SOUTHWESTERN UTAH -- Week two of our "Great Escape" takes us to the southwestern part of Utah, which for our purposes includes Juab, Sanpete, Millard, Sevier, Beaver, Piute, Iron and Washington counties.

Little Sahara Recreation Area

We began at one of the premiere sand dunes in the nation -- the Little Sahara Recreation Area.

The dunes were created thousands of years ago after Lake Bonneville dried up. Strong winds carried the sand deposits until they reached a mountain, and then dropped the sand there.

No doubt about it, riding in a dune buggy or any other off-road vehicle at the Little Sahara sand dunes is a thrill!

"There's no speed limit or anything around here," commented off-road rider Scott Devries. The dunes provide ample space to "let it out, let the throttle open and go for it," as rider Kolby White said.

The Little Sahara Recreation Area, which also features trails and flat brushy areas, covers 60,000 acres.

"You can't ruin anything by coming up here," White observed. "It's just a bunch of sand. You're not going to hurt anything by just jamming around."

Lisa Reid with the Bureau of Land Management told us, "If you like to play in the sand, this is definitely the place to be."

The most popular part of the dunes is Sand Mountain, a steep 700-foot mountain of sand.

Juab County Sheriff Alden Orme said, "You'll see people ride up and down Sand Mountain all day, and that's what they like, is racing up and down."

Another great area is the bowls. It's beautiful to see and a challenging ride. Our BLM driver took us on the tops and the sides of the bowls. At times it felt like we were sideways on an amusement park ride.

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Little Sahara also has smaller, rolling dunes for beginners and a separate area for kids without ATVs. "We have the sand for the little kids who like to just play and dig around in the sand," Reid pointed out.

She says most people who visit Little Sahara stay for several nights. "We have everything from open camping sites to setup sites with water and recreation," Reid said. One thing the dunes doesn't have is a lot of amenities.

On a typical weekend, about 3,000 people visit Little Sahara. "Even on the busy weekend, you can pick a spot and go to that area with your family and have an area all to yourself," Sheriff Orme said.

Rentals are not available at Little Sahara, so if you don't own an ATV, look into renting one before you leave.

Paiute Trail

Another great place for ATV enthusiasts is the Paiute trail. The well-known trail stretches over 1,000 miles, with the majority of it in Sevier and Paiute counties.

The trail winds through three mountain ranges and numerous towns. Wildlife, like elk and deer, are likely to be spotted along the way.

Before hitting the trail, get a detailed National Geographic map that includes the level of difficulty of each trail section.

A popular stop along the trail is Fremont Indian State Park. Of course, you don't have to be on an ATV to check it out.

In 1983, the largest known Fremont Indian village was discovered here. The area includes one of the largest concentrations of rock art in the state -- visitors can view almost 700 rock art panels.

Numerous petroglyphs are chiseled into the rock and rare pictographs are painted on the stones. The park museum houses the state's largest Fremont Indian artifact collection. The park also has an award-winning campground and 14 guided trails.

Click here for more information about Fremont Indian State Park and Museum.

Topaz Internment Camp Museum

While you're near Delta, it's worth checking out a tribute to a sad piece of Utah history.

During World War II the U.S. government forced Japanese-Americans on the west coast to move inland for the country's safety. More than 8,000 Japanese-Americans relocated to the Topaz interment camp near Delta, surrounded by barbed wire fences.

Delta's mayor, Gayle Bunker, said, "We all recognize that there was a great injustice done to those Japanese-Americans because they were American citizens."

The Great Basin Museum in Delta now houses items the internees used and made. The museum also has restored part of an original barrack to illustrate the conditions at the camp.

A family of four would live in a tiny apartment with a single pot-bellied stove. The only insulation was thin tar-papered walls.

"Cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and when the wind blew, the dust came in," Bunker said. "It wasn't very comfortable."

Residents constructed their own furniture using wooden crates they brought to the camp. They constantly made the best of their situation. They formed schools, established churches, staffed a hospital and held sporting events.

The majority of the internees had come from the San Francisco Bay area.

Snow Canyon State Park

Snow Canyon State Park covers 7,400 acres and boasts diverse scenery within a four-mile drive.

To the south you'll find a half mile of red sand dunes, which park manager Kristen Comella says is great for children.

"It's like a giant sand box. So we'll actually see people visiting the park with their buckets and shovels and digging holes and burying one another," she said.

