By Jonathan Cracroft and Bob Grove
Photo by Jonathan Cracroft
The recently warm weather brings thoughts of new adventures, and with that comes the time to plan this year's spring and summer outdoor travel.
In Utah, vacations are commonly defined by asking,“Where should we point the car and roll this weekend?” You can take off in any direction, drive a few minutes or a few hours and land somewhere scenic, adventurous and exciting. We live in and around the places represented by the postcards visitors to our state send home each year.
Of the many options available to us, visiting national parks is quickly becoming a more popular choice. Last year park visitation was up at a time when travel in general was down. This growth can be partially attributed to locals staying close to home and visiting the natural wonders in our own backyard. This year, spend your vacation enjoying the most photographed and most coveted outdoor playgrounds in the world, Utah’s National Parks. Utah is home to five of the nation's most popular parks, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion National Park, which draw patrons from all around the globe.
Winter is here! Many Utahns have been anticipating, some even salivating, the prospect of hitting the slopes again. This is the season many people live for, work for…pray for! Winter is also a great time to find exceptional travel deals.
Many of the mountain resorts offer early and late season deals to travelers, especially to locals before and after the busier months of late January to March. If you’re flexible with your time you can generally find discounts mid-week and right after Christmas week during this slower time called the “January thaw.” However, due to this year’s economy deals will be offered throughout the season. Here’s a list of specials at nearby winter destinations that are worth checking out.
Shorter days, cooler temperatures and brilliant colors appearing on the trees mark the end of summer and the coming of winter. But before you put away your summer clothes and dust off your winter gear, grab the keys to your car, round up your family or friends and take advantage of some of the best travel bargains of the year.
Wanna get away on vacation, but don’t want to spend the money on a faraway trip? Then look no further than this handy dandy list of camping spots that are close to home and offer plentiful recreation opportunities. Most of these camping spots can be reached by car, but in some cases you’ll need to boat, hike or four-wheel in to the campsite. Did we miss your favorite camping spot? Then send an email to
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and we’ll post it on our website at sportsguidemag.com.
Unless you live in Randolph, Utah or Evanston, Wyoming you’d probably agree that this winter hasn’t been as bitterly frigid as those experienced in recent years; chalk it up to global warming or El Nino, but it’s still cold! If you’re like me I need a reprieve about this time of year from gray skies, slush, bitter winds and the infamous Wasatch inversion. My solution:─jump in the car and point south. Now I know I can drive 30 minutes and be in the mountains where I can leave the valley sludge behind, but green grass, red rocks and conditions favorable for hiking and biking are prerequisites to my definition of a warm weather escape.
