Kick-It Picks Things to Do in Utah
The stops worth the drive — and the truth about the ones that aren't.
No state packs more scenery per mile than Utah. Five national parks — the Mighty 5 — stacked across the red-rock south, with slot canyons, hoodoos, and arches on the license plate. And it's not just desert: the Wasatch up north holds the greatest snow on Earth, and out west a sea of salt runs flat enough to see the planet curve. These are the picks worth driving all of it for.
Regions: Wasatch · Canyon Country · Color Country
Everything below is a Kick-It Pick — the entries we’d grab you by the collar for. Each one is pulled from Kick the Bucket List: Utah, our 120-stop field guide, and each carries a blunt Bucket Rating so you know what’s non-negotiable and what to skip. Prices and hours drift; we stamp every page with the date we checked it and fix what changes.
The Big Ten
Walk Into the Great Canyon
Non-negotiableStand Over the Hoodoos
Non-negotiableStand Under the Icon
Non-negotiablePeer Off the Island in the Sky
Non-negotiableEat the Pie in the Orchard
Non-negotiableThe Great Outdoors
Oddities
Eats
Get the Mile-High Biscuits in the Canyon
Non-negotiablePut Pastrami on Your Cheeseburger
Worth the driveAgonize Over the Mole
Worth the driveEat Farm-to-Table at the End of the Road
Non-negotiableDip Everything in the Pink Stuff
Worth the driveOrder a "Dirty Soda"
Worth the driveRoad Trips
Small Towns
Month by Month
Get all 120 in Kick the Bucket List: Utah
These are the marquee Kick-It Picks. The book has 120 — adventures, eats, road trips, and the small towns worth the detour — each with a checkbox, a date line, and a Bucket Rating. Fill it in. Score yourself.
See the Utah book →