Utah Off the Beaten Path

by Michael Rutter

This guide covers a wide range of little-known attractions in Utah, including the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, the Western Mining and Railroad Museum, the real Big Rock Candy Mountain, and ghost towns galore.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Rutter has authored or co-authored nearly 40 books and 600 articles for magazines and newspapers. He was awarded the Ben Franklin Award for Outdoor Writing and the Rocky Mountain Book Publishers Association Award. Michael teaches advanced writing at Brigham Young University. He is also a Christa McAuliffe Fellow.

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I’ve got a lot of traveling to do- this book was amazing at covering all these places to see and explore and it made me love my state of Utah even more. But seriously, I can’t imagine a state that has more to see and do and explore with so many places that are seldomly seen by anyone. I loved a lot of the stories and brief touches on Utah’s history. I recommend it for anyone wanting to see more of Utah.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I never finished this book, because it was such a disappointment.

Keep in mind these are supposed to be "Off the Beaten Path" ideas. Which suggests to me that the average person would not have heard of them, never mind done them.

The author's #1 "Off the Beaten Path" idea for Northern Utah is Temple Square (i.e. THE LDS temple). This temple is "Mecca" for Later-Day Saints. It is the major tourist attraction in Utah. BUT... apparently the author thinks it's "off the beaten path." Of course, it is downtown Salt Lake City on Main and Temple streets!

In addition, 2 of the other favorite "Off the Beaten Path" ideas are Bear Lake (a major spot for Utahn's to go camping, fishing, boating) and THE ROAD TO BEAR LAKE. HUH???? Seriously, seriously!?!?!?

Don't waste your time. I could give you better ideas than this guy can.

[Shelah · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like hiking, white-water rafting, and out of the way bed and breakfasts, this is a great guide to Utah. If your interests lean more towards art museums and fine dining, skip it. It's not called "Off the Beaten Path" for nothing. I definitely learned new things about obscure locations in what will likely be our new home, but it's stuff that I'm pretty sure I won't be using every day.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

We got this the summer we did the Utah parks. I love this travel book series for a place where you are going to be in the area for awhile--there are some great little finds that we have alot of fun finding and going to.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some pretty good info. I just didn't find the format particularly readable.