Films Shot in Utah

by Dan Wright

Because of clear air, bright sunshine, and infinite wide open spaces, filmmakers shoot almost daily in Utah. Some of the state's more famous movies are listed below:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Against a Crooked Sky (1975)
The American West of John Ford (1971)
The Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979)
The Kid (1930)
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Bandolero! (1968)
Baraka (1992)
Broken Arrow (1996)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994)
Dumb & Dumber (1994)
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
The Electric Horseman (1979)
The Executioner's Song (1982) (TV)
Fletch (1985)
The Flintstones (1994)
Footloose (1984)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Fort Apache (1948)
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Harry in Your Pocket (1973)
How the West Was Won (1962)
Independence Day (1996)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Mackenna's Gold (1969)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1996)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
Santa Fe Passage (1955)
The Searchers (1956)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Stagecoach (1939)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Vanishing Point (1971)
Vanishing Point (1997) (TV)
Waiting to Exhale (1995)
Western Union (1941)
Wild Rovers (1971)
Zion Canyon: Treasure of the Gods (1996)

Utah's Scenic Byways

by Dan Wright

Much of Utah's most well known desert scenery is in the southern third of the state, while the population centers of Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo are in the north. The fabulous Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the Green River that feeds it pull visitors to the extreme northeastern corner of the state, on the borders of Wyoming and Colorado, but Utah's more famous high-desert splendor and red-rock canyons and national parks are south toward Arizona.

Interstate 70 is the principle east-west thoroughfare in southern Utah, while I-80 bisects the northern part of the state near the southern edge of Wyoming. The western terminus of I-70 is at Interstate 15 about halfway between Provo and Cedar City. I-15 is the only north-south interstate highway in Utah and connects Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo with St. George in the southernmost corner of the Beehive State. Interstate 15 leads to Las Vegas, Nevada, and on through to Los Angeles as one travels south, while Butte, Montana is on its northern end. From these highways, a number of secondary roads--paved and unpaved--lead into scenic areas that are some of the most intense in the country.

Utah Scenic Byways

Utah has 27 officially named Scenic Byways, so-named because of their appeal to travelers. The Scenic Byways are major roads that are paved and regularly traveled. Some routes feature sharp curves and steep grades. Travel speed is less than 55 miles per hour in some areas. One of the most traveled is the set of byways of the Colorado Riverway near Moab.

Colorado Riverway

The Colorado Riverway near Moab includes two scenic byways: Utah Highway 128 from Dewey Bridge to U.S. 191; and Utah Highway 279 from Moab Valley to Potash. The Riverway also includes Kane Creek Road from Moab Valley to the state land south of Hunter Canyon.

The Highway 128 Scenic Byway extends from I-70 to Highway US 191. The route is 43 miles and can be driven in about one hour. This drive is historic in both scenery and deed. The road follows the Colorado River into, or nearly into, Moab. Along the way it passes the historical Dewey bridge, and the remarkable Fisher Towers, just east of the road but clearly visible.

Near Moab, visitors often see mountain bikers along the rocky ledges that overlook the river and the road. The few miles of road closest to Moab are just off the southern border of Arches National Park. While driving time is about an hour, stops for scenery, picnics, and photographs most certainly will cause you to take longer.

Picnic Facilities

Picnic facilities are available along Utah Highway 128 at Lion's Park, Big Bend Recreation Site, and Hittle Bottom. No permits or fees are required for day use at these sites.

Hiking Trails

Along Utah Highway 128, improved hiking trails provide access to scenic Fisher Towers and Negro Bill Canyon. The Portal Overlook Trail--which starts at JayCee Park and is also used by mountain bikers--and Corona Arch Trail are located along Utah Highway 279. From the Kane Creek Road, the Moab Rim OHV Trail takes hikers to an excellent viewpoint of Moab Valley. The unimproved Hunters Canyon Trail follows a seasonal stream along the bottom of a serpentine canyon bottom.

Mountain Bike Trails

Mountain bike routes accessible from Utah Highway 128 include Kokopelli's Trail, the Onion Creek Road, and the Porcupine Rim Trail (bottom). Along Utah Highway 279, trails include the Poison Spider Mesa, Long Canyon, and Potash trails while the Moab Rim, Pritchett Canyon, and Hurrah Pass trails connect to Kane Creek Road.

Off-highway Vehicle Trails

The trailheads for several four-wheel drive trails are located within the Riverway. These trails provide access to Poison Spider Mesa, Long Canyon, the Moab Rim, and Pritchett Canyon. The Potash Trail, which begins at the western end of Utah Highway 279, goes along a bench below Dead Horse Point State Park to the Shafer and White Rim Trails in Canyonlands National Park. The Onion Creek Road can be driven in dry conditions with a high clearance vehicle. The Kane Creek Canyon trails may be driven in passenger cars to its crossing of Kane Creek. For more details on the off-road trails, visit the BLM's Web site pages for the area:
www-a.blm.gov/utah/moab/4-wheel.asp.

Other Scenic Byways

Highway 12 Scenic Byway leads from US 89 to U-24 in the southwestern part of Utah. It's 122 miles in length and takes about four hours to drive. This scenic byway leads from US 89--which roughly parallels I-15 from just south of Provo to its southern exit from Utah into Arizona--and turns east just north and east of Cedar City.

The road runs through Bryce Canyon National Park before turning to the east and then northeast along the northern boundary of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Then turning due north, Highway 12 traverses the eastern edge of Dixie National Forest before its terminus with Highway 24 at the town of Torrey, just west of Capitol Reef National Park.

The Brian Head-Panguitch Lake Scenic Byway is Highway 143, which runs from Parowan to Panguitch. It's a drive of 55 miles and usually takes less than two hours. This southwestern route has a terminus at I-15, north of Cedar City. The road travels in a southern semi-circle and traverses, as the vulture flies, 20 miles or so across a chunk of the Dixie National Forest. (This southwestern tip of Utah is called Dixie for several reasons. One is that early Mormon settlers chose this mild-climate area for growing cotton.) The eastern terminus of the Highway 143 tour is at Panguitch, on Highway 89. Along its way, the road passes just north of Cedar Breaks National Monument and near Panguitch Lake North.

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