I don’t ask a lot of my vacation time. If I’m able to eat at least some delicious food, have an adventure and see something breathtakingly gorgeous, I’m happy. On my recent trip to Salt Lake City, we managed not only to find a glorious mix of delicious fast food and casual fine dining, but also to nearly kill ourselves when a snowstorm blew in on a mountain hike while we were nearly at 12,000 feet; nonetheless, during our nearly 20 hours of hiking over three days, we were witness to colorful autumnal beauty in the mountains, peaceful secluded waterfalls and stunning winter landscapes at high altitude. Instead of my conventional verbosity, I’ll tell the story of our trip mostly through pictures.

Waterfall Canyon

The hike up to Waterfall Canyon is a beautiful one. The path to the waterfall partially follows the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, which itself tracks the shoreline of an ancient freshwater lake the size of Lake Michigan. Over 15,000 years ago, through a series of cataclysms, the lake was reduced to its current size and salinified through evaporation. Today, all the that remains is the 35-foot deep Great Salt Lake. The waterfall feeds a stream that indirectly feeds the Great Salt Lake.

Mountain view from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Westward views of the charming city of Ogden

The waterfall at Waterfall Canyon

Malans Peak

In just a few short miles on the trail to Malans Peak, one goes from parking lot on the outskirts of Weber State University to brushy trails to deep canyons and spring-fed creeks. Views at the top, nearly 7,000 feet high, are truly magnificent.

View of Malans Peak from its base

Overlook at the halfway point up to Malans Peak

Diverse terrain on the Malans Peak trail

Even the trail is gorgeous up to Malans

Glorious view from Malans Peak

In-N-Out

Nothing beats grease after seven hours of hiking!

Aspen Grove

Aspen grove offers a series of gentle, secluded trails lined with aspen, maple and fir offering breathtaking views of the Wasatch Mountain Range.

Early morning clouds settle in over the colorful fall landscape

Trails in Aspen Grove offer expansive views of the mountain landscape

Beautiful aspens, among other trees, changing colors with the season

The contrasting foliage is quite magnificent

Maple dominates sections of the forest, offering contrast

Wasatch Range valley

Midday snows capped the mountains in the Wasatch Range valley

Stewart Falls

The picturesque, three-tier, 200-foot Stewart Falls is just a short hike from Aspen Grove and was among the best I’ve seen in Northern Utah.

First overlook of Stewart Falls, a quarter mile from the valley below

Looking up at Stewart Falls

Stewart Falls from the mountain stream it feeds

200-foot Stewart Falls

Foundry Grill at Sundance

Utah native Chef Tim Anderson’s focus on globally-inspired, modern American comfort food is the ideal nourishment after a long day of hiking.

Foundry’s dining room is casual and intimate

The locally brewed Uintas HooDoo kölsch-style ale

Garlic shrimp in creamy sauce with raw grapefruit and orange, cilantro and guacamole

Herbaceous clam chowder

Woodfired pizza with Spanish chorizo, sopressata, red onion and olive tapenade

Uinta Mountains

Normally a moderately difficult hike, if you’re caught in a squall on Bald Mountains in the High Uintas, let my advice to you now be to head down immediately, or as soon as it’s safe. Should you choose to ignore my advice, you’re in for some excitement.

Uinta Mountains

Provo River running through the Uinta Mountains

Bridal Veil Falls at Provo Canyon

Bridal Veil Falls, scalable during the drier months

607-foot Bridal Veil Falls

Southward view from Bald Mountain

Westward view from Bald Mountain

Scenic Highway 189 runs through the Uinta Mountains

Uintas Mountains in fall

High West Saloon & Distillery in Park City

Chef James Dumas’s focus on classic culinary theory, local ingredients and pairings with Lead Distiller Brendan Coyle’s creations make for a magnificent dining experience–my best meal in Utah–tucked away in the mountains. My full review will be posted shortly, but the following is a taste, so to speak, of my meal there.

The dining room at High West Saloon & Distillery

Charcuterie made in conjunction with Cristiano Creminelli and assorted cheeses

Pan seared frenched venison chops and braised fall greens from the High West farm

Cobbler with white plum, stewed in spices, and topped with the house peach vodka ice cream