Shae, Truffles and I spent a month in Utah earlier this year. A couple of weeks were spent there in April when my parents visited from the UK, then we headed back there for a couple of weeks to check out Salt Lake City.
I’d only heard good things about Utah from people who’d visited the National Parks there and I can see why. It ended up being a wonderful place to visit and is easily in my top five favorite states of the road trip so far.
We’ve spent the last few weeks on the blog sharing about what we did there, so now it’s time to share our best and worst things from Utah.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – This award has to go to the Airbnb we stayed at in Kanab. It was a wonderful property with such lovely hosts and animals to pet.
Honorable mention goes to the Residence Inn Salt Lake City Downtown. It was very good value on points, in a great location and we were able to book straight into a one bedroom suite which made for a much more enjoyable fortnight there.
Shae – Baby and mama goats, bunnies, chickens, dogs, and a sweet family? An Airbnb that gets its own blog post?? Yes, not only my favorite accommodation of Utah but probably top of the whole road trip!
Favorite Meal
Stephen – We didn’t eat out a ton in Utah, but I’d probably go for Spitfire Smokehouse BBQ & Taps in Moab.
Shae – It’s not a meal, but probably the donuts and hot roll with gravy from The Pie Dump. My favorite meal was the delicious grilled cheese I had at Squatters Pub in Salt Lake City. An honorable mention definitely goes to Spitfire for me. And the drinks at Granary Bar and Grill in Monticello, UT were fantastically delicious and I highly recommend it to anyone passing through.
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – I don’t remember having a disappointing meal, but we were definitely disappointed with the ciders at Mountain West Hard Cider in Salt Lake City. A couple of them tasted fine, but their prickly pear cider in particular wasn’t pleasant.
Shae – I agree completely – Mountain West was really disappointing.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – Probably driving around on Bonneville Salt Flats, but watching Shae complete the Diving Into Donuts challenge at The Pie Dump was pretty entertaining and free thanks to her completing the eating challenge!
Shae – There wasn’t a lot in Utah that we did that was free. I’d probably have to agree about the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – Definitely visiting all five of Utah’s National Parks, although I guess this could potentially be classed as a free activity seeing as our National Parks annual pass had more than paid for itself by that stage.
Shae – I was about to say Lower Antelope Canyon, until I realized that while we went there during our time in Utah but it’s in Arizona. For me it was probably getting to soak in the warm hot springs at Homestead Crater.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – One downside of Utah’s National Parks is that they’re not very dog friendly, although some are more dog friendly than others. Utah’s State Parks are much more dog friendly though, so Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park gets the win for this category because it meant Truffles got to go sand boarding again having enjoyed it at White Sands National Park last year. It was also fun getting to see my parents go sand boarding for the first time.
Shae – I think Truffles would agree that her favorite activity was Coral Pink Sand Dunes as well. But I loved our day in Park City (other than Olympic Park) with her. She got to run free at Run Amuk Dog Park, have a little swim at the nearby dog park that included a small pond for pups and we enjoyed a drink at High West Distillery.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – Having to drive so far to all of the National Parks seeing as it was too expensive to stay much closer to them.
Shae – My least favorite activity was going to the Utah Olympic Park. I really thought it was going to be amazingly fun and cool and it really wasn’t.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – The hike to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.
Shae – The river hike at Zion National Park.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – I didn’t do it myself, but watching Shae do the donut challenge at The Pie Dump.
Shae – Definitely The Pie Dump’s Dive into Donuts challenge.
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Some of the views at Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
Shae – Spending time each day with the animals at our Airbnb in Kanab. I also enjoyed meeting Lindsey and Matt in Salt Lake City since I love making new friends.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Watching my parents do their first Easter Egg hunt while we were in Monticello. And seeing Truffles’ cute face in her bunny ears!
Shae – We had a lot of nice and fun memories during the visit with Stephen’s parents but I think for me it was a tie of both their first Easter in the US and Chris’s first shots!
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Not spending more time in Utah. We only spent a month there, but I could’ve happily spent several more weeks in the beehive state.
Shae – Not getting more time at Bryce Canyon specifically.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – Some of the hiking trails at Zion National Park (The Narrows and Angels Landing) and Bryce Canyon National Park (Navajo Loop Trail).
Shae – The Narrows hike and more time at Bryce Canyon, including a bike ride there are at the top of my list.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How much we loved Utah in general. In particular, how much we loved Salt Lake City. We’d figured we’d love the state’s National Parks, but we hadn’t expected to enjoy our time in Salt Lake City as much as we did.
Shae – I didn’t expect to love Utah. I was interested in visiting but it was much more “Stephen’s state” than my own when we were planning. I really loved Salt Lake City and Park City particularly.
My Utah Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink every time you’re stuck behind a Subaru. They’re the car of choice in Utah and Colorado and their drivers consistently drive a strict 10% below the speed limit. Every time we were stuck behind a slow-driving car, it was always a Subaru causing the hold up.
Shae – Stephen has really strong feelings about Subaru drivers, so specific to me – drink every time Stephen complains about them. But for everyone? Take a drink every time you see wildlife crossing. So many potential wildlife sightings available along the road.
Summary Of Utah In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – Beautiful. Stunning. Spectacular. A great state to visit.
Shae – Would consider living in SLC (not in winter) – that’s how good it was.
Utah Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Kanab, Salt Lake City, Monticello.
Shae – Kanab, Salt Lake City and Monticello but they were very close to a tie.
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