It seems like everyone talks about the pies at Gifford Homestead - while we were in the Capitol…read moreReef visitors center, almost every single person in line to talk to the rangers asked where to pick up pies! Of course we got into it as well, dropping in a bit before lunch on a overcast Monday morning. As we waited in line, the cashier told us that last year, the store sold over 81k pies! We ended up picking one plus a delicious looking cinnamon roll in the cabinet. Mixed Berry Pie ($8.50) - This is a mini, personal sized pie, with an extremely flaky pie crust, filled with plenty of sweet and tangy mixed berry compote, and then topped with some baked crunchy oat crumble. I believe the crust uses shortening instead of butter or lard considering the taste, but the texture is pretty much perfectly flaky. It's thin on the bottom of the pie, but doesn't get soaked through with the berries. The sides are a bit thicker to give more baked crisp texture with the flake. There's a good filling to crust ratio and the filling is quite good. It's not too sweet and filled with blueberries, strawberries, and other berries. I was honestly surprised that such a tourist trap could actually have a good pie. (4/5) Cinnamon Roll ($4) - Unfortunately this one is a miss. The cinnamon roll is dry, hard, and dense inside, making it not a pleasant eat. It's topped with sweet cream cheese frosting. (3/5) Gifford Homestead is basically a must visit attraction inside the park. I don't think the food is going to blow anyone's socks off, but considering the fact that it's in the middle of the National Park and the business has so much history, I certainly don't regret visiting!

04/19/26 After…read morereading the reviews, I had really high hopes, but sadly left disappointed. The best of our sweet treats was the peach pie, although it tasted more like apple pie. What I saw inside the pie was definitely peaches, but it tasted almost exactly like apple pie. It was good, but not something I'd come back for. The strawberry rhubarb was quite the disappointment. The strawberries seemed like they were not fresh and most likely frozen. They did not taste like they were in season and had an awful tartness that was not enjoyable as all. The cinnamon bun was slightly better than the strawberry rhubarb pie, but it was mostly just dry and hard. If you are going to purchase anything, I'd stick with the peach pie of the three things we purchased. Perhaps the apple pie or cherry pie are better than what we had, but I don't think we'll ever be back to give them a try.

If you're expecting the Smithsonian this isn't your spot but if you want to learn about local…read morehistory it's a great destination. Highly recommend a visit! Junior Ranger program was fun and engaging. The woman at the ranger desk was wonderful. She was friendly and welcoming. It's a very nicely laid out (small) museum with great information. The arrowhead collection is awesome! Magnolia's food truck in front is incredible. The best burrito I've ever had! I loved learned about the Anasazi and more about Boulder.

We saw a sign on the road, and I have always been interested in the Anasazi Indians, so we stopped…read more I was hoping to see ruins, but I didn't see any signs to let us know there were any, so we only saw the indoor museum part. There were some nice displays of arrowheads, pottery, statues, mini replicas of dwellings, etc. The gift shop seemed well stocked, and I bought use ancient Utah sea salt (no iodine). It was free entry, and I made a donation. Clean bathroom. No movies. What I got most of out of this visit, that Anasazi is not politically correct anymore. The Navajo who were helping excavate used this term but it means "enemy," so the correct term is "Ancestral Puebloans" or "Pueblo people" (such as the Hopi, Zuni, etc). Outside was a food truck. Nearby was a gas station.

Saw this area in the fall. It was bursting with golden yellow. A lovely little side trip to see…read morethe largest living tree/organism.

