Utah

Perhaps more defining than Utah’s concentrated Mormon population is its breathtaking landscapes in its varied and arid terrain. Whether it’s the world-renown ski resorts in the Wasatch Range or the urban grid of the Utah’s capital and largest city, Salt Lake City, visitors flock to the state each summer and winter for some of the greatest outdoor activities in the country.

Jutting out from its somewhat barren landscape, Salt Lake City is an impressive array of 20-storey glass and steel structures intermixed with 19th century brick buildings. The heart of the capital is the stunning Temple Square, which contains the most important Mormon buildings like the Temple, the Tabernacle, and the Assembly Hall. Nearby is the elegant State Capitol, modeled after the national Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Nearby is the geographical feature that the capital was named for, the Great Salt Lake, which is a huge, shallow lake that covers an area of about 2,500 square miles 10 miles south of downtown Salt Lake City. Because of its high rates of evaporation, the Great Salt Lake experiences unusually high salinity levels, up to 20% as compared only 3.5% in seawater.

Looming over the capital is the Wasatch Range, which boasts the “Greatest Snow on Earth” due to over 500 inches of powdered snowfall a year that lasts all the way to July. As a result, many hugely popular ski resorts have been established and in 2002, were the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

In Sundance/Provo, Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort offers year round getaways like skiing, hiking, and mountain biking as well as being the site of the internationally famous Sundance Film Festival. There is also the popular Timpanogos Cave National Monument, which consists of three caves at an elevation of 6,730 feet in the foothills of Mt. Timpanogos. These caves feature awe-inspiring geological formations and underground pools.

Head on over to Moab, Utah’s adventure capital and home to the Arches National Park and the Canyonlands National Park. Outdoor activities include mountain biking on Slickrock, whitewater rafting down the Cataract Canyon section of the Colorado River, hiking to the Delicate Arch, and camping at Devil’s Garden.