Category: Travel News

Touring Zion National Park, UT Located in the southwest corner of Utah, Zion National Park encompasses 229 square miles at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions. Known for its incredible canyons and spectacular views, it is Utah’s oldest national park, designated in 1919 by the newly created National Park Service. Zion is also Utah’s most visited park, and attracts nearly three million people a year to enjoy its spectacular views and vast sandstone monoliths. The northern portion of the park is known as the Kolob Canyons section, which is conveniently located just off the interstate. It is often said that tours of Zion present the most beautiful place in America to ovservers, with its towering red and tan-colored Navajo sandstone cliffs, deep canyons, mesas, buttes, and rivers. This geologic wonder is the result of two hundred million years of ice, water, and snow carving its eight layers of sandstone into breathtaking natural creations. The powerful Virgin River moves millions of tons of rock and sediment every year that gets deposited where it meets its tributaries, creating dramatic waterfalls. Four life zones are found in the park: desert, riparian, woodland, and Coniferous forest habitats. Over 400 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians make their home in one or more areas of this diverse habitat. It is no mystery why Zion National Park’s enchanting landscape attracts so many to hike, walk, climb, drive, backpack, horseback ride, and photograph its geologic diversity. For those looking to spend more than one day exploring, two developed campgrounds are located within the park that offer plenty of amenities. More adventurous campers can also set up in the one primitive campground, located off the Kolob Terrace road. Zion Lodge has motel units and cabins available for visitors. The Lodge

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southwestern Utah in the United States. Despite its name, it is not a canyon, but a series of giant natural amphitheaters made up of multi-colored pinnacles of limestone. These distinctive geological formations, called hoodoos, have been carved over time by stream erosion and frost wedging along the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The elevation of the rim at Bryce averages between 8,000 to 9,000 feet, much higher than that of nearby Zion National Park, and the park covers approximately 35,835 acres of spectacular scenery. Visitors can tour Bryce Canyon year-round, and whether they plan to spend a week or a few hours, there is something for people of all ages and interests to do to enjoy the park’s breathtaking scenery. Bryce Canyon is host to a diverse range of plant and wildlife species in addition to its spectacular landscape formations, and is considered by many to be one of the most scenically diverse places in the world. The brilliantly colored formations shine under the bright afternoon sun, but glow exquisitely under the softer light of the rising or setting sun. The high altitudes and pristine air gives photography enthusiasts a spectacular backdrop for sunrise and sunset photos, allowing them to view great distances. On extremely clear days, the Black Mesas of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico can be seen some 160 miles away. Bryce Canyon’s 7.4 magnitude night sky makes it one of the darkest in North America, allowing stargazers to see 7,500 stars with the naked eye. In comparison, light and city pollution limits viewers in big cities and most other places to as little as a few dozen stars. There are plenty of ways to view Bryce Canyon National Park’s grandeur. Most visitors drive