Utah Grand Circle

Since the Zion Park thread is starting to wander to new locations, I thought I'd start a new thread to make things easier to find.

While Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks get lots of press, the southeastern side of the state also has treasures. While Arches National Park is well known, some other sites are not as well known and therefore less crowded.

There was a nice list of places between Moab and Mexican Hat in today's newspaper, if you have the opportunity to drive this route along the Colorado border.

I've often suggested what is called the "Grand Circle Tour" for friends who want to see the red rock country of Utah. Start with Zion NP, go out the east entrance to Bryce Canyon, then stay on Utah 12 through Escalante & Boulder to Torrey. This drive is worth the visit just by itself. East on 24 a few miles to Capitol Reef NP, then 24 to Green River and over to Moab for Arches, Canyonlands NPs and Dead Horse Point. That's where the above mentioned article picks up. Take U.S. 191 south through all the places it mentions then swing back west to Page for Antelope Canyons and back to St. George via Pipe Springs National Monument and Hildale/Colorado City, home to the polygamist groups. Good pies at the Many Wives cafe.

You could do this in 10 days or a month. Take your pick.

Keith (A California transplant who loves living in Utah)

Thanks that was a very cool tour thru Utah, being from Fla and only two weeks a year vacation make this a bucket list item for me so all the pictures and stories are greatly welcome.

Bob

[scrubjaysnest]

We may have to try this leaving out Zion NP

[wbmiller3]

We enjoyed Canyonlands very much. It seemed to be little visited. There were the best preserved Indian pictographs I have ever seen. We stayed in a tiny RV park at the northern city limit of Monticello, Utah which had good facilities including wifi (it has been a few years though).

The Grand Circle is amazing. We enjoyed it more than Zion, in part because of the lack of crowds.

Canyonlands and Capitol Reef are definitely worth a visit. But do it in the Spring when it's not too hot. IIRC there's no shade over most of the campgrounds and no electricity.

There are some stunning hikes from the Canyonlands campground that take you up and over the dry desert and rock formations and drop you into a hidden, green, lush canyons (in Spring anyway).

Might I make one more suggestion when visiting the parks of Southern Utah? Get a copy of this book, "Geology Unfolded, an Illustrated Guide to the Geology of Utah's National Parks." by Thomas Morris, Scott Ritter, and Dallin Laycock.

The authors are two BYU geology professors and a grad student. It's one thing to stand in awe at the beautiful rock structures of this area. It is quite another to have a basic understanding of how they came to be. The book is written for tourists, not geologists and best of all is only 10 bucks.

It is very hard to find since you can only get it from the publisher. You can look through the book on the link above. The phone number for ordering is on the "Price List" link at the top of the page.

No, I have no financial interest in the book. Just found it valuable when we went through the various parks.

Keith

[SCBillandJane]

I noticed that you have a 4x4 for a tow vehicle. In Canyonlands there is a gravel road that goes from the top down to the Colorado River and Moab. I was determined 2 years ago that I would get down to the Colorado river somehow someway. Hiking down in the Grand Canyon is no longer possible for me, so I said I will have to drive down and not waste this opportunity while we were at Canyonlands. This drive was one that I will never forget. If I could have turned aroud, I would have. Still, now that I did it without damage, I am glad I did it. For someone from the east it was an eye opener.

Originally Posted by SCBillandJane

I noticed that you have a 4x4 for a tow vehicle. In Canyonlands there is a gravel road that goes from the top down to the Colorado River and Moab. I was determined 2 years ago that I would get down to the Colorado river somehow someway. Hiking down in the Grand Canyon is no longer possible for me, so I said I will have to drive down and not waste this opportunity while we were at Canyonlands. This drive was one that I will never forget. If I could have turned aroud, I would have. Still, now that I did it without damage, I am glad I did it. For someone from the east it was an eye opener.

Canyonlands N.P. also has some pure rock 4x4 trails, but I think you would want a shorter wheelbase Jeep or equivalent. When we hiked part of one, there were auto bits and pieces all over the trail. And lots of boulder scrapes. Sort of reminded me of a difficult kayak/canoe route.

IIRC nearby Moab, UT is famous for it's 4x4 and X-country bike routes. I think they also had a nice brew pub and coffee shops .

[Unstable_Tripod]

I love southern Utah and have been there five or six times. It is really an area that should be explored, not just driven through. For example, in the Escalante National Monument there is a road called the Burr Trail Road. It leads through a beautiful red rock canyon and even has a small slot canyon one can tour without hiking miles across the desert (as some of us older folks can no longer do). It is paved part of the way but changes to gravel when it crosses the border into Capitol Reef NP. If you are willing to drive the gravel you can go for many, many more miles.

Then there is Natural Bridges National Monument. The three natural bridges there are awesome. See them from road viewpoints or hike down the trails to get close-ups. Here's the Owachomo Bridge.



Camp and/or hike in the Kodachrome Basin State Park near Henrieville, just off UT12. Morning walks there are fantastic. Drive the Cottonwood Canyon Road and see the canyon and Grosvenor Arch (but I don' recommend pulling your TrailManor though there). There plenty of places for short walks or more ambitious hikes.

If you are able to hike and enjoy it, take the six-mile round trip up Calf Creek Canyon to beautiful Calf Creek Falls. It is well worth the time. Be prepared though, because the trail is soft sand all the way and this is more tiring than walking on a firm surface. The trail starts in the Calf Creek CG, just a few miles east of Escalante on UT12.

If you go to Bruce Canyon NP, consider staying at the Red Canyon CG instead of in the park. It's only about 10 miles from the park and has much nicer, bigger and more private campsites.

These are just a few of the lesser-known but fantastic places in Southern Utah.