Zion Park & Southwest Utah Photography

Utah's southwest corner, especially in Zion National Park, can make anyone with a camera, even a disposable, snap the type of photos that look National Geographic Magazine-worthy. The area's freakish combination of desert, jutting mountain peaks, stretching valleys and rounded buttes make it a photographer's dream.

You don't need to backpack 16 miles into Zion's backcountry to find quality photo compositions. The entire park resembles Mom Nature in permanent pose mode. You can snap many of the park's landmarks – Checkerboard Mesa, The Great White Throne – from your vehicle or within short walks from pullout parking lots. If you're chock-full of ambition you can hike many of the park's designated trails, like Angels Landing and Upper Emerald Pool, for shots that will reward your effort. Or consider driving to Lava Point Overlook, via the Kolob Terrace Road. Perched at 7,890 feet, it proffers lofty views of Zion Canyon.

Bryce Canyon National Park, only 85 miles away, also rates as a photographer's eureka-site. Its strange collection of spires and fins are especially photogenic during sunrise and sunset and when a dusting of snow adds a colorful contrast.