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Red Canyon and Tropic Reservoir
While Bryce Canyon National Park is spectacular, there are other recreational areas nearby that also have red rock hoodoos. One of them is Red Canyon in the Dixie National Forest. There are plenty of trails in Red canyon for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and ATV fun! The Red Canyon Visitor’s Center is located on highway 12 between Panguitch and the entrance to Bryce Canyon. We visited in the evening after it was closed, but had we arrived in time we could have picked up a trail map showing the points of interest along the two trails that we hiked. We did get to see the display out in front…
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Willis Creek Slot Canyon
If you’ve always wanted to hike a slot canyon, but thought that they were too tricky or dangerous, I’ve got a great hike for you! On our recent trip to Bryce Canyon we spent one morning hiking within the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. It was only about an hour from Bryce Canyon; alternately you can reach it from US-89 coming from the south. The VisitUtah website has detailed instructions for how to find Willis Creek. The road to get there is a dirt road, and it can be sandy in places. We made it in our van, but there were some dicey spots. Bring a four wheel drive vehicle…
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Battle Creek Falls
One of the nature hikes that our family enjoys is Battle Creek Falls. It's not a long hike, only about a mile and a half to the falls along a wide trail. You can easily take children, even infants!
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Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is a wonderland of natural color! If you’ve never been there, I invite you to see what you’re missing! Yellowstone is located mostly in Wyoming, with tiny slivers overlapping Montana and Idaho. It is a large area of beautiful lakes, rivers, canyons, waterfalls, and mountains. Underneath all of this beauty sits a dormant supervolcano called the Yellowstone Caldera. At some point in history, the volcano collapsed and formed the caldera (a large basin-like depression). The caldera then filled up with water, and Yellowstone Lake was formed! Although the volcano is dormant, there is a massive hotspot under the whole region. This is why there are so many…
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Three fabulous hikes in Zion National Park
There are many beautiful places on the Earth, and Zion National Park in Utah is one of the best. There is something about the contrast of the red rock with the green vegetation that takes my breath away. Because of all this beauty, Zion is a popular Park for visitors. In the year 2000, Zion started using a mandatory bus system to shuttle visitors along Zion Canyon Drive. This system is in effect from March through November. Hint: The bus system is easy to use, as there are only two separate routes. The first bus route is from the nearby town of Springdale to the Zion Park Visitor’s Center. The…
