Salt Lake City to Steamboat Springs, CO

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Salt Lake City to Steamboat Springs, CO


Start your next road trip at the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, Utah. After a few days, or more, exploring the many attractions in Salt Lake City, hop on US-40 and road-trip your way to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Along the way you will find many attractions to keep even the most difficult traveler interested. Once you reach Steamboat Springs, you can enjoy snow sports in winter or hot air balloon rides, hiking, and fabulous fly fishing in summer.

Begin your trip in Salt Lake City. Here you will find many modern attractions and lots of history. Art enthusiasts should visit the Maurice Abravanel Hall, where you can see the Dale Chihuly sculpture, Olympic Tower, or attend a concert by the Utah Symphony and Opera. Visitors to Salt Lake City should make sure to spend some time at the Historic Temple Square. This square is the home to the Tabernacle where you can see free rehearsals and concerts by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

The Pioneer Memorial Museum has exhibits and artifacts all about the Utah pioneers. You can enjoy the Red Butte Garden's eleven botanical gardens. Take a trip to the Tracy Aviary where you can see over 400 birds. Utah also has a zoo and aquarium in Salt Lake City, Hogle Zoo and The Living Planet Aquarium. Another great aspect of Salt Lake City is its history as the host of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. You can visit the Olympic Oval, and even enjoy the athletic training center. During your stay in Salt Lake City you can also take a dinner cruise on the Great Salt Lake or enjoy a carriage ride starting at the Temple Square.

There are all sorts of great places to stop at along your way to Steamboat Springs.  Ashley National Forest is right outside of Salt Lake City and US-40 runs parallel to the forest for a great part of the road-trip. Ashley National Forest includes over 1 million acres of National Forest System land.  Within this land you will find Kings Peak, the highest peak in Utah, as well as the beautiful Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

Golfers should stop to golf at the courses at Wasatch Mountain State Park. You will find great trout fishing at Strawberry Reservoir, where you can even ice-fish during the winter. Starvation State Park has year-round fishing as well as tent and RV camping. You can arrange for a hiking trip with llamas at www.rosebudllamasutah.com. Take a detour through Nine Mile Canyon, where you can view the petroglyphs. You can also hike and mountain bike through Nine Mile Canyon. If you decide to take this detour you should drive south to Wellington, and after you drive through Nine Mile Canyon you will return to US-40 in Myton.

Vernal, Utah is the home of the headquarters to Ashley National Forest. In Vernal you can visit the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Museum. You can also access the Dry Forks Petroglyphs ten miles outside of Vernal. Stop for a while at Dinosaur National Monument. You can see fossils, hike, and river raft through the river canyons. Take the Tour of the Tilted Rocks in Dinosaur National Monument. After your visit to Dinosaur National Monument, stop for a bite to eat in Dinosaur, Colorado. Check out Juniper Hot Springs where you can enjoy the warm waters of the springs, which contain 24 minerals. You can only find a similar combination of minerals at a hot springs in Europe.

Finish your road-trip in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. You will find all sorts of recreational opportunities all year round. During the winter you can enjoy great skiing, snowboarding and many other winter sports. In the summer time you will find all sorts of outdoor recreational activities like hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing and camping. Aside from the usual outdoor activities, try the alpine slide, gondola rides and hot air ballooning in Steamboat Springs. You will also find many natural hot springs. These hot springs are relaxing and many believe the minerals in the warm waters of the hot springs have medicinal properties. Visit Strawberry Park Hot Springs a little way out of town for a more rural feel. For greater convenience, visit Old Town Hot Springs, located right downtown, where your kids can slide right into the hot springs.

Steamboat Sprigs is the ultimate year-round alpine destination. The road-trip from Salt Lake City provides you with a great view of parts of Utah and Colorado. You will find history and beauty in the city of Salt Lake City as well as throughout your road-trip to Steamboat Springs.