The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area is the only National Heritage Area designated and named for a specific people, the Mormon Pioneers – as they forged to the west. Their remarkable story of dedication, fortitude, and extraordinary efforts offers one of the best features of the Mormon colonization experience in the United States. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area has been identified by Congress as a factor in the expansion of the United States and contributing to the United States.

black and white photo of butch cassidy and gang — Butch Cassidy and Gang

The unique landscape features a geological wonderland that has been the backdrop for feature films including; “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” and “Jeremiah Johnson.” While traveling through the picturesque scenery, you might recognize a scene or two. Included in the heritage area is the birthplace of Utah outlaws, Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner. Matt was a lifelong friend and a gang member alongside of Butch. Many movies were filmed in the scenic Under the Rim District of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area.

In the later part of the 1800s the Mormon pioneers began their great relocation to the west. They trekked 1,400 miles from Illinois to the Great Salt Lake. This mass-Exodus brought about colonization in Utah, Nevada, the southwest corner of Wyoming, the southeast corner of Idaho, southeast Oregon, and a large portion of southern and eastern California.

log cabin with Mormon Pioneer Family Echo City Utah — Family Portrait of Mormon Pioneers in Echo City, Utah

Their role comes alive as you travel through the communities they built, giving you a picturesque glimpse into the Mormons’ role in the old west, and a sense of life in the mid 1800s. You will be awed by the area specific architecture found in the heritage area. It was largely influenced by the vast number of European immigrants that came to Utah in the 1800s. The colonization of central and southern Utah brought many talented stonemasons to the area to quarry the unique natural resources of the Oolitic limestone exclusively found in Sanpete County which is located in the Little Denmark District.

KSL Great Outdoors List Recognizes the MPNHA

The KSL Five Panoramas You’ll Only Find In Utah by KSL.com Contributor Mike Godfrey, was posted on Nov 25th, 2015. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area Makes KSL Great Outdoors List with two of their parks – The Goblin Valley State Park and Zion National Park.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS — Utah is a land of diverse and breathtaking vistas filled with mind-boggling stone formations and capped with snow-covered peaks. Each day Utah’s varied landscapes put on a stunning display.

For the willing explorer and homebody alike, Utah has so much to offer. Here’s just a handful of interesting tidbits and panoramas highlighting some of Utah’s incredible outdoor treasures, beginning with a landscape that has helped make Utah an outdoor traveler’s paradise.

Sunset at Goblin Valley State Park in March. (Photo: Mike Godfrey, At Home in Wild Spaces)

Goblin Valley is named for a unique collection of geological formations called hoodoos, which have been nicknamed “goblins.” Near the southern end of the San Raphael Swell, Goblin Valley’s delicate wonders have been featured in films, international news and countless family memories. It’s an otherworldly landscape as unique as any, and found only in Utah.

View of Zion Canyon from Scout's Look Out in Zion National Park. (Photo: Mike Godfrey, At Home in Wild Spaces ) — View of Zion Canyon from Scout’s Look Out in Zion National Park. (Photo: Mike Godfrey, At Home in Wild Spaces )

Along with a human history of more than 12,000 years and a dramatic world-renowned landscape of mesmerizing verticality, Zion National Park can also claim the distinction of being Utah’s very first national park.

Named Zion (which means the City of God/sanctuary) by early European-American pioneers, this one-of-a-kind Utah landscape is home to some of the world’s tallest sandstone cliffs, which dwarf even the continent’s tallest man-made structures. This red rock wonderland located in southwestern Utah is also home to an incredible number of world-renowned hikes including the Zion Narrows, Angel’s Landing and the Subway.

For these and many more reasons, Zion National Park is nearly always listed as one of North America’s most visited national parks.

When visiting these beautiful, unique landscapes, remember to always tread lightly, leave no trace and have fun. A landscape as beautiful, rugged and diverse as Utah, merits equal-parts adventure, appreciation respect and preservation.

Boulder Loop

Headwaters

Little Denmark

Sevier Valley

Under the Rim – Little Hollywood

KSL Great Outdoors List Recognizes the MPNHA

The KSL Five Panoramas You’ll Only Find In Utah by KSL.com Contributor Mike Godfrey, was posted on Nov 25th, 2015. The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area Makes KSL Great Outdoors List with two of their parks – The Goblin Valley State Park and Zion National Park.