Childs, Craig. House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization across the American Southwest. New York: Back Bay Books, 2006. Only part of this book deals with Utah, but it’s a great read about the Anasazi.
Lister, Robert, and Florence Lister. Those Who Came Before. Southwest Parks and Monuments, 1983. A well-illustrated guide to the history, artifacts, and ruins of prehistoric Southwestern people. The author also describes parks and monuments containing archaeological sites.
Simms, Steven R. Traces of Fremont: Society and Rock Art in Ancient Utah. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press and Price, UT: College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum, 2010. Great photos accompany the text in this look into Fremont culture.
Slifer, Dennis. Guide to Rock Art of the Utah Region: Sites with Public Access. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000. The most complete guide to rock-art sites, with descriptions of more than 50 sites in the Four Corners region. Complete with maps and directions, and with an overview of rock art styles and traditions.
Benchmark Maps. Utah Road & Recreation Atlas. Medford, OR: Benchmark Maps, 2008. Shaded relief maps emphasize landforms, and recreational information is abundant. Use the atlas to locate campgrounds, back roads, and major trailheads, although there’s not enough detail to rely on it for hiking.
Huegel, Tony. Utah Byways: 65 of Utah’s Best Backcountry Drives. Berkeley, CA: Wilderness Press, 2006. If you’re looking for off-highway adventure, this is your guide. The spiral-bound book includes detailed directions, human and natural history, outstanding photography, full-page maps for each of the 65 routes, and an extensive how-to chapter for beginners.
Zwinger, Ann. Wind in the Rock: The Canyonlands of Southeastern Utah. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1986. Well-written accounts of hiking in the Grand Gulch and nearby canyons. The author tells of the area’s history, archaeology, wildlife, and plants.
Dellenbaugh, Frederick S. A Canyon Voyage: The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1984. A well-written account of John Wesley Powell’s second expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers, 1871-1872. The members took the first Grand Canyon photographs and obtained much valuable scientific knowledge.
Powell, John Wesley. The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, reprinted 1997 (first published in 1895). Describes Powell’s 1869 and 1871-1872 expeditions down the Green and Colorado Rivers. His was the first group to navigate through the Grand Canyon. A description of the 1879 Uinta Expedition is also included.
Stegner, Wallace. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West. New York: Penguin Books, 1992 (first published in 1954). Stegner’s book tells the story of Powell’s wild rides down the Colorado River, then goes on to point out why the United States should have listened to what Powell had to say about the U.S. Southwest.
Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. A meditation on the Red Rock Canyon country of Utah. Abbey brings his fiery prose to the service of the American outback, while excoriating the commercialization of the West.
Childs, Craig. The Secret Knowledge of Water. Boston: Back Bay Books, 2001. Childs looks for water in the desert, and finds plenty of it.
Meloy, Ellen. Raven’s Exile. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1994. Throughout a summer of Green River raft trips, Meloy reflects on natural and human history of the area.
Zwinger, Ann. Run, River, Run: A Naturalist’s Journey down One of the Great Rivers of the American West. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1984. An excellent description of the author’s experiences along the Green River, from its source in the Wind River Range of Wyoming to the Colorado River in southeastern Utah. The author weaves geology, Native American ruins, plants, wildlife, and her personal feelings into the text and drawings.
Chronic, Halka. Roadside Geology of Utah. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing, 1990. This layperson’s guide tells the story of the state’s fascinating geology as seen by following major roadways.
Fagan, Damian. Canyon Country Wildflowers. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, 1998. A comprehensive field guide to the diverse flora of the Four Corners area.
Fagan, Damian, and David Williams. A Naturalist’s Guide to the White Rim Trail. Seattle: Wingate Ink, 2007. Take your time to explore nature on the White Rim Trail.
Williams, David. A Naturalist’s Guide to Canyon Country. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, 2000. If you want to buy just one field guide, this is the one to get. It’s well written, beautifully illustrated, and a delight to use.
Adkison, Ron. Best Easy Day Hikes Grand Staircase-Escalante and the Glen Canyon Region. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, 2010. Features 19 hikes in south-central Utah’s canyon country, including Paria Canyon.
Allen, Steve. Canyoneering 3. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1997. Provides excellent, detailed descriptions of a variety of hikes in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, ranging from day hikes to multiday treks.
