Scouting Locations in Utah
Utah showcases an incredible diversity of landscapes all within its borders from the vibrant urban life of Salt Lake City to the stunning red rock formations of Arches National Park, the serene beauty of alpine lakes, the unique hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, the vast expanses of the Great Salt Lake, and the rich cultural heritage of its Native American tribes.
Utah-America’s Film Set
Utah has been one of Hollywood’s favorite secret weapons for more than a century. From the classic Westerns of John Ford to Forrest Gump, Indiana Jones, Yellowstone, Planet of the Apes, and John Carter, Utah offers a combination of production value, visual diversity, and accessibility that is incredibly difficult to replicate anywhere else.
Nicknamed “America’s Film Set,” Utah encompasses approximately 84,900 square miles of remarkably diverse landscapes. Within relatively short distances, productions can access the red-rock deserts and dramatic canyon country of Moab, the alpine peaks and forests of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, home to world-class ski areas including Alta, Snowbird, and Park City, as well as the otherworldly expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Few places in the country offer such a broad range of cinematic environments in a single state—from towering mountains and deep forests to vast deserts, rugged canyons, salt flats, and iconic Western landscapes.
For filmmakers Utah isn’t simply a place to shoot. It is an extraordinary collection of locations capable of standing in for almost anywhere in the American West—and beyond.
Here is a list of some of the amazing scenic locations Utah has to offer:
- The Bonneville Salt Flats look like an endless, blindingly white mirror—perfect for fashion shoots, sci-fi, dream sequences, or car commercials one of North Americas unique landscapes.
- Moab the capital of 4×4 Jeeping, mountain biking & red rocks plus the home of two of the mighty five National Parks in Utah, Arches and Canyonlands plus the Colorado & Green Rivers. The amazing landscapes of Moab have ben lensed for Mars, tons of westerns &100s of car commercials.
- There are 46 Utah State Parks that are open to filming! Dead Horse State Park with its sweeping view of the Colorado River and Canyonlands, Goblin Valley State Park famous for its Mars look alike mushroom -shaped hoodoos, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park with actual pink colored sand dunes.
- The largest Utah State Park Antelope Island surrounded by the Great Salt Lake & its fantastic roads for filming car commercials with large bodies of water in the background.
- There are 15 ski resorts 10 of which are with in one hours drive of Salt Lake City skyline with world -class snow. The Wasatch Range provides dramatic, jagged mountains that can easily double for the Alps as well as thousands of acres of pristine aspen groves, emerald lakes, and rugged peaks in Park City and the Uintas.
- Salt Lake City has both a mixture of modern architecture as well as has preserved their historic 19 th century Victorian style homes. The City of Salt Lake & the State of Utah are OPEN to filming and offer film incentives of 25 % back on qualified in-state expenditures.
- Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks: Bryce, Zion, Capital Reef, Canyonlands & Arches the densest concentrations of national parks in the country! These landscapes are defined by its unique sandstone & limestone geology. Also erosion and uplifting of cliffs, canyons, arches, and mesas.