15 Best Things to Do in Utuado
👉 Jump to: Best Things | Family-Friendly | Outdoors
Home to breathtaking caves, rivers, waterfalls, and multiple Taino archeological sites, Utuado has tons of fun things to do!
As a Puerto Rico local, I can tell you that Utuado will be anything but boring, as you’ll find everything from adrenaline-inducing activities to beautiful nature landscapes to relax in.
Want proof? Here are 15 amazing things to do and see in Utuado!
Affiliate Disclosure: Travel Lemming is an independent reader-supported blog. You can support us by purchasing via the affiliate links on this page, which may earn us commissions. See our Advertising Policy for further explanation. Thank you!
15 Best Things to Do in Utuado
Need a place to stay in Utuado? Check out my Utuado accommodation guide.
Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park
Learn about the Taino at the most important archeological site of the Caribbean.
📍 Google Maps | Phone: (787) 894-7325 | Hours: 8:30 am – 4 pm daily | Entrance: $5, adults, $3 under 13
The Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park is one of the most accessible places to learn about Puerto Rico’s indigenous inhabitants.
The park features ten ceremonial plazas of different sizes and shapes, which is why it’s considered the largest Taino archeological site in the Caribbean and one of the top activities to do in Puerto Rico.
The park’s highlight? The main plaza, where you’ll find monoliths with well-preserved petroglyphs.
Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park is also a great retreat in nature. After exploring the plazas, I recommend sitting at the on-site pavilions and enjoying some quiet time.
Alternatively, visit the small museum in the visitor’s center, where you’ll see Taino artifacts on display, and exhibits explaining Taino traditions and the site’s plazas purposes.
Cueva del Arco
Admire one of the best open caves in Puerto Rico.
📍 Google Maps | 👉 Book a tour to Cueva del Arco
Cañon de Tanamá is home to multiple caves carved by the river, including Cueva del Arco, a giant open cave often considered among the tallest in Puerto Rico.
The trail starts at a dead-end street with multiple houses, but you’ll have to park on the road before reaching the houses.
The hike down to the cave takes over 40 minutes and although the views can’t compare to other hikes in Puerto Rico, you’ll breathe fresh air as you walk through the forest.
Once in the river, you’ll need to trek to your right (and yes, you will get wet!) to find the cave.
While I recommend this adventure if you’re an outdoor lover, keep in mind this hike isn’t recommended for kids or the elderly, as the trail is steep, muddy, and slippery.
Always keep an eye on the weather as the area is prone to flash floods. I don’t recommend visiting alone, and if you’re inexperienced with this type of activity, book a tour to Cueva del Arco instead.
🚗 How To Get There: The pin to the trail constantly gets removed from Google Maps. Just copy the following coordinates: 18.312405, -66.773740. Park in a small side road spot about 5 minutes away from the houses.
Cañón Blanco
Swim in this Utuado canyon where the white boulders, mountains, and petroglyphs create a unique landscape.
📍 Google Maps | 👉 Book a tour to Cañón Blanco
Cañón Blanco is a canyon carved by the Caonillas River and a recommended destination in Puerto Rico if you’re a nature enthusiast.
The canyon is known for having giant white boulders around the river that create a unique landscape in Puerto Rico. Spend an afternoon trekking along the river, swimming in the refreshing waters, admiring the petroglyphs, and finding El Sofá, a concave boulder visitors like to sit on.
Upriver, you can also admire La Danzante waterfall, one of the hundreds of waterfalls in Puerto Rico.
Ask the locals for the safest areas to swim in, as not all the canyon areas are safe, and be alert for flash flooding. If you don’t feel confident visiting on your own, make sure to book an excursion to Cañón Blanco.
🚗 How To Get There: The road to this spot is narrow, steep, and curvy. Although you won’t need a 4×4, keep in mind that smaller vehicles will have a hard time getting there. You can pay $10 for parking or park on the side street for free.
Finca Vista Bella
Enjoy a glass of Puerto Rican wine.
📍 Google Maps | Phone: (787) 390-2178 | Website | Hours: 11 am – 5 pm Sat-Sun with previous reservation
You’ve probably heard of the rum industry in Puerto Rico, but have you heard about Puerto Rican wine?
After tasting the coffee in Utuado’s coffee farms, head over to Finca Vista Bella, where you can taste local wine along with a delicious meal.
With a reservation, you will learn about the wine-making process, and you can finish the day walking by the vineyards.
Bier Garden
Located near Utuado’s downtown, this beer garden offers varied local and imported beers.
