Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Utah boasts five national parks -- Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Arches. In addition to views of awe-inspiring natural wonders, most of the national parks offer hiking, biking and horseback riding. For more outdoor enjoyment, Utah is home to an additional 40 state parks. Families can go on geocaching adventures, take on water sports in the summer and enjoy skiing in the winter. Visitors can camp in many of the parks.
Children and families can soak up Utah's natural history while learning about the types of dinosaurs that once lived there. Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park is 8 acres featuring 60 life-sized dinosaur replicas that were native to Utah. The park also has a museum that houses robotic dinosaurs and life-sized dinosaur skeletons, as well as a working dinosaur lab where fossils are prepared for exhibit in the museum. Kids can see fossils of dinosaurs embedded in huge rocks at the Dinosaur National Monument that encompasses 210,844 acres, east of Vernal, on the Utah/Colorado border. The North American Museum of Ancient Life in Lehi claims to have the largest display of mounted dinosaurs in the world.
Five American Indian tribes that are native to the state live in Utah -- Paiute, Ute, Dine' (Navajo), Shoshoni and Goshute. Native American pow-wows and events are held throughout the year. The Navajo National Monument is rich in history with its three preserved cliff dwellings, museum, visitor center and trails. It straddles the Arizona/Utah border near Tonalea, Arizona. Utah Trails Resort near Kanab is a not-for-profit Native American cultural center where kids can experience the life of the American Indian firsthand.
Kids and families can live like the cowboys did for a weekend or longer at a dude ranch in Utah. Riding horses, driving cattle, learning to rope steers, taking hayrides and sitting around a campfire are just a few of the activities offered at the Rockin' R Ranch, a working cattle ranch in Sandy. The American West Heritage Center, a living history museum in Cache Valley, takes children and their families back in time to experience both the daily life of Utah pioneers and American Indians.