Utah Untamed is a discovery-driven guide to the wild side of the Beehive State — red rock country, the Wasatch peaks, and the high desert in between. Hidden gems, adventures, history, and the genuinely outlandish.https://utahuntamed.com/en-ushttps://utahuntamed.com/seasonal/aspen-gold-wasatch-fall/https://utahuntamed.com/seasonal/aspen-gold-wasatch-fall/For two weeks each fall, the mountainsides above the valleys turn molten. Here's how to time the bloom.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTseasonalhttps://utahuntamed.com/history/bear-lake-monster-legend-utah-idaho/https://utahuntamed.com/history/bear-lake-monster-legend-utah-idaho/The Bear Lake Monster is a serpent-like creature said to live in Bear Lake on the Utah–Idaho border. It began as a deliberate hoax: in 1868, settler Joseph C. Rich invented the monster reports in a Deseret News article and admitted about 26 years later that the whole thing was a "first-class lie." No evidence of any such creature has ever been found, but the legend remains a fixture of Bear Lake tourism.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThistoryBear Lake MonsterBear Lake Utah IdahoJoseph C. Rich hoaxCaribbean of the RockiesUtah folkloreGarden City UtahRaspberry DaysUtah legendshttps://utahuntamed.com/seasonal/milky-way-utah-dark-sky-parks/https://utahuntamed.com/seasonal/milky-way-utah-dark-sky-parks/The best places to see the Milky Way in Utah are its certified Dark Sky Parks — and Utah has more of them than anywhere on Earth, including all five national parks. Summer is the season, and the next moonless windows fall around the new moons of July 14 and August 12, 2026.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTseasonalMilky Way UtahUtah dark sky parksstargazing Utahgalactic coreNatural Bridges National MonumentDead Horse PointBryce Canyon astronomynew moon 2026https://utahuntamed.com/history/how-utah-towns-got-their-names/https://utahuntamed.com/history/how-utah-towns-got-their-names/Utah's town names come from Paiute and Ute words, the Bible, pioneer surnames, local wildlife, and even a library donation. Hurricane was named for a windstorm that wrecked a buggy, Kanab is Paiute for "place of the willows," and Bicknell and Blanding both renamed themselves to split a 1,000-volume library offered by Thomas W. Bicknell in 1916.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThistoryUtah town namesUtah place nameshow Hurricane Utah got its nameKanab name originMoab name originBicknell Blanding libraryLevan navel backwardsUtah historyhttps://utahuntamed.com/hidden-gems/nine-mile-canyon-longest-art-gallery/https://utahuntamed.com/hidden-gems/nine-mile-canyon-longest-art-gallery/Nine Mile Canyon in eastern Utah holds the single greatest concentration of rock art in North America — an estimated 1,000 sites and more than 10,000 images along a remote 40-mile canyon. The oldest were carved by the Fremont people around AD 950–1250, and the canyon's masterpiece is the Great Hunt Panel at the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThidden-gemsNine Mile Canyonworld's longest art galleryFremont petroglyphsGreat Hunt PanelNine Mile Canyon name originBuffalo Soldiers UtahUtah rock artCarbon County Utahhttps://utahuntamed.com/hidden-gems/spiral-jetty-great-salt-lake/https://utahuntamed.com/hidden-gems/spiral-jetty-great-salt-lake/A 1,500-foot coil of basalt and salt crystal on a remote north shore — one of the most famous artworks almost nobody visits.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThidden-gemshttps://utahuntamed.com/adventures/trail-of-the-week-mount-timpanogos/https://utahuntamed.com/adventures/trail-of-the-week-mount-timpanogos/A summer push up the Wasatch's most beloved giant — wildflowers, a hanging glacier, and a summit ridge with views into three counties.Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTadventureshttps://utahuntamed.com/history/reading-the-rocks-fremont-culture/https://utahuntamed.com/history/reading-the-rocks-fremont-culture/The Fremont were a Native American culture that farmed and hunted across Utah from roughly 300 to 1300 CE, leaving behind distinctive petroglyphs, pithouse villages, and clay figurines. You can see their rock art today at sites like Fremont Indian State Park, Nine Mile Canyon, and Capitol Reef National Park.Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThistoryFremont cultureUtah petroglyphsFremont Indian State ParkNine Mile CanyonNative American rock artUtah historyhttps://utahuntamed.com/adventures/overlanding-san-rafael-swell/https://utahuntamed.com/adventures/overlanding-san-rafael-swell/A comprehensive guide to a multi-day, vehicle-supported expedition through some of Utah's most challenging terrain.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTadventureshttps://utahuntamed.com/hidden-gems/secret-slot-canyons-escalante/https://utahuntamed.com/hidden-gems/secret-slot-canyons-escalante/Escape the crowds and navigate the narrow, sculpted walls of these lesser-known geological wonders.Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThidden-gems