What an amazing natural wonder!! Pando is a single male Aspen clone - it spans 108 acres and has…read moreover 40,000 trunks all on one giant shared root system - one giant tree!! It weighs 6000 tons and is the heaviest known organism in the world! And if all that isn't interesting enough, the root system is estimated to be several thousand years old!! :-o Pando used to be the largest known organism in the world period - but was booted from the top spot by the discovery of the Oregon fungus mats lol. Still the heaviest though and well worth a visit. Pando is a "quaking" or trembling Aspen and is also known as The Trembling Giant. The leaves will tremble collectively, sometimes even without wind - very interesting experience!! (See my video attached to the review). You can find Pando just south of Fish Lake near Richfield Utah. There are some viewing pull-offs on the way in, small parking areas and campgrounds nearby with restrooms and a few hiking trails. Fish Lake is also a great place to explore - the whole area is just gorgeous - Highly recommend!!

The Toadstool Hoodoos are cool rock formations formed by differential erosion. They look like…read moremushrooms, as the harder rock caps and protects the softer rock underneath. The hike is an easy 1.5 miles. The views at the end are worth it, and you can get close to the rock formations as you like (although don't topple the rocks!). It's suitable for families with small children. If you don't mind driving on an unpaved road (I did it in a 2WD sedan), check out House Rock Valley Road for unparalleled views of the landscape with swirling sandstone, painted hills, and other cool rock formations. Check out the Wire Pass Trail for amazing slot canyons, although check the weather. If there's any chance for rain, do not enter the slot canyons since the formations channel water and form deadly floods in the canyon. The visitor center in Kanab is huge, with lots of good pamphlets and displays about the geology and archaeology of the area.

This feels like a review in progress because the area is so large - but was pleasantly surprised by…read morehow much more I want to explore this region. We did Willis Creek Narrows and Lower Calf Creek Falls - both incredible. Now adding to the wish list for return trips. The drive along US 12 is just spectacular. Definitely recommend a high clearance vehicle with 4WD to access some of the more remote locations. Be prepared to adventure and bring what you need as this is not a manicured national park, but more a haven for those looking for an off-grid escape.

Truly a "bucket list" type of trip Everyone needs to experience the White Rim trail once in their…read morelife. I had to reserve the camp sites months in advance. So worth it though. Besides a permit you need a 4 wheel drive vehicle with decent clearance. The trail is right around 100 miles long and most of it is slow technical driving. If you get easily scared from drop offs or narrow shelf type roads you won't enjoy this trail. My biggest fear as the driver wasn't the drop offs but on coming traffic. There are spots where the trail is so narrow you'd have to back up a ways to find a spot where both vehicles could squeeze by each other. I camped at Murphy A, and Taylor sites. Murphy A had an amazing view. Each site has a pit toilet and that's it. If you come in the spring make sure to check the Green River flows. Part of the trail was flooded but passable.

Great off-roading along the rim of the canyons with epic views of the green river, Musselman arch…read moreand Schafer trail switchbacks. Had a blast driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon over two days with a backcountry permit for candlestick campsite. The hogs hill and hardscrabble hills were a fun challenge in low 4 gear. Trip of a lifetime and great memories to match the views.

What an adventure visiting this ancient rock art is!! The panel in and of itself is just amazing -…read morebut the drive and the hike round out the experience entirely! It's totally worth it - the panel is huge and absolutely packed with all sorts of petroglyphs- mostly prehistoric from possibly the Fremont culture! The hike to the panel is such an adventure all on its own lol! It's very short - I only did about 1.5 miles altogether- but there's quite a bit of rock scrambling involved and the trail is very narrow along the rim of a canyon!! So be careful bc it's a bit dangerous. And I visited at the end of August - midday like a dingbat - needless to say it was probably over 100 degrees out and full sun. I was toast by the time I got done lol! Be sure to bring water! But it is still a gorgeous hike - surrounded by canyon walls with a small river rushing below! And then you get to the panel! It's one of the busiest rock art pieces I've ever seen! It's huge and jam-packed with figures, animals, insects, unknown creatures, and even a huge rainbow which is its unique claim to fame! To get here, you have to drive several miles down a gravel road. But it's well maintained and pretty graded so I had no issues with mud or crazy bumps or potholes. And the desert plains are surrounded by gorgeous Utah mountains. There are no bathrooms or facilities and you're way out in the middle of nowhere so be prepared. That being said, I felt very safe - there were other hikers - all friendly. And somehow I had cell signal too!!

