So tell me about Utah...

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:24 pm

The wife and I are planning a trip to Southern Utah at the end of this month. We plan to spend some time at Zion National Park hiking - other than that we're just hoping to "National park hop" since there seem to be a number of them in Southern Utah.

Has anyone spent any time in this area? Are there certain "must-see" places we shouldn't miss? Anything to avoid?

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:28 pm

Definitely avoid anyone named Gratch.

Edit: nevermind, I see he is not reg'd here yet. Quickly! To the email!

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:34 pm

Zion is an awesome place to hike around.
Bryce is also beautiful. Try some of the longer hikes - not so many people as on the shorter hikes and some really nice things to see.
Also consider visiting Cedar Breaks. Take warm clothes because it's at a considerably higher elevation than either Bryce or Zion (the three of them are all part of the Grand Escalante).
I think there's another smallish park between Zion and Bryce, the name of which escapes me. It's very red, and "red" might be in the name. We didn't hike there all that much but I suspect it has some nice hikes. Apparently Butch Cassidy and his gang hid out there once when being chased by a posse - and they yelled to the posse to just turn around and go home instead of getting shot up (because there were so many good places for the gang to hide and shoot from).

A nice place to stay after Zion is Panguitch (sp?). No really outstanding motels there, but there's a nice place to eat there called something like The Cowboy Grill and Steak House (I can look it up when I get home but I'm at work right now). I really like the food there.

A little further north there's also the remains of one of the relocation camps where they put Japanese/Japanese-Americans during WWII.

DiscoJason · Post by **DiscoJason** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:37 pm

I think this mght be a big secret, so don't go blabbin' what I am about to tell you...

Rumor has it that they have Mormons there.

Shhhhhhh!!!

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:58 pm

Monument Valley is in Southern Utah. Near the Arizona border.

Post by **godhugh** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 3:59 pm

You might also try Bear Lake near Salt Lake City. The wife and I went camping there and it's fantastic. Great little town on the lake (can't remember the name) that has the greatest Raspberry Shakes in existence.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 5:03 pm

DiscoJason wrote: Rumor has it that they have Mormons there.

I've heard it's a "dry" state. BYOB.

Interloper · Post by **Interloper** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 5:11 pm

Bryce Canyon is my personal favorite, as is Arches NP. You must see these two places. Bryce may be quite snowy though..

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 5:13 pm

Ironrod wrote:I've heard it's a "dry" state. BYOB.

Yeah, I'm assuming I won't be going to the local sports bar on Sunday to watch the Chiefs game.

My wife has friends who live in St. George, so we'll be staying there a few days. I think the plan is to also visit Arches NP before heading back to Vegas for a few days.

Thanks for the input everyone - I'm looking forward to our getway. I'm also looking forward to being out of town on election day.

Eduardo X · Post by **Eduardo X** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 6:34 pm

Zion is my favorite of the national parks. I'd stay there at least 3 days. You MUST climb Angel's Landing. It is one of the most spectacular things I can think of in the world.
The other option would be climbing up the east rim.
But the funnest of the hikes, and one you probably won't be able to do, is the Narrows hike, where you walk up the river at the top of the canyon. My friend and I took the right branch as we walked up and had to climb up some waterfalls. That is the funnest time I've ever had hiking.

I'm not sure if this is what BD is talking about, but is it Goblin Valley?
Another amazing place to visit is Canyonlands National Park. No matter how you get in, it is utterly amazing. Arches is nice to drive through, and then leave.

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 6:50 pm

Interloper wrote:Bryce Canyon is my personal favorite, as is Arches NP. You must see these two places. Bryce may be quite snowy though..

Bryce with snow on the ground right at the crack of dawn offers a viewing experience unparalleled in the modern universe. Ok well it's really cool and stuff. But yes it does tend to get a bit cooler at Bryce this time of year, but isn't Zion somewhat the same?

In the last month the wife and I have gone to S. Utah twice: once for Canyonlands and once for Arches. If you need any info on camping in those areas be sure to let me know, I have compiled an MS Word document I can forward to you.

Canyonlands is probably the most wild feeling of all the NPs in Utah, in particular along the White Rim trail or in a raft heading down river. But if you want to take on the White Rim trail read up about it ahead of time. It offers an incredible either mountain biking or OHV experience, but it takes some serious time to make any progress along the trail. If you plan on driving it ensure your car is up to the task, I wouldn't attempt it if you don't have 4-low.

Deadhorse just up river from Canyonlands is where the final scene of Thelma and Louise was shot and is spectacular plus a bit closer to Moab. To reach it take the Pot Ash road going west along the Colorado river just outside of Moab and keep on driving. The lower section of Pot Ash is paved and also gorgeous canyon country. The famed Wall Street climbing area you drive right by. Later the road turns to dirt and goes by huge evaporative ponds for a local salt mine but continues to be quite pretty. A four wheel drive would still be a good idea for this part of the road but if you are careful a normal car could make it on most days if it has decent clearance. It would probably take about an hour from Moab to reach Deadhorse and another half hour or so to reach Canyonlands from there. I have posted a pano photo of Deadhorse on the forums before if you remember that.

Arches is typically far more crowded but also easily enjoyed via any car. Many of the arches are within a short hike of a parking lot and the roads are paved. If you plan on using the Arches campground show up early, it will be full by 10am nearly always. Even better make reservations online. It is a great campground right at the foot of one of if not my most fave trails in Arches that allows you to hike past multiple arches all on the same trail (the Devil's Garden Trail).

Coskesh · Post by **Coskesh** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 8:11 pm

Lived in Logan, Utah for 5 years. Attended a morman church for 2 years.

I liked it. Everyone always asks me, "so they have like multiple wives there, right?". I'd imagine it to be the same with Islam, maybe in the rural/remote backwards places, but I never encountered it while there.

Was an excellent place to grow up actually.

Interloper · Post by **Interloper** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 9:51 pm

But yes it does tend to get a bit cooler at Bryce this time of year, but isn't Zion somewhat the same?

Zion is quite bit more mild. The very upper area's may get snow this time of year. But Bryce is between 7-9000 feet, and we just got a doozy of a storm. I'd imagine they have 2 feet or so there right now. But, it would make for some fantastic scenery. Arches is quite crowded like you said. There are some great trails though to some spectacular arches. And canyonlands is breathtaking, and not crowded. But so many areas there are quite isolated. I haven't done much there as I don't have 4WD. Goblin Valley is another cool place. It isn't very big, so you can just take a few hours and head out on foot and explore. I've never felt like I was on another planet as much as when I was there. It's not grand or huge in scale, just very odd, with alien looking "hoodoo's" and such. Great fun can be had in summer by taking a lantern around there at night

Edit: heres a link to some great Goblin Valley pics. He has other great southern utah np pics on that site also. http://utahfilmbank.com/Goblin_Valley.html