super_rep said:
We're planning to spend the month of May in the Canyonlands area of UT and AZ. Does anyone have any suggestions of places that we should not miss? I especially want to get some of those sunrise/sunset shots of the arches, canyons and castle rocks. We do have a 4x4 so remote areas are going to be OK as long as they are easy to intermediate trails.
Chet :
A couple of spots not mentioned by others...
Dead Horse Point State Park is adjacent to Canyonlands and Arches NP, and is absolutely jawdroppingly beautiful. You go out Hwy 313 (if I remember right) through Potash, and then into the backcountry. Much less travelled than Arches or Canyonlands, the views over the river are awe-inspiring. Dead Horse SP is very well situated if you're hitting Canyonlands and Arches. In fact, you can start at dawn in Arches, drive down through Dead Horse, and come out in Canyonlands. 4WD is quite definitely recommended for this. Note that this is poorly posted, and the purchase of a local backcountry map is also recommended.
Kodachrome State Park, between Bryce and Zion, is a small gem of a location. Not as imposing as either of the bookends I've just mentioned, it's nonetheless quite well worth making a stop for. Smaller in scope, it's a good stopping ground between Bryce and Zion.
Note that Zion does
not permit you to drive through much of the park, running tour bus systems that you can embark and disembark from. I found this a bit confining for a short visit, as I couldn't get to exactly where I wanted within the bus system and hiking. If you have more time, this may be advantageous. However, watch out for thievery if you leave your vehicle for some time or go to camp. I heard one person bemoaning losing a lot of gear from their vehicle overnight.
I'll offer another option, albeit
much larger in scope.
One
absolutely fantastic trip to make is going from Blanding on Utah 95, through Natural Bridges, Glen Canyon NRA, Capitol Reef NP, down Utah 12 through Escalante and the associated park (don't miss the Hogsback on the drive down from Torrey !), across to Bryce NP, Kodachrome SP, stopping in Red Canyon, then proceeding south on US 89 to Zion. That's several days of intense viewing of some of southern Utah's best landscapes. You can have grand expanses, slot canyons, mesas, buttes - it's all in that run. You can take weeks or days to see this depending on how in-depth you want to explore each area.
Each location has specific areas of wonder. Natural Bridges is a small location, but rich in photo-ops with the bridges. It's mostly accessible from the loop drive through it, albeit with a touch of scrambling for some areas.
Escalante is a pretty amazing location, with a lot available from the unpaved roads, but short hikes of several miles reveal some astounding items such as Zebra Slot Canyon or Tunnel Slot Canyon. The usual warnings about weather and slot canyons apply.
Red Canyon's pretty astounding, too, and all of Ron Reznick's warnings about blowing the red channel on digital photos apply here doubly.
The Utah 12 loop trip leaves you situated above the north side of the Grand Canyon, near Kaibab National Forest, Cedar City or St. George, UT, and in quick driving range of Antelope Canyon.
Of course, you could reverse this and then come down into the Four Corners area and see some other kinds of sights. This is a few hours drive from me, so I've explored around many of these locales in some depth.
I'm trying to clear time in a couple of months to do this again with my wife, although I seriously doubt if she will want to wade up a flooded slot canyon or three as I did two years ago. But, OTOH, I also have a weekend planned for Big Bend NP later this month arranged around work in west TX, so I may not be able spring free for a UT trip.
In any case, no matter what you choose in southern UT, you have immense opportunities in front of you. Keep us posted on your plans, and, of course, post your photos.
John P.
