2 Best Sights in Arches National Park, Utah

Learn what it was like to travel down the Green and Colorado Rivers in the 1800s in wooden boats. A series of displays tracks the Powell Party's arduous, dangerous 1869 journey, and visitors can watch the award-winning film Journey Into the Unknown for a cinematic taste of the white-water adventure. The center also houses the River Runner's Hall of Fame, a tribute to those who have followed in Powell's wake. River-theme art occupies a gallery, and there's a dinosaur exhibit on the lower level.

This small, centrally located museum focuses on the people, places, and events that have shaped the canyon country around Moab and Grand County. Exhibits feature everyone from indigenous peoples to Euro-American prospectors, ranchers, and farmers. There's also a big emphasis on mining history as this area was once the "Uranium Capital of America" before the local outdoor recreation boom.