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).
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.
Wow, gorgeous pictures Rob! You captured the sprit of the places you visited. Love that you have wide shots and detail shots. So glad you're enjoying your journey. Happy traveling!
ReplyDeleteWow! I remember Zion and Bryce quite well. Hiked along the Virgin River in Zion. We saw snow, mule deer, big ravens, and a skunk in the vestibule of our tent when camped at 9000' in Bryce.
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