The largest of the city parks is Liberty in the heart of Salt Lake City. This 80-acre park features a children's garden, picnic areas, boating pond, playground and amusement park with carousel, swimming pool, tennis courts and Tracy Aviary.

Willow Pond and Park in Murray offers a unique blend of activities, ranging from fishing to a playground and ball field. The 4-acre pond has become one of the most popular fishing spots in Utah in recent years. Planted there are trout and channel catfish. There is even a pier for handicap access.

Most all of the city parks offer tables and grassy areas for picnics and nearby play areas for the kids. Some have swimming pools and tennis courts. Use of theses parks is free. There is a charge for reserving pavilions for large gatherings.

State parks

There are 43 parks under management of the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation.

They range from Bear Lake State Park to the north way down to the newest, Sand Hollow State Park, to the south.

Four parks even offer golf — Green River, Palisade, Wasatch Mountain and Soldier Hollow.

Some offer incredible scenery, such as Dead Horse Point State Park, and others rare finds, such as Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. Others offer acres and acres of sand for playing and riding off-highway vehicles, such as Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Sand Hollow.

Some of the parks are dedicated to recreation, such as fishing, camping, golf and off-highway vehicle trails, while six are linked to museums, focusing on everything from early Native American life to dinosaurs to pioneer living.

There is a small fee attached to each of the parks, ranging between $5 and $10, and an additional fee for overnight stays. Some of the parks come complete with covered tables, electrical hookups and hot showers.

A list of all the parks and amenities can be found on the DPR Web site — www.stateparks.utah.gov.

Drives

There's nothing like a comfortable drive to make a person really appreciate what Utah has to offer.

The state lists 27 scenic byways, mainly highway driving, and 58 backways, or more rugged adventures.

Expect to see along the way scenic wonders, early Indian rock art, geological formations, beautiful reservoirs and the painted desert rocks and cliffs.

One of the more publicized drives is along Highway 12 from the turnoff a little south of Panguitch to the end with a drive over the Boulder Mountains. It has been recognized as one of the most scenic drives in the country.

It starts with Red Canyon, a few miles after the turnoff, then passes Bryce Canyon National Park, Mossy Cave, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Calf Creek Falls Recreation Area, the Escalante Canyons and the Anasazi Indian Village State Park.