Steamboat Lake State Park, Colorado

Having a blast with our extended family at Steamboat Lake State Park. Gorgeous weather and amazing vistas. It's about 6 hours from Salt Lake City and 4 hours from Denver.

Warm Spring, Gandy, Utah

This is the best vacation spot you have never heard of. It is an oasis on the Utah/Nevada border. A warm spring with crystal clear water, very few visitors, a wading/swimming area down stream, and great primitive camping. There is also Batesfamilyranch just 5 minutes down the road that offers cabins and camping areas with some more amenities if primitive isn't your favorite.

Crystal Ball Cave, Gandy, Utah

Crystal Ball Cave is one of the coolest caves in Utah. It is home to some formations that are only found in 2 other caves in the world. The entire inside of the cave is covered in calcite and many of the boulders that are covered look like spikey crystal balls, hence the name Crystal Ball Cave. It was about a 1 hour tour and exited about a third of the way around the mountain from where we entered, so we went pretty deep inside.

The tours are given by Gerald Bates of Batesfamilyranch and Crystal Ball Cave, a volunteer tour guide, gentleman, cowboy, and general stuard of the mountain and warm spring. We were lucky enough to arrive at his ranch a bit early and get to know him. He took us around to see his horses and cows and let the kids chase a peacock around. The BLM does not allow him to charge for the tours, but donations are accepted, so please help keep these tours going by donating when you visit.

Red Ledges, Diamond Fork Canyon, UT

 If you are passing through Spanish Fork Canyon, you should definitely turn off to the Diamond Fork Canyon. About 2/3 of the way to Fifth Water Hot Spring, you will see the Red Ledges Picnic Area. Pull off and take a look at a sandstone arch in the making. You can also hike around the back up to the arch. If you have a whole afternoon to spare, keep going down the road to the hot springs. They are spectacular.

Fifth Water Hot Springs.

Another weekend of beautiful weather meant another weekend unplugging on a hike. We had heard that the Fifth Water Hot Springs were some of the most beautiful hot springs around, so we decided to find out for ourselves. The trailhead is located at the end of the road past the Diamond Fork Campground off Highway 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon.

The trail follows the Sixth Water Creek and Fifth Water Creeks the entire way, which makes for a very scenic hike. It is an easy to moderate hike and is appropriate for people of all ages as long as they can manage the 2.5 miles each direction. The canyon walls and tall trees provide a lot of shade for most of the hike. Once you cross the Sixth Water Creek and start following the Fifth Water Creek, it looks like something out of a Bob Ross painting full of happy little waterfalls and happy little pools. It is one of the most beautiful hikes we have been on yet. You can tell when you are getting close to the hot springs when the light breezes coming down the canyon will have an increasing amount of sulfur in them.

Once you arrive at the pools you will have a variety of pools and temperatures to choose from. There is hot water seeping out of the rocks that combines with the cool water coming down the waterfall so everyone can find their perfect spot. All of the pools are just made from the rocks you find in the canyon and the bottom is covered in a black silty mud. We ended up relaxing there for just under two hours and probably would have stayed longer had the traffic not picked up. Morning definitely seems like the time to get there if you want to avoid the large crowds of college students. While you may go to the hot springs to get in touch with nature instead, please remember that the law prohibits bathing in the nude and there are kids around.

Parking is limited in the adjacent parking lot and parking is not permitted along the street, so get there early to get a spot to park or prepare to hike from other designated parking areas along the roads. The No Parking areas are strictly enforced by the US Forest Service. There are also pit toilets at the trailhead, but no trash service, so please pack everything out and keep it beautiful.

Activity rating 0-10
Kid fun: 10
Difficulty: 5
Cost: $0

Goblin Valley State Park

‪#‎unpluggedutahadventures‬

Utah is full of natural treasures and one of the funnest places to visit is Goblin Valley State Park. It sits in between Capitol Reef National Park and Canyonlands National Park. There are a few designated hiking and mountain biking trails, but most of the park is open to explore.

Unlike most parks that tell you to stay on the trail and don't climb on anything for fear of damaging them, you are free to roam and climb anywhere you like here. Everything is made of compacted clay and stone and is constantly changing due to wind an water erosion. There is virtually no vegetation to prevent this, so it will look a little different every time you visit. The wind and rain carve out mushroom like formations that look a little like goblins, hence the name.

The weather was perfect in the high 60's with a slight breeze, but it can get brutally hot during the summer with very little shade. Make sure to bring plenty of water and sunscreen. We spent a couple of hours hiking around, but only ended up walking about a mile since we spent so much time climbing and exploring. It really is like a giant playground.

As we were leaving, we decided to visit some pictographs that we had heard were nearby. As you leave the park, instead of turning right on Temple Mountain Road, take a left. There is a cliff face on the north side of the road a couple hundred feet past the first campground with these ancient works of art on them. You can see them from the road, but you should definitely get out to see them up close. The cliff has crumbled away, so getting up to them is rather perilous. As you can see in the pictures, some of the drawing have fallen off and others were shot full of holes. We also found cans and litter around there. Please make sure to take care of these treasures so everyone can enjoy them for years to come.

The road in to the area is on open range land. Be careful as there can be herds of cattle crossing the highway. We got to see some real cowboys at work, driving a herd from one area to another. This was our first time there, but we plan on coming back every year to do some camping and exploring in the area.

Activity rating 0-10
Kid fun: 10
Difficulty: 4
Cost: $13/vehicle