This felt like a bit of an adventure. We took the directions listed to find this place and…read morewondered if we had found ourselves in one of those "you missed the wrong turn" kind of scary adventure movie. But we finally saw a sign posting the parking to the Wall Art - and we were so glad we hadn't turned around. This place is amazing! To think of this art lasting for so many thousands of years, so that we can still see it today gives you such a moment of awe. This place is fairly unknown so we had so much space and time to explore without gobs of other people. It was truly a magical experience - which I will stop trying to express as I just don't have the words to describe. However, I can say that I highly recommend a visit to this very lonely, yet magical place.

It is so fascinating to see Barrier canyon style pictographs. It is easy to access (but due to that…read morevandalism is high) and quite a variety of pictographs and petroglyphs can be seen. In winter, mostly only us and had quietly admired the ancient work. I wrote more detailed descriptions in my blog. https://himebackpacker.blogspot.com/2025/06/barrier-canyon-style-rock-art-sego.html

This is one of the West's most famous rock art sites, with a high density of petroglyphs. It was…read morebreath-taking as this is a massive expanse of rock all covered in etchings that are as old as 2,000 years ago. It had me contemplating our current existence and what things would look like 2,000 years from now. It was right off the road with a small parking lot with vault toilets. I came during the off season so the lot was empty, but it gets busy enough that there are traffic signs preventing people from parking on the road. Free to park and walk on the sidewalk to the cliff face.

NOTE: This petroglyph wall is not located in Monticello, but outside of town about 30 minutes. It's…read moreon Highway 211, on your way from US-191 into the Needles District of Canyonlands. I fixed the pin drop marker here on Yelp, but these things can be finicky. It's marked and on the side of the road, but GPS crowds can set to: 37.9879209, -109.5188924. Man, I really love this spot. I mean, it's a nice little get-out-and-stretch and won't take you more than a few minutes, but it's a nice roadside pull-off when you're already off and rolling on adventure. I first visited in 2005 or so and was struck by just how prolific all the petroglyphs are. Sometimes you only see a few in one place, but here at Newspaper Rock, it's plastered with characters. Pull off the highway, park, and walk up the paved path. It'll take you less than two minutes, so almost anyone from grandma to the little ones can make it. There's a small fence at the base of the rock to keep you from touching the panel, but you get a front row seat to the artwork. This is very near a campground, but there is a small toilet facility here so you can hit that up before you get into the park, or out to Lockhart, or wherever your travels are taking you. Note that this is not the only panel in the area. If you keep driving, pay attention to the cliffs and the walls around you--you can spy a few characters. But they're sparse, and in comparison to this amazing display, they may barely register. That's what makes this mysterious spot (but why were ancient inhabitants all tagging it???) so wonderful.

Such a scenic drive on freeway I-70 .... Loved every…read moreminute of this drive! Wanted to stop by every turn and wanted to take every exit to look at all the beautiful views. Eventually, we pulled over almost every ramp! Devil's Canyon Viewing Area was one of the many beautiful scenery. There's plenty of parking space here. Also, there are restrooms too! I found beautiful native Indian jewelry made/sold by the Navajo tribe here. Got some very pretty necklace for myself! The view was amazing from this viewing area, too. Made our trip more enjoyable!

Was curious what we would see at Devil's Canyon Viewing Area. Also, we all needed a stretch break…read moreso why not check it out. It is located on Interstate 70 East in Utah. There were a couple of guys selling Native American craft. Pretty cool looking items. Need a restroom? All I saw were port-a-potties. Sorry ladies. We ventured closer to get a better look at the canyon. It was not a bad sight. I expected to see something more impressive, though. Bottom line, I probably will not be stopping here again in the future. Once was enough for me.