is often closed between mid-March and late May due to unsafe weather conditions.

• Bluff Dwellings, Utah

You’ve heard of Bears Ears National Monument. Now see it for yourself from the area’s brand-new, gorgeously located, and perfectly arranged resort in Bluff, Utah. At Bluff Dwellings Resort (pictured), you can stay on-site for the pool, spa, and surrounding views, or drive 30 minutes to hike or off-road in the new national monument, river raft the Grand Canyon-like San Juan with family, or take in the timeless Monument Valley in nearby Navajo Nation. Far away from the crowds of the rest of Southern Utah, Bluff Dwellings is a fantastic place to lose yourself during an extended mountain stay.

• Canyonlands National Park

Also known as the most underrated National Park in Utah, per my ranking schematic. (It’s also the largest!) It’s got millions of years of sediment crammed into a kaleidoscope of colors, it’s got desert grasses growing sideways from eerie crevices, it’s got tiny caves marked by pale-pink cactus flowers. What I’m saying is, it’s gorgeous. Do not miss Island in the Sky, the most driveable part of the park. Hike to the Mesa Arch, picnic near Upheaval Dome, and if you’re there in time for sunrise or sunset, catch it canyonside with your time-lapse on. You will not regret it.

• Moab Flats - Moab

Which is where you should stay, particularly if you’ve got a big group. They’ve got amenities on amenities on amenities — think hot tub, bonfire pit, and state-of-the-art grilling station — and each apartment comes fully outfitted with a kitchen, mod design features (bright-red kitchen chairs! amps turned into speakers!), and super-comfy beds.

• Moab Tour Company - Moab

For Jason Statum-style adventures ATV-ing around the desert trails of Hells Revenge. Strap in with your guide and zoom up, down, and all around, catching beautiful mountain vistas and a face full of dust (that’s what the goggles are for, baby).

• Page / Big Water Area

Okay, so technically Page is in Arizona. If you’d like to stay a Utah purist, book your accommodations across the border in Big Water. But Page has slot canyons (those very photogenic, orange-wavy walls you’ve definitely seen on all of your feeds) to explore, as well as Horseshoe Bend, which is very much worth the $10 entrance fee. Plus, those places are part of the Navajo Nation, and exploring tribal lands and talking to locals about how they care for it is a powerful thing. In Utah, visit:

• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Aka Mother Nature’s paint palette brought to life. Stand on top of a lookout at any of the many scenic-view pullouts along I-89 and watch the mesas fade to cliffs fade to sand dunes fade to forest. Watch the colors — chocolate, vermillion, white, pink — light up as the sun hits them. Trace the snaking slice of grey-black road and its faded tics of yellow dividers cut through the rocks. Go at sunset to see the red glow fade to blue darkness as the earth absorbs every last ray of light. Listen to the insects chirping, a thousand small castañuelas, the occasional rustle of wind, and the even more occasional shout out into the everything — hello there! — and the echo as it rushes back.

• Benja’s Thai & Sushi - Zion

Where despite committing the classic blunder of mixing very different cuisines and expecting it to hang together (their website implores you to “explore the Eastern culture and food”— not what I like to see in my Thai OR sushi places), you can get a truly fantastic bowl of green curry. Go in, enjoy the refreshing citrus water that makes you forget it’s probably 110 degrees outside, and order two plates — you’ll want leftovers.

• Navajo Lake

Located inside Dixie National Forest. This pristine pool of ice-cold water was formed when cracks in the earth’s surface released enough lava to dam up the valley, and if you do part of the 12-mile Navajo Loop hiking/biking trail, you’ll scramble over piles of ash-black lava rock. It’s beautiful, remote, and another reminder that Utah really does have it all. It’s wild to remember that just an hour’s drive south lies a desert when you’re splashing around in a mountain lake.

• Monument Valley

Monument Valley in Utah has been the setting for more Western movies than any other site in the U.S. Its iconic sandstone formations and the Four Corners Monument are unforgettable and absolutely breathtaking in person.

• Dead Horse Point State Park: Moab, Utah

It’s not the Grand Canyon, but it was a suitable stand-in for filming the final scene of the classic film Thelma & Louise. In other words, the views from Dead Horse State Park are fantastic. Just 25 miles from Moab, this park sits 2,000 feet above a gooseneck in the Colorado River and looks out over Canyonlands National Park. Visitors can pick their favorite view from one of eight different lookout points along the seven-mile rim trail.

• The Kolob Canyons - Zion
• Canyonlands National Park - Utah
• Capitol Reef National Park - Utah