📍 Google Maps | Phone: (787) 966-9600 | Website | Hours: 11 am – 8 pm Sun-Thurs, 11 am – 10 pm Fri-Sat
For friend groups looking to have a beer in Utuado, the Bier Garden offers the best variety of Puerto Rico beers and atmosphere.
Choose to sit at the restaurant, patio, or lounge area and pick your favorite drink from the menu, among local, artisan, and imported beers.
If beer isn’t your thing, the house Sangria is a local favorite.
Despite the ample beer offer, the Bier Garden in Utuado has a family-friendly atmosphere, so you can visit with your kids.
Route 111
Hop between restaurants, coffee shops, and bars in this gastronomic route in Utuado.
Foodies visiting Utuado are in for a treat of flavors, colors, and textures, as the mountainous town has dozens of restaurants distributed between multiple gastronomic routes.
One of them, Route 111, crosses the town horizontally from Lago Caonillas to the neighboring municipality of Lares.
As you drive, you’ll find bakeries, lechoneras (like the ones on Puerto Rico’s Pork Highway), coffee shops, and bars.
On this route, I recommend stopping at Bier Garden Utuado, Pueblo Viejo 419 Gastro Bar, and PanCafé El Buren.
And if you really want to dive into Utuado’s cuisine, check out other gastronomic routes in PR-10, and PR-140.
Best Family-Friendly
Lago Dos Bocas
Kayak in one of the reservoirs in Utuado.
Despite being a man-made reservoir, Lago Dos Bocas is one of the best lakes in Puerto Rico for recreation. The lake extends between Arecibo and Utuado and can be accessed from both Puerto Rico towns.
I recommend taking La Paseadora from the Embarcadero area to admire the lake’s landscape or visit the restaurants on the lake’s shore.
You can also catch Pasadia En Kayak, a festival organized by the municipality, during which dozens of families set out to kayak in Lago Dos Bocas.
The festival also includes shore fishing, food kiosks, and live music.
Utuado’s Town Center
Pose with Puerto Rico’s flag and explore the downtown’s bakeries and restaurants.
Utuado’s town center is an all-in-one stop for the complete family.
Snap a picture in the Puerto Rico flag mural by Hector Collazo (he has painted one in every municipality!), painted over what was once a police station.
Catch the Festival de San Pedrito in the main plaza if you’re visiting in August, or visit the town’s Spanish colonial-style church, Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel, which dates back to 1872.
For breakfast, visit the town’s bakeries, and for dinner, stop at Pueblo Viejo 419 Gastrobar.
🛎️ Need a Hotel? You might want to stay a few days in Utuado to explore everything the town offers. Check out Casa Grande Mountain Retreat, with a restaurant, a garden, and a pool for a peaceful vacation.
Monte Sagrado Reserve
Hike or take a horseback riding tour through the state of Puerto Rican artist Robi Draco Rosa.
📍 Google Maps | Phone: (787) 674-8478 | Website | Hours: 8 am – 5:30 pm Saturdays
Monte Sagrado Reserve, also known as Hacienda Horizonte, is Robi Draco Rosa’s 100-acre estate in Utuado.
The area serves as an ecolodge and wellness retreat where you can enjoy farm-to-table meals, take horseback riding tours, and even help out with the coffee harvesting process at this active Puerto Rico coffee plantation.
Besides offering lodging and coffee tours, the hacienda also has a farmers market, private hiking trails, a lake, and access to the river.
Hacienda Gran Batey
Tour a coffee farm and buy coffee.
📍 Google Maps | Phone: (787) 505-0520 | Hours: 8 am – 4 pm Tues-Sat with previous reservation
It’s no secret that Puerto Rico’s mountainous region is home to most (and the best) coffee farms in Puerto Rico.
If you’re a coffee addict visiting Utuado, check out Hacienda Gran Batey. This coffee farm recently changed owners, and it’s now opening to the public on the weekends.
You can tour the coffee fields and learn about the growing and harvesting process.
Best of all, you can buy a bag of local coffee to take home. Just make sure to call ahead before visiting!
Best Outdoors
Finca Viernes
Camp with a view of the Caonillas Lake in Utuado.
📍 Google Maps | Hours: 10 am – 5 pm Sat-Sun
Utuado has great locations for camping in Puerto Rico, from where you can see the sunrise every morning and the fog between the mountains, and Finca Viernes is one of them.
Finca Viernes offers great views of Lago Caonillas and the mountains of Puerto Rico, with facilities like bathrooms, showers, and meals for an additional price.
Tanamá Canyon
Swim, hike, and rappel on this beautiful canyon in Utuado.
