Why Utah ranks among the top states for outdoor thrills
With 15 ski resorts that boast of having “the greatest snow on earth” for skiing in the winter and mountain biking trails in the summer, Utah’s terrain is not to be overlooked when it comes to high adventure.
If you prefer hiking and white-water rafting, Utah is also home to the “Mighty Five” national parks, which more than 13.5 million tourists visit in a single year. According to the National Park Service, national park tourism alone brought in 2.6 billion in revenue for the state economy in 2022.
On a national scale, Utah was ranked 13th best state for thrill-seekers in a report by buycycle after factoring in things like bike trails, climbing areas, amusement parks, sky diving centers, etc.
Top 5 states for adrenaline junkies:
California
Florida
New York
Colorado
Washington
Navigating risk and reward
As a bike mechanic in the summer and a ski technician in the winter, Kimball Peterson believes Utah is as good as it gets.
“I feel like Utah has the broadest range,” Peterson told the Deseret News. “We have world-class mountain biking for sure. We’ve got crazy fun stuff, plenty of steep and difficult for the expert rider, but it doesn’t rain very much here, and wetter climates are a little bit better as far as biking goes.”
“But the snow here far outweighs any wetter climate because it’s just light, the snows light, low density. It’s the most fun to ski. And access-wise, I can be at a trailhead in 15 or 10 minutes. I can ride from my garage to Trailhead. And I can also be in five or six world-class ski areas in, like, 20 or 30 minutes,” he added.
Utahns often rank high when comparing physical activity levels across the country. A recent report by Business Insider put Utah in second with an overall population physical activity level of 81.8%, just behind Colorado by only .5%.
Seventy-one percent of Utah is also made up of public lands overseen by federal or state agencies — land that is arguably an adrenaline junkie’s paradise. “These lands and their resources cannot be separated from the cultural fabric, quality of life, historic uses and economic well-being of the state of Utah,” per Utah.gov.
When he’s not working or in class in the summer, Peterson is biking in a canyon with friends.
“We’re kind of all obsessed with it,” he said, emphasizing that his hobbies — mountain biking and backcountry skiing — are elevated by the risks that come with them.
“I enjoyed a little bit of risk in order to have a little bit more reward. Because there’s something super rewarding about doing something very scary. The fear part is funny because there is a point in every skier’s life, especially someone who starts skiing backcountry or starts to get really into it, that you have to take a step back.”
“I have friends that get hurt a lot, and I have friends that have had serious life-altering injuries. And like, we all take a step back and look at it once in a while, you have an accident once in a while and that really pushes you,” Peterson explained. “You’re like, ‘Oh, OK, I could die doing this.’ But there’s also a part to that where you think, ‘I could die without doing this too.’”
Having never experienced a life-threatening himself, he said there are times when he has to remind himself he’s not invincible. There are some days when the thrill isn’t worth the risk.
“I feel like that’s something I have to understand. Even if you see everyone skiing big lines and running big stuff on a normal day, or what seems like a normal day, we all back off of things sometimes. We all back down once in a while because you have to just to manage the risk, or else, it’s not worth it to be in a sport like this.”