A little farther north, interesting-looking slick rock and sandstone formations at the Petrified Dunes offer some moderate hikes.

And a little ways beyond that is the Cinder Cone, where you can follow a corkscrew hike 500 feet to the top of an extinct volcano. Unfortunately we picked an unusual snowy day to visit, but weather didn't stop the visitors.

Lance Jorgensen said, "We just came and looked at the petrified dunes and walked around them and climbed on them. It's beautiful. It's really amazing."

Jenny Wehinger added, "I've never hiked a volcano before, so it was really fun. Just go up to the top there and see what it looks like. It's not what I expected. It's got like bushes and grass growing down there."

Snow Canyon offers more than 18 miles of hiking trails. You can learn about the plants and geology on self-guided nature trails or take a ranger-guided hike. A junior ranger program is available for kids. Other activities include horseback riding, mountain biking, technical rock-climbing and camping (33 individual and group campsites).

It's very easy to spend a whole day here. Just pack a picnic and hop in the car to explore.

Zion National Park

Millions of people a year explore Utah's most popular national park -- Zion National Park -- also in southwestern Utah. Zion, which plays host to nearly 3 million visitors a year, recently celebrated its 100th year as a national park.

At Zion, you'll see towering sandstone monoliths, narrow slot canyons and hanging gardens, plus all the outdoor activities that accompany this kind of park.

Families enjoy easy, self-guiding trails, while more adventurous hikers can find something to suit their taste.

The Zion Canyon Shuttle loop stops at eight locations in the park and is an easy way to see popular areas like the Great White Throne, Angels Landing and Weeping Rock.

Utah Shakespeare Festival

Cedar City draws a huge crowd during the summer for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. It features six plays - three are Shakespeare, three are not.

The Shakespeare plays are performed in an outdoor Shakespearean theater that adds to the ambiance. People seem to love not only the plays but the whole festival atmosphere.

Josh Stavros said, "You feel so much more a part of the play. Then, as the light goes down and the sun sets and the stage lights come up more, you're drawn even further into the experiences of the play. It's simply magical."

Celebrate the 50th

Utah Shakespeare Festival 50th Anniversary Events

Celebrate the Utah Shakespeare Festival's 50th anniversary through a number of events throughout the summer. <a href="http://www.bard.org/events/specialevents/50thcelebration.html" target=_blank>Click here</a> for details.

Green shows before the plays are free to the public. The community comes out to watch dancing and singing and juggling and swordplay. The festival also features orientations and seminars.

This year's Shakespeare plays include "Romeo and Juliet," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Richard III."

Non-Shakespeare plays will be "The Music Man," "The Glass Menagerie" and "Noises Off."

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This year happens to be the festival's 50th anniversary. To celebrate, it's holding some special events like a car show and beach party.

Bed and breakfasts abound in the Cedar City area. In fact, that city has the most bed and breaksfasts per capita in the entire state.

Some patrons love the intimate, charming feel of the accommodations. The Shakespeare Festival did a study about what visitors like.

"The second thing that the guests like coming to Shakespeare are talking with other guests at breakfast about the plays," said Scott Hunt, owner of Big Yellow Inn Bed and Breakfast.

Because bed and breakfasts don't have a lot of rooms and tend to book up quickly during the Shakespeare season.

Cedar Breaks and Brian Head

While you're visiting the Shakespeare Festival, plan a day trip to the Cedar Breaks National Monument, which is about a 25-minute drive from Cedar City.

Millions of years of wind and water erosion have carved out a giant red-rock amphitheater. It's 2,000 feet deep and spans three miles.

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A six-mile drive leads past four different overlooks, each with breathtaking views. Two hiking trails are near the rim. In July, 150 different species of wildflowers are in bloom.

Not too far from Cedar Breaks is Brian Head. A ski resort in the wintertime, there's a lot to do there in the summer, as well.

Bonnie Char, spokeswoman for the Cedar City Brian Head Tourism Bureau said, "We're known as ‘Downhill of the Gods' by major mountain bike magazines."

You'll find more than 200 miles of backcountry mountain bike trails geared toward experienced riders, along with some easier rides. Take the ski lift up for a scenic sky ride.

Just down the canyon from the resort are great hiking, repelling and canyoneering opportunities. One beautiful hike called the Hidden Haven ends at a 20-foot waterfall.

E-mail: tpapanikolas@ksl.com

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