Great Basin National Heritage Area
Isolated mountain ranges scattered throughout the Great Basin area offer secluded campsites and accessible hikes ending with majestic views of the massive expanse.
Watch off the side of the road for wild horses that roam freely across the Great Basin region.
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West Desert Ramble & The Pony Express
This itinerary is a three-day adventure along the Pony Express National Historic Trail in Utah's West Desert. Visit Simpson Springs, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Gold Hill and more.
Highlights
- Camp Floyd State Park Museum
- Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge
- Pony Express National Historic Trail
- Historic Wendover Airfield
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Grand Adventure in the Great Basin
In this five-day itinerary you won’t find many crowds. But take your time and you’ll find this desert geography isn’t so empty after all.
Highlights
- Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum
- Pahvant Valley Heritage Trail
- Topaz Incarceration Camp and Museum
- Sinbad Road / Hermit Cabin
- Great Basin National Park
- Cove Fort
"After slowing down for exploration and discovery of the Great Basin's towns, museums, and open lands, the imagination quickly fills in the spaces: volcanoes erupt and the liquified earth hardens into formations; a massive, prehistoric lake inundates the valleys; ancestral peoples carve out a wild and sophisticated culture; pioneer settlers put down roots; and dreams of statehood build up monuments."
– Andrew Dash Gillman
Nearby Towns
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Fillmore
Learn about Fillmore, UT, and plan your stay with a list of hotels and attractions in the area. Enjoy hiking in Territorial Statehouse State Park.
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Delta
Delta is known as a base camp for exploring the Little Sahara Sand Dunes and the West Desert. Delta is a stopping point on the way to Great Basin National Park, visiting town to see the Great Basin and Topaz Museums, Fort Deseret and the old Van’s Dance Hall.
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Beaver
Beaver, with a population of 3,000, is a gateway to gorgeous landscapes, rivers and streams, miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, breathtaking scenic drives, haunted ghost towns, and plenty of peace and quiet.
Discover Millard County
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Utah’s Unexpected Pit Stops
You’re doing it wrong if you think road trip pit stops are boring layovers on your way to more exciting destinations. How many of these hidden gems have you been to? Here are 11 mini-adventures to check off your list next time you’re road-tripping through Utah.
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Touring Utah with the State’s Most Well Known Women Writers
The diversity and beauty found in Utah has often been captured by women. Here are the places that seven of Utah’s most well known women writers knew and loved most.
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Hike Among Traces of the Ancients at the Mysterious Parowan Gap
See an impressive number of panels covered in petroglyphs. Some people believe that the Gap was considered a special place at certain times.
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Art Keeps the Native American Culture Alive
Utah artist Al Groves launches a new art collective as he works to keep indigenous traditions alive.
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How to Visit Rock Imagery Sites Like an Archaeologist
There are untold thousands of rock imagery sites across Utah, and hundreds of thousands of archaeological sites of every stripe. Learn how to explore these sites with the respect and deference they deserve.
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Wintertime Storytelling With Shoshone Tribal Elders
We’re shining a spotlight on elders from the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation who keep tribal history alive through the stories traditionally told and retold in winter months.
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Great Salt Lake Needs Your Visit
While you visit this mysterious natural wonder, you can also help save it.
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Exploring Mule Canyon: House on Fire and Cave Tower
Driving the up the dusty, terracotta-colored road toward Mule Canyon in Cedar Mesa, you get a sense that this is a special place, though you might not be able to put a finger on why.
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Insider's Guide to Hiking Rainbow Bridge National Monument
From choosing the best season and trail, to understanding logistics and history, here's what you need to know to hike Utah's Rainbow Bridge National Monument located off the south coast of Lake Powell.
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Historical Sites in Utah
Explore Utah's fascinating past with our guide to historical sites and hidden gems. Uncover pioneer and indigenous stories at these Utah heritage hot spots.
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Ancient Pictographs, Petroglyphs and Timeless Mysteries
Exploring Horseshoe Canyon isn’t for everyone. First of all, the effort to get there is an adventure in itself, but those efforts make the reward — namely, the chance to see up close some of the most significant pictograph panels in North America — even more noteworthy.
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Navajo: Fry Bread, Tacos, Pizza
Despite its troubling origins, Navajo fry bread is an inspired food of the nation’s people, and it can be found in many forms with various names around the southwest.
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Meet the Fremonts: Unearthing an Ancient Civilization
Did you know that interstate highway construction created Fremont Indian State Park? Visit the park and Museum for a peek into Utah’s past, plus hiking and ATV trails.
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The Voices of Bears Ears
Bears Ears National Monument is at the heart of southeastern Utah. These lands are imbued with layers of culture — layers of life. In this four-part video series, meet the locals who connect with the land in their own distinct ways.
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The History of River House (and How to Experience It Today)
Looking for items to add to your Bears Ears Monument itinerary? Explore the history of the River House Ruin site here and see it for yourself. Visit Utah.
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The Navajo Basketmakers
Meet the Navajo artists behind this labor intensive and traditional practice.
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The Petroglyphs of Comb Ridge
Comb Ridge in Southeastern Utah offers dramatic galleries of ancient petroglyphs engraved on sandstone cliffs by Ancestral Puebloan artists over 1,000 years ago. Learn more about Comb Ridge and its unique rock art sites, including the famed Procession Panel.
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San Juan and the Trail of the Ancients
At almost 8,000 square miles, San Juan is Utah's largest county, nearly the size of New Jersey. Between the Needles district of Canyonlands and Four Corners there are vast lands of incredible wilderness, national forest, the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and beautiful rivers and...
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Spirits in the Rock
Spectacular pictograph panels, ingenious cliff-hanging architecture and the mysteries of Range Creek Canyon’s first inhabitants, the Fremont.
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The 46 Miles of Nine Mile Canyon
Follow Nine Mile Canyon Road into the rugged and remote Book Cliffs, where messages from the ancients interface with settlers of the West and modern ways of thinking.
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Nourished by the Land: A Shoshone Perspective
Darren Parry learned from his grandmother about the plants, places and worldview that sustained their Shoshone ancestors.
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Hoop by Hoop with Patrick Willie
A Navajo storyteller found his purpose in hoop dancing. Now he’s using his platform to amplify the Native voices of a younger generation.
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Why Your Kids Need a Utah Trip
Discover where adventure and learning converge across iconic rivers and ancient canyons.
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A Navajo Artist Finds Her Beat and Shares It
Rhonda "Honey" Duvall is a leader in Salt Lake City’s Navajo community, elevating the presence of indigenous culture through music and dance.
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Exploring the Native American Village at This Is The Place Heritage Park
This Salt Lake City cultural spot offers visitors a chance to experience the deep history of Native traditions.
