May 2018 Southern Utah

May 2018 Cedar City, UT - Warning this is a very long post with lots of pics!

Wow!  There are not enough superlatives to describe the amazing scenery in southern Utah.  Now I understand what all of the fuss is about regarding Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.  On my first day in Cedar City I played golf at the local municipal course. ($24 to walk on Sunday)  It was in great condition and the views were beautiful.

Next, I visited Zion National Park.  I discovered that they are charging for parking in the small town leading into the park (starting in 2018).  There is limited parking inside the park but I was lucky to find a space near the Visitor Center.  Once you get inside the park, there are shuttle buses to take all visitors to the various trailheads and viewing spots in the park.  Zion is known for its many hiking trails, easy, moderate, and strenuous and a lot of them are paved.  I hiked 5 or 6 of the shorter trails the first day and went back a few days later to hike a strenuous trail and an easy trail.  I captured some awesome pictures that I will share below.  I strongly recommend the Emerald Pools hike and the Riverside trail hike.  Those were my favorites the first day.  Here are some pictures.

Here are more pictures from the Emerald Pools trail.

And from the Riverside trail.

The Grotto Trail

Court of the Patriarchs

From the Pa’rus trail

I spent a full day hiking in the park.

The next day I went to Bryce Canyon National Park and spent a full day hiking 2 trails, both moderate.  I hiked from Sunset Point at the top to Sunrise Point at the top, then down into the canyon and back up to Sunset Point in a loop.  In Bryce Canyon, you can drive to several overlooks and hikes, unlike Zion where you have to take their internal shuttles to all of the hikes.  The Hoodoos at Bryce are the spires that are formed by wind and water erosion.  That is what Bryce is famous for.  Here are some pictures from that spectacular day. 

Sunset Point

Sunrise Point

Natural Bridge

Bryce Point

Inspiration Point

Bristlecone Loop Trail

I then drove to see more petroglyphs at Parawon Gap (20 miles from Cedar City).  After that, I drove up to Cedar Breaks National Monument (not far away from Parawon),  Cedar Breaks is still closed for the winter (there is still snow up there at 10,500 feet elevation.  I was able to get some pictures from the first overlook that is just outside of the park (see below).  Cedar Breaks opens in mid-June after the snow melts.

Parowan Gap

Cedar Breaks - Brian Head, Utah

Kolob Canyons (part of Zion on the west side) is currently closed for renovations to the road and visitor center for a few months so I will have to catch that the next time I am in the area. 

The next day I went back to Zion to hike an amazing trail, Angels Landing.  It is really difficult and scary.  I made it to the top but I don’t think I will try it again.  It was very scary coming back down with only chains to hang onto as you climb down the rocks. There is a sign as you start to scale the last section saying that 7 people have died on the trail since 2004.  I can believe it.  The trail is 5 miles round trip with very steep elevation changes. After 2 miles up you get to Scouts Lookout, and that is a good turn around spot for most hikers (and me).  

Angels Landing Trail 

I was pretty beat after doing that trail so I did an easy 1 mile trail to Weeping Rock. 

Weeping Rock

After all of that activity, I took a couple of days off from hiking (I was a little sore).  I went to visit St. George (about 40 miles to the south of Cedar City).  It is a good sized town with an over 55 retirement community that has a golf course (Sun River).  I met a retired couple from West Virginia when I first got to Utah (and stopped for gas).  They saw my Virginia tags and waved me over.  They were telling me about Sun River (where they live) and how much they love being retired in Utah.  I am putting St. George on my list.  It is in the high desert area and not very far from Zion National Park.  It does get warm there in the summer but they have mild winters and lots of golf courses.  St. George is only 90 miles from Las Vegas. 

Here are some pictures from around Cedar City (where I stayed in a house – private room with a separate entrance and its own bathroom).

The second week I did an ATV tour in the mountain areas about 30 miles from Zion National Park.  It was a lot of fun and quite an adventure.

I also visited Snow Canyon State Park just outside St. George, UT.  Amazing scenery and good hikes in this park. 

I also played golf at Green Spring Golf course in St. George.  It is a beautiful course with mountain views in great condition and very reasonable ($40 with a cart).  It is not walkable but there are some courses in St. George that are walkable.

My next to last day in Cedar City, I drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (about 3 hours drive one way).  It is spectacular and you can see the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon.  I got some great photos there.

Bright Angel Point

Cape Royal Point

Roosevelt Point

That is all for this post.  I am taking two weeks off from my western US vacation and heading back east to Virginia and Maryland for the rest of May.  I will resume posting when I return to Colorado at the beginning of June.