Utah’s rest stops as a whole are decidedly middle of the road, but one stands out nationally.
That’s one of the findings of a study by altLINE, and alternative financing division of The Southern Bank. The study looked at thousands of Google reviews of rest stops, truck stops and related businesses around the country to identify the best and the worst.
Utah checked in at No. 24 nationally, but the Salt Flats Rest Area stood out with a 4.6 average rating from more than 2,000 reviews.
“It’s as much a historical and natural landmark as it is a rest stop,” the report says. “Positioned by the Bonneville Salt Flats, famous for their unique landforms and high-speed races that have resulted in many world land speed records, reviewers mention the landscape as much as the facilities.”
The rest area was also designated as the best on Interstate 80, one of the major interstates criss-crossing the country highlighted in the report.
“Truck stops and rest areas are rarely the focus of national conversations, but they’re where a significant part of the country’s freight system takes a breather,” the study says. “For anyone driving long distances, they’re a potentially life-saving infrastructure that provides a chance to rest and drive safely thereafter.”
A traveler stops to see the water-covered Bonneville Salt Flats at a rest stop along Interstate 80 just east of Wendover.
What states have the best rest stops?
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New Hampshire: 4.26 stars
What states have the worst rest stops?
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Massachusetts: 3.97 stars
How did altLINE perform its study?
Between June 12 and July 5, 2025, altLINE used Google Maps to search every U.S. ZIP code for “Truck Stops” and “Rest Stops,” collecting up to 500 business listings per search. From there, it kept only listings labeled by Google as “Rest Stop,” “Truck Stop,” “Toll Road Rest Stop,” “Gas Station,” or “Diner.”
From each location, it gathered up to 20 recent reviews and scanned them for words related to customer service for a secondary comparison. Washington D.C. and Rhode Island were excluded from state-level comparison analysis due to the small number of truck/rest stops in each.
Nate Trela covers trending news in Colorado and Utah for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: This is the best rest stop in Utah. Here’s why it’s so popular?
