How far is Utah from California?

Traveling to Utah from California can be done in a number of different ways. These include flying, driving across state borders, or catching public transport in the form of a bus or a train. Travel between the two states is quite popular with thousands of tourists making their way to the beehive state from California each year. While the climates in both areas have their similarities, Utah has more of a desert-like weather pattern and tends to be hotter during spring and summer.

If you're traveling to Utah from California, the best time to visit would be in either early spring or fall where the weather is cooler and the crowds at iconic spots such as Zion National Park and Monument Valley are less crowded.

Traveling to Utah from California by plane

Flying to Utah from California is easily the quickest way to travel between the two states. California has 27 passenger airports you can fly out of depending on which area you're located in with all of them offering flights to various destinations in Utah. Utah has 7 commercial airports including Salt Lake City International Airport and Provo Municipal Airport with the former being the most popular to fly into.

Tickets are quite cheap between the two states with fares starting at USD$88. This price is likely to go up depending on what season you're traveling in and can be as high as USD$300 during peak periods or for last-minute flights.

A nonstop flight between the two states takes around 2 hours however, there's a 1 hour time difference so you'll land in Utah 3 hours after you leave California. There are stopover flights available from California to Utah with Pheonix in Arizona and Dallas in Texas being the most popular stopover destinations.

Traveling to Utah from California by car

It's quite easy to travel to Utah from California with several routes you can take depending on where your starting point is. If your starting point is Los Angeles and you want to travel to St. George (located on the boundary where Utah meets Arizona) then your journey is only 374miles or 5 and a half hours and will take you across Nevada via Las Vegas. If you want to travel to Salt Lake City from Los Angeles then your car trip becomes longer at 697miles and 9 hours and takes the same route through Nevada.

If you're traveling from San Francisco to Salt Lake City, the car journey is just under 12 hours and 817miles long. This route will take you a different way through Nevada and passes through the city of Reno close to the California state border. Regardless of whether you're traveling through a different region of California, you can expect your car journey to be several hours long so prepare to spend a lot of time in the car.

Traveling to Utah from California by public transport

Traveling to Utah from California by public transportation might not be the quickest way to travel but it's certainly efficient and can be a relatively cheap option. You can either travel by bus or by train into Utah with both systems offering a number of routes to take you to different locations within the state.

By bus

There are a variety of bus companies that will take you from major cities in California like Los Angeles to major cities in Utah such as Salt Lake City. These companies include Greyhound and Flixbus with the former offering tickets for USD$130 (one way). If you're after a cheaper option then Flixbus is the way to go with tickets starting from USD$88 (one way).

The total travel time by bus can vary with the shortest route taking just over 14 and a half hours. Other routes have travel times of 15 hours and even 16 hours. Most of these routes are overnight fares so you can sleep for a portion of your journey.

By train

Travelling by train to Utah from California is also another great cost-effective way to get between the two states. Amtrack is the major train network that offers services between California and Utah with popular routes including Los Angeles to Salt Lake City and San Francisco to Salt Lake City. The Amtrack service between San Francisco and Salt Lake City takes around 18 hours with tickets starting at USD$88 (one way). However, only one train leaves per day so make sure you book in advance to secure your tickets.

Click to return to Utah FAQs