It is also possible to learn a lot by visiting one of the parks. The Utah Field House of Natural History, Anasazi State Park, Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn, Iron Mission and, of course, the Territorial Statehouse and This Is the Place hold museums dedicated to Utah's past.

Among the newest is the Field House located in the center of Uinta Basin. It is one of the few places in the world where the Earth's entire history is exposed, starting with the newest formations and going back to the Precambrian Era, which dates, some believe, to when the world was first formed — 4.5 billion years ago.

The museum is intended to show visitors what is unique and exciting about the basin from paleontological and geological perspectives.

Two of the lesser visited parks are located along one of the country's most scenic sections of road, Highway 12: Kodachrome and Escalante parks.

Within Kodachrome there are 10 miles of marked trails, the longest being a five-mile loop. Within Escalante there is a one-and-a-half-mile hike, called "Trail of the Sleeping Rainbow," so named because it leads through a ground-level forest of petrified wood, and a small reservoir that is routinely planted with catchable rainbow to go with a resident population of bluegill and largemouth bass.

The museum at Iron Mission is focused on the early iron foundry that pioneers built in the mid-1800s near Cedar City.

Not necessarily Utah's biggest park, Rail to Trail park is certainly the longest. It runs from Park City to Echo, is the width of a couple of railroad tracks and is popular with runners, bikers, hikers and equestrian owners.

Often overlooked are the parks tied in with fishing. Several, including Deer Creek, Rockport, East Canyon, Piute, Willard Bay, Starvation, Red Fleet, Quail Creek and Sand Hollow, offer excellent year-round fishing opportunities for a range of fish, including trout, bass and even the prized wiper, a cross between two bass species.

The division currently has a program in place where visitors can show a valid Utah fishing license and receive a discounted entry fee.

Going down the list of parks, it's not hard identifying the unique personality of all 42 parks. And with each, one visit is usually enough to understand just why it falls under the protective umbrella of the state.

STATE PARKS LIST

• Anasazi State Park Museum in Boulder: Museum of Ancestral Puebloan culture, special exhibits, events and programs, day-use

• Antelope Island State Park in Syracuse: Camping, day-use, wildlife viewing, mountain biking, hiking

• Bear Lake State Park in Garden City: Camping, day-use, water recreation