Utah is amazing, its’ iconic red rock and arches are picture worthy and we definitely love to visit these areas… but some of our favorite adventure spots aren’t your typical touristy destinations like Zion and Arches National Parks. We love to explore off the beaten path to some of the more unknown and less popular areas where we aren’t fighting crowds and tons of people. These spots still offer the amazing views that Utah is known for, if not better! We are creating a long list of favorite places like this to explore and just added a new one! Last week we headed down to the Mineral Mountain Range by Beaver, Utah to explore some new territory. It was rugged and wild…. just how we like it!
We’ve been getting so much rain in Utah the past few weeks and it’s been great! (We’ve been in such a bad drought) Between the rainstorms it made for the perfect hiking conditions – the weather was cooler and it was cloudy so we could hike all day without it getting too hot for our kids! Plus the big puffy clouds gave some great contrast to the rugged granite mountains.
There are so many interesting minerals and rocks you can find all over the state, but Central Utah is an area that attracts rockhounders from all over the country. With a little internet research you can find out where you can discover geodes, opal, topaz, sunstone, smoky quartz, amethyst + so much more!! Rock and gemstone collecting is permitted on most public land, just watch land boundaries to make sure you aren’t on private property and the area isn’t posted. We wanted to take advantage of being in one of the coolest spots to look for some gemstones and crystals while we were hiking, and we were so excited when we came across some smoky quartz. Finding these in the wild is way better than buying them at a rock shop 🙂 Some of the other great spots for crystal hunting in Utah are Topaz Mountain and the Dugway Geobeds.
Before we had kids we were wandering souls. Hiking all day, sleeping in the bed of our truck, and always finding new places to explore. As we have grown our family it’s been so fun (but definitely hard work) to incorporate them into what we love. Adventures don’t have to stop because you have kids – it might take a little extra work to bring them along but its still doable! This can apply to anything you love to do in life. If you like to run – bring baby on your runs, if you like to spend time outside, bring your kids outside with you, If you like to travel, travel with your babies. Your kids will adapt to your lifestyle – so include them so they can fall in love with what you love too!
I love seeing Utah, but I love even more the joy your little boys take being outdoors. We raised our kids in Oregon, camping, hiking, fossil hunting, stream dipping. Nothing like it.
It’s the best way to raise little ones! They can learn so much from being outside!!
Always.
Great pictures! Looks like a fabulous place to visit!!
It was so pretty we had the best time here!
the like looks fantastic! You did such a great job with your little ones! The views are breathtaking for sure
It was so fun to visit somewhere new and see all the cool overlooks and mountains!
Oh wow, these are beautiful photos. Sounds like a wonderful place to hike. and I love that you’re able to bring your kids!
Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
It was such a fun place to go and my kids LOVED being able to get dirty and play in the rocks all day!
Such a beautiful view and everyone looks really having a fun time. I wish to enjoy doing outdoor activities here in our place too.
We had the best time out exploring!!
I love the view! It’s so breath-taking! I have never tried hiking but I would love to try someday.
You definitely should try it!! It’s so fun to get out and enjoy the sunshine too!!
What beautiful views and such a fun place to explore!
Thank you!! It was so fun we loved it so much!
This looks like such a fun hiking trip! I would love to visit here for a day trip.
It was so fun and so pretty!! If you get the chance to go you should 😄
that looks all very adventurous – it has been raining here in Belgium a lot too
It was such a fun adventure!!
What a beautiful, powerful way to explore life, enjoy the moments with family and truly drink from the cup of living fully.
Oh thank you so much for your kind words!! We love getting out to explore as a family!!
Your pictures are gorgeous. This looks like a lovely place to travel with your family. I love all the interesting rock formations. I’d love to visit all the various national parks in Utah someday.
Thank you!! It was such a cool place to visit! Utah definitely has some really cool parks and mountain ranges!!
This seems like a whole bucket of fun! Wow! I never knew this existed – I too want to get away from the crowds of the National Parks in Utah, so the Uintas and Escalante have provided a little more solitude. I also need to get down to some of the state parks!
Yes there are so many cool spots around the state where you can still
Get some awesome views and avoid the people! Some of the national parks have gotten so out of control it’s almost not fun to visit when you’re fighting crowds the whole time! We definitely like to kinda be on our own!
We love hiking (and in if that is in somewhat remote places – bonus)! Great that the little ones can explore too … they must have such a ball 😄.
You’re absolutely right about the clouds that adds a different touch to your photo’s – just beautiful!
They loved it so much!! As long as they have rocks to throw and dirt to play in they are happy boys 🤣 and for us the more remote the place the better!! We love to explore off on our own!
I loved finding out about these ltah destinations through your blog! We loved exploring through short and long road trips and camping excursions with our kids too. All the hard work paid off in the end 🙂
Yes!! Lots of hard work but definitely worth it! For us and the kiddos- we are happy to be raising them to love it outside as much as we do!
Utah has so many amazing places!! If you get a chance to visit some of them you would love it so much!
What an interesting landscape. Your little ones are lucky. We always took our guys out for walks in nature and just came back from some serious walks with them. They are now 31 and 34. Good to see them still carrying on. Now, it is us old ones saying “Carry Me”. Cheers. Allan