Keeping Utah Valley Beautiful - Fifth Water Hot Springs

The cool crisp mountain air was calling me. I couldn’t resist the urge to hike to our local hot pots, Fifth Water Hot Springs, with my family on this chilly day. Figuring out how to get into and out of the hot pots without freezing was going to be a bit of a challenge. I was up for a good challenge…

Read More

Winter Backcountry Exploration and Safety in Utah Valley

There's no denying that winter gets a bad rap - the roads get slippery, the air hurts your face, and the daylight is gone before we even have a chance to notice it. Yet, despite the naysayers’ complaints, winter happens to be my favorite season. I dare say you haven’t lived until you’ve witnessed…

Read More

A Photographer's View of Utah Valley's Iconic Places

A connection with an environment can be made through iconic locations, whether they are in the city center or out in the wilderness. It comes as no surprise to anyone that Utah Valley is full of these iconic and magical places that will ignite the child in everyone. This wonder, I think, is there to…

Read More

Wildlife in Utah Valley

Utah's landscape is incredibly diverse to say the least. In southern Utah, there are deserts, canyons, and arches, while in northern Utah, there are mountains, rivers, and grasslands. This type of landscape comes with a wide variety of wildlife. The state is home to over 600 different kinds of…

Read More

Summer Fun at Payson Lakes

“And at the end of the day your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling” - Shanti. Summer brings the opportunity to explore, to do hard things, and to stoke the fire of curiosity and adventure in children and in ourselves; to experience something new is to be childlike again…

Read More

Adventure Sledding

Flying down the mountain on my sled, I knew that adventure sledding would become our next family tradition. There is nothing quite like it. Santa must have known because we found brand new, super-fast sleds under the Christmas tree this year. You may be asking, “What is adventure sledding?”…

Read More

How to Embrace Winter Outdoor Adventure with Kids

As a transplant from California, I was excited to see snowflakes my first winter in Utah Valley—but the charm wore off fast. A few years ago, my husband, Ellis, and I made it our quest to embrace winter outside—we went hiking, we went skiing, we even lugged sleds up Slate Canyon and slid back down…

Read More

Embrace the Adventure

Let me state the obvious, we are extremely lucky in Utah Valley when it comes to the amount of wildland we can access. If you think about it, most people in the valley can be in a canyon, by a lake, or at a trailhead within 15 to 30 minutes! Heck, some can even walk to these places in less than…

Read More