Salt Lake magazine’s January/February 2026 issue drops on January 1. Lean into winter with this new issue, featuring details on cozy winter escapes and an ode to the Sundance Film Festival’s 40-year run in Utah.
Can’t wait? Here’s a letter from Jeremy Pugh, our executive editor.
Ten years ago, in February,I trekked around the five world-famous national parks in Utah. My foray into Zion National Park included a winter ramble into the Narrows. This experience makes the Top Five in my lifetime list of outdoor experiences. And, it charts at No. 1 among my all-time greatest hits of winter adventures.
Southern Utah’s Martian-like landscape is surreal in any season, but the Zion Narrows in February is truly out of this world. You wear insulating and water-tight dry suits that make you look like a crew member on the Starship Enterprise beaming down to boldly go where, yes, plenty of people have gone before. (After all, it is a very popular hike in a very popular national park.) But when icicles dangle from the canyon walls above and eddies in the Virgin River crackle with thin layers of frozen water, the crowds thin out.
When we were noodling about our winter issue, that experience sprang to mind. I think we all deal with a bit of the winter blues as we go about our day-to-day lives underneath a gray inverted sky. Once the holidays have passed, we start pining for spring. The solution, which I discovered in the Virgin River 10 years ago, is not to hide under your covers; you must go deeper into winter. Our feature “Get into Winter,” p. 50, includes four escapes from the dreary into the splendor and cozy places to get out of the cold. Plus, hot springs.
And on your way in, you probably noticed a favorite adopted son of Utah, Robert Redford, on the cover, gazing serenely into the distance. The Sundance Kid passed away last September. The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will be the last held in Park City and Salt Lake. (Fine, go to Colorado.) Got to give it to him, his timing was perfect. It’s Sundance’s last (Utah) ride. Inside, we take a look at Redford’s legacy (“The Sun Sets on Sundance,” p. 58) and everything he brought to Utah with that charming smile.
Vaya con dios, Bob.
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