Belnap, Bill, and Buzz Belnap. Canyonlands River Guide. Evergreen, CO: Westwater Books, 2008. River map guide to the Colorado and Green Rivers, printed on waterproof paper.
Bickers, Jack. Canyon Country Off-road Vehicle Trails: Maze Area. Moab, UT: Canyon Country Publications, 1988. Descriptions of backcountry roads and off-road vehicle trails in the Maze area; out of print, but relatively easy to track down.
Bjørnstad, Eric. Desert Rock: Rock Climbs in the National Parks. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, 1996. A classic climbing guide by one of Utah’s most respected climbers.
Crowell, David. Mountain Biking Moab, 2nd edition. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2004. A guide to the many trails around Moab, from the most popular to the little explored, in a handy size—small enough to take on the bike with you.
Day, David. Utah’s Favorite Hiking Trails. Provo, UT: Rincon Publishing, 2002. Good simple maps and detailed descriptions of trails all over the state, including many in southern Utah’s national parks and monuments.
Green, Stewart M. Rock Climbing Utah. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, 1998. Good detail on climbs in all of Utah’s national parks, including many line drawings and photos with climbing routes highlighted.
Kelsey, Michael R. Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau. Provo, UT: Kelsey Publishing, 2006. One of the best guides to hiking in southeastern Utah’s canyon country. Geologic cross sections show the formations you’ll be walking through.
Lambrechtse, Rudi. Hiking the Escalante. Salt Lake City: Wasatch Publishers, 1999. “A wilderness guide to an exciting land of buttes, arches, alcoves, amphitheaters, and deep canyons,” this introduction to history, geology, and natural history of the Escalante region in southern Utah contains descriptions and trailhead information for 42 hiking destinations.
Schneider, Bill. Best Easy Day Hikes Canyonlands and Arches. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, 2005. Twenty hikes in this popular vacation area, geared to travelers who are short on time or aren’t able to explore the canyons on more difficult trails.
Wells, Charles A. Guide To Moab, UT Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails. Monument, CO: Funtreks, 2008. Good descriptions and GPS waypoints for Moab-area four-wheelers.
Although a virtual visit to Utah cannot replace the real thing, you’ll find an enormous amount of helpful information online. Thousands of websites cover everything from ghost towns to the latest community news.
The American Southwest
www.americansouthwest.net/utah
Utah Guide provides an overview of national parks, national recreation areas, and some state parks.
Canyonlands Utah
Good source for information on Moab and the surrounding areas, including Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.
Desert USA
Desert USA’s Utah section discusses places to visit and what plants and animals you might meet there. Here’s the best part of this site: you can find out what’s in bloom at www.desertusa.com/wildflo/wildupdates.html.
Moab Area Travel Council
Upcoming events, mountain bike trails, local restaurants and lodging, and outfitters are all easy to find at this comprehensive site.
National Park Service
The National Park Service offers pages for all its areas at this site. You can also enter this address followed by a slash and the first two letters of the first two words of the place (first four letters if there’s just a one-word name); for example, www.nps.gov/brca takes you to Bryce Canyon National Park and www.nps.gov/zion leads to Zion National Park.
Recreation.gov
If a campground is operated by the federal government, this is the place to make a reservation. You can expect to pay close to $10 for this convenience.
Reserve America
Use this website to reserve campsites in state campgrounds. It costs a few extra bucks to reserve a campsite, but compare that with the cost of being skunked out of a site and having to resort to a motel room.
State of Utah
The official State of Utah website has travel information, agencies, programs, and what the legislature is up to.
U.S. Forest Service
Utah falls within U.S. Forest Service Region 4. The Manti-La Sal National Forest (www.fs.fed.us/r4/mantilasal) is in southeast Utah around Moab and Monticello.
Utah Mountain Biking
Details mountain biking routes listed in this book as well as other local trails.
Utah’s Dixie
The southwestern Utah city of St. George is the focus of this site, which also covers some of the smaller communities outside Zion National Park.
Utah State Parks
The Utah State Parks site offers details on the large park system, including links to reserve campsites.
Utah Travel Council
The Utah Travel Council is a one-stop shop for all sorts of information on Utah. It takes you around the state to sights, activities, events, and maps, and offers links to local tourism offices. The accommodations listings are the most up-to-date source for current room rates and options.
Zion Park
This site will point you to information on Springdale and the area surrounding Zion National Park, with links to lodging and restaurant sites.