The 3 Best Tourist Attractions Around Utah County

Tourist attractions help define how people remember a place. Sometimes it is a landmark, sometimes a natural wonder and sometimes a giant American flag flying high above a canyon because subtlety was never really the goal. Utah Valley draws visitors throughout the year with a mix of outdoor recreation, family destinations, historical sites and scenic experiences that showcase both the region’s landscape and community traditions. The Best of Utah Valley highlights the attractions that continue turning day trips into memorable stories.

Follow The Flag - 4th Of July - Largest Free Flying Flag In The US

Follow The Flag has become one of Pleasant Grove’s most recognizable Independence Day traditions, centered around the massive American flag displayed in Grove Creek Canyon each summer. Volunteers hike, organize and coordinate the installation of what organizers describe as the largest free-flying American flag in the country. The flag stretches dramatically across the canyon, visible from miles away and especially striking during the days surrounding the Fourth of July.

The project began as a local patriotic effort and has grown into a large-scale community tradition supported by volunteers, sponsors and residents throughout Utah Valley. Beyond the visual impact, the event emphasizes service, patriotism and community involvement through educational outreach and annual gatherings connected to the display. Seeing the flag suspended across the canyon creates one of those rare moments where entire carloads of people suddenly stop talking at the same time.

Thanksgiving Point & Gardens

Thanksgiving Point has grown into one of Utah’s largest family destinations, combining museums, gardens, educational attractions and entertainment experiences across a sprawling campus in Lehi. Visitors can explore the Ashton Gardens, the Museum of Natural Curiosity, the Butterfly Biosphere and the Museum of Ancient Life, which houses one of the world’s largest displays of mounted dinosaur skeletons. It is essentially several field trips competing for attention in one location.

The organization places strong emphasis on hands-on learning and interactive experiences for guests of all ages. Seasonal events, educational programs and rotating exhibits help keep the destination active year-round. The gardens themselves attract visitors with carefully designed landscapes, waterfalls and walking paths that shift dramatically with the seasons. Meanwhile, somewhere inside the dinosaur museum, at least one child is currently informing exhausted parents that paleontology is now their life’s calling.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Timpanogos Cave National Monument combines mountain scenery, geological history and cave exploration within the dramatic landscape of American Fork Canyon. Visitors reach the cave system by hiking a steep paved trail that climbs the canyon before entering a network of interconnected limestone caves filled with formations shaped over thousands of years. Inside, guides lead tours past stalactites, stalagmites and the monument’s famous helictites — formations that seem to ignore gravity simply because geology enjoys showing off occasionally.

The monument also provides educational programs focused on cave preservation, wildlife and the surrounding canyon ecosystem. Rangers emphasize both recreation and conservation, helping visitors understand the delicate balance required to protect the cave environment. The hike itself becomes part of the experience, offering canyon views and enough elevation gain to make the cool cave air feel especially rewarding by the time visitors step inside.

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