Zion: on the canyon floor, between the Narrows and Angels Landing
A narrow canyon between 600-metre cliffs, which you travel by shuttle and then on foot: along the ridge of Angels Landing or in the river through the Narrows.
Moab: the base for Arches, Canyonlands and the Colorado River
A small town in the Utah desert, ten minutes from Arches and an hour from Canyonlands, surrounded by red cliffs, tracks and trails.
Bryce Canyon: an orange stone army at the edge of the plateau
Thousands of orange rock spires packed tightly together, which you look at from above before walking down among them.
Arches: more than 2,000 sandstone arches under the open sky
The highest concentration of stone arches in the world, including Delicate Arch, the symbol of Utah. A compact park, ten minutes from Moab.
Capitol Reef: Utah's quietest national park
Red, grey and white cliffs along a 160 km fold of rock, pioneer orchards in the middle of the desert, and far fewer people than at Zion or Arches.
Canyonlands: canyons as far as the eye can see, viewed from above
Utah's largest national park: a maze of canyons carved by the Colorado and the Green River, which you look down on from the Island in the Sky plateau.
Monument Valley: the red buttes of Navajo country
Red sandstone buttes on a vast plain, on Navajo land: the Western backdrop everyone has in mind, best seen at sunrise.
Valley of the Gods: a Monument Valley without the crowds
The same red buttes as Monument Valley, half an hour's drive away, but with no ticket booth, no guide and almost nobody around.