📍 Google Maps | 👉 Book a tour to Tanamá Canyon
Besides beautiful caves like El Portillo and Cueva del Arco, the Tanamá Canyon offers a great number of waterfalls and waterholes for refreshing yourself.
Nature fans hiking through the canyon will love snapping shots of the unique rock formations and admiring the local flora and fauna.
While some areas of the canyon are easier to access than others, I always advise visiting with a tour company and booking a tour through the Tanamá Canyon.
That way, you can also experience thrilling adventures like rappelling, tubing, and kayaking in the area.
Tanamá River Adventures offers rappelling tours with altitudes as high as 250 feet.
Charco Los Morones
Hunt the petroglyphs in the boulders surrounding these waterfalls.
📍 Google Maps | Entrance: Free
Charco Los Morones refers to a group of man-made and natural waterfalls in Sector Salto Arriba in Utuado.
There are multiple ways to see the waterfalls, including hiking upriver. But, the quickest (although far from easy), is hiking down a steep, muddy, slippery path located at the 49.8 KM marker in Route 123.
From this side, you’ll reach the top of the dam, which creates one of the waterfalls, and you’ll snap some beautiful pictures of it.
If you are in good shape and used to adventures like these, I recommend taking a trail down to a lower point of the waterfall, where you’ll find Taino petroglyphs on multiple rocks.
I advise against swimming or jumping, though! The falls are too strong to swim in them and the area has lots of whirlpools.
Cerro Morales
See the mountainous region from this peak, 3,214 feet above sea level.
There is no doubt that Utuado offers some of the best hikes in Puerto Rico, and Cerro Morales is one of them.
This Puerto Rico mountain rises 3,214 feet above sea level, and its top offers spectacular views of Utuado, Jayuya, Arecibo, and Ciales.
You can find the trailhead next to Finca Cielito and a white house.
The hike to the peak takes over an hour on a muddy and slippery trail and isn’t recommended if you aren’t in good shape.
As a general rule of safety in Puerto Rico, don’t visit these places alone or after dark.
🚶🏻How To Get There: Keep to your left where the trail splits! Use shoes with a grip.
El Portillo Cave
Kayak or float through a 1,000-foot-long cave.
📍 Google Maps | 👉 Book a tour to Cueva el Portillo
Besides hiking through green scenery or swimming in the Tanamá River, families and adrenaline junkies will love kayaking through El Portillo Cave.
This cave is said to be 1,000 feet long and offers visitors a unique perspective of the karst region’s rock formations.
Although adventurers will rave about navigating the tight and unique tunnel, El Portillo Cave is definitely not for claustrophobic people.
The triangular-shaped cave only rises a few feet above your head in many areas, and you will often have only your headlamp to light the path.Although you could in theory visit on your own, I don’t recommend it for your own safety. Instead, book a kayaking tour through Cueva el Portillo or a cave tubing tour.
Puerto Rico: A Local’s Travel Guide
$29.95Learn how to explore Puerto Rico like a local. This is a practical handbook expertly crafted to help you get the most out of your time in Puerto Rico.
📚 Related Reading: Guide to Driving in Puerto Rico
***
Those were the top things to do in Utuado! You’re in for a great adventure! Find more adventures with my list of fun things to see and do in Puerto Rico.
Every time I travel to Puerto Rico I stop by Adjuntas, my hometown, and Utuado, where I attended my middle and high school years. I love Utuado a lot. I only wish they could do something to spruced up the historic downtown and rebuild the not-so-welcoming central plaza. Will be really nice to see more tourists enjoying the town center and helping the local businesses.
This is my town utuado I born in arecibo Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 and I grow in utuado Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 in live in caonillas then barrio arenas ariba then barrio las palmas abajo student in caonillas my first grade then in Antonio de Jesus Lopez then was student in another school in paso palmas the las place I moved with my parents was then at 17 older I move to new york to now I have 74 years old old old I ve 75 in July 7 I have he lots topics agricultor planting tabaco coffee plantings platano guineo 🐄 and pork this I loved living inside in the country that’s me Fernando moyet padre bendiciones
Very good information. I was born in Atuado right below CERRO MORALES but moved to Chicago Illinois at a young age. Have gone back to visit a few times and I love it. But all your information on Places to visit are amazing things I did not know. See you soon UTUADO!
I am from Las Palmas in Utuado and from my mother’s house we could see Cerró Morales and Lago Vainillas. I claim Cerro Morales and I jump from Vainillas Dam into the lake, I was young and crazy…lot of fun.
I am from cayugo Utuado on top of the mountain.