Utah is absolutely beautiful in the fall! It’s easily my favorite time of year.
The air gets crisp and the leaves change to the prettiest yellow, orange, and red colors.
One of my absolute favorite things to do every fall is go on drive to see the fall foliage.
In this article I’m going to share with you the best fall drives in Utah so you can be sure to see some beautiful leaves too.
The best time of year to go on these drives varies a little by year, but the trees are usually at their best around the end of September through the middle of October.
1. Alpine Loop
The Alpine Loop is my favorite fall drive to do in Utah! It runs from American Fork Canyon through the Uinta National Forest to Provo Canyon.
It’s a 20 mile drive, but takes a while to drive. It’s windy, uphill, and downhill. There are some very narrow roads that you have to take slowly.
The leaves on this drive are unreal though! The colors are so vibrant and amazing. You might even see some wildlife on your drive. One year we saw big horn sheep close to the Timpanogos Caves.
There are several lookouts and places to stop and get out of the car. We do this drive every year and we always stop at Cascade Springs.
It’s a cute little area where you can walk around a water area. We’ve taken strollers before, but it’s really not very stroller friendly. I prefer to wear babies in a baby carrier instead.
There are bathrooms, but you’ll want to bring your own hand sanitizer and toilet paper since they are sometimes out of it.
2. Little Cottonwood Canyon
My second favorite fall drive in Utah is Little Cottonwood Canyon. We drive it multiple times every fall. This is the road you take to Snowbird and Alta ski resorts.
It’s a 7 mile scenic byway. There are plenty of places to pull over and stop. We usually pull over a few times, but don’t always get out.
If we do stop and get out of the car, we always go to Snowbird. We love to ride the scenic tram to the top of the mountain or get food to eat at the ski resort.
This drive has some of the prettiest yellow leaves from all of the aspen trees. They look so pretty next to all of the pine trees.
3. Big Cottonwood Canyon
Big Cottonwood Canyon is the canyon north of Little Cottonwood Canyon. It’s a longer drive.
It’s about 14 miles from the start of the canyon to Brighton ski resort at the end.
This is another fall drive that has a lot of yellow leaves from the aspen trees. There are places to stop and hike along the way.
Our favorite place to stop is Silver Lake and we walk around it. This is a popular place to go walk around, so parking can be hard to find.
Also, you’ll probably have traffic on weekends in October as a lot of people go do this drive.
4. Nebo Loop Scenic Byway
The Nebo Loop is in Juab County, Utah. It’s a 35 mile drive that goes from Payson to Nephi.
Since it’s a longer drive, it takes us a few hours to do with stops.
One of the best places to stop is Devil’s Kitchen. It’s known for looking like Bryce Canyon in Southern Utah.
The fall leaves are pretty here and we’ve noticed the leaves change a little earlier here than other drives we go on.
5. Provo Canyon Scenic Drive
Provo Canyon starts in the Northeast part of Provo, right up against the mountains.
There are tons of places to stop and walk around or have a picnic. You can drive this up to hike Bridal Veil Falls, go to Deer Creek Reservoir, go to Midway, and more.