Canyonlands National Park
5 Things to See in Canyonlands
1. BACKCOUNTRY ADVENTURE
Canyonlands National Park provides ample hiking opportunities from the sheer cliffs of the Island in the Sky district, the colorful spires of the Needles district and remote back country primitive terrain of the Maze. Back country areas require permits, planning, resources and time. Reservations during peak season are highly recommended. The area surrounding the park in Utah's Canyon Country includes more than 7,000 miles of unpaved, gravel, dirt or native surface roads ready to explore. The hot summer months are best spent above 8,000 feet where roads wind through aspen and pine forests and trails meander through meadows of wildflowers. Spring, fall and winter offer rides over desert routes via auto, 4-wheel drive, ATV and bicycle. San Juan ATV Riders sponsor a safari in September. Wherever you wander, maps are a must. Call 800-574-4386 or go to www.utahscanyoncounry.com.
2. RELICS OF THE PAST
Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum is the site of an ancestral Pueblo ruin. The modern museum offers visually stunning and thought-provoking exhibits that bring American Indian culture to life. Rare and well-preserved artifacts will delight visitors and an exceptional pottery collection makes this one of the finest museums in the Four Corner region. Changing exhibits are presented throughout the year. Call 435-678-2238 or go to www.stateparks.utah.gov.
3. WINTER WONDERLAND
Whether snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or snowmobiling in the national forests, explore and enjoy the winter months in San Juan County. Hot air balloons light up the night skies over Bluff during the third weekend in January at the annual International Balloon Festival. The high-country may be buried in snow but Bluff, Mexican Hat and Monument Valley offer hiking, ATV adventures, trail rides and auto tours.
4. SAND CASTLES IN STONE
The formations of Monument Valley are timeless skyscrapers sculpted in stone. Explore on your own by traveling a 14-mile loop road through the Valley. Or take a guided tour into the interior and enjoy narrated stories about the local culture. Navajo food and authentic arts and crafts are available at the Navajo Tribal Park and Gouldings Lodge. Tours leave the park headquarters and the lodge throughout the day. The Monument Valley Visitor Center is located at the main intersection in the valley and offers information about the park and the entire area. Gouldings Lodge offers a museum of the original trading post and the many movies which have been made in the valley.
5. OUT IN THE WILDS
Grand Gulch Primitive Area offers a glimpse into the Basketmaker and Pueblo periods of ancient dwellers of the high desert. Travel is restricted to horseback or hiking. Access from Kane Gulch Ranger Station requires a five-hour round trip hike. The Area is located on Cedar Mesa, southwest of Blanding. Other canyons are accessible on Cedar Mesa for hiking.
CONTACT: Utah's Canyon Country, PO Box 490, Monticello, UT 84535, (435) 587-3235, Ext: 4139 or (800) 574-4386, Ext. 4139
Canyonlands In Depth
News from the Parks
12-year-old Seeks to Accomplish Lofty Parks Goal by the Age of 14
October 14, 2008 - 9:47am
More than 100,000 miles, two motorcars, 48 states and 270 national parks later, 12-year-old Chandler Johnson still hasn’t met her goal — a goal to visit every National Park by the time she is 14. “I enjoy going to the parks because I learn about the historical, cultural and environmental relevance they each have,” said Chandler. There are currently 391 National Park areas designated by the National Park Service. For the last six and a half years, Chandler has traveled around the country with her parents, Carmen and Jay Johnson, and participated in the Junior Ranger program.
October 14, 2008 - 9:47am
More than 100,000 miles, two motorcars, 48 states and 270 national parks later, 12-year-old Chandler Johnson still hasn’t met her goal — a goal to visit every National Park by the time she is 14. “I enjoy going to the parks because I learn about the historical, cultural and environmental relevance they each have,” said Chandler. There are currently 391 National Park areas designated by the National Park Service. For the last six and a half years, Chandler has traveled around the country with her parents, Carmen and Jay Johnson, and participated in the Junior Ranger program.
Climate warms, creatures head for the hills
October 14, 2008 - 9:44am
From California to Costa Rica, rising temperatures could be driving species to higher elevations Chipmunks, mice and other small mammals pretty much moved up in the world as Yosemite National Park’s climate warmed during the last century. As temperatures rose, these species tended to edge upward to higher and cooler ground, says Craig Moritz, director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology in Berkeley, Calif. The possibility that climate change is pushing around sensitive species has been worrying biologists, so Moritz and his colleagues found a way to test the idea over an unusually long time. They resurrected the museum’s trove of field notes and revisted sites of a mammal survey that started in 1914.
October 14, 2008 - 9:44am
From California to Costa Rica, rising temperatures could be driving species to higher elevations Chipmunks, mice and other small mammals pretty much moved up in the world as Yosemite National Park’s climate warmed during the last century. As temperatures rose, these species tended to edge upward to higher and cooler ground, says Craig Moritz, director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology in Berkeley, Calif. The possibility that climate change is pushing around sensitive species has been worrying biologists, so Moritz and his colleagues found a way to test the idea over an unusually long time. They resurrected the museum’s trove of field notes and revisted sites of a mammal survey that started in 1914.
Lassen Peak: a living laboratory of volcanic activity
October 13, 2008 - 3:54pm
The southernmost mountain in the Cascades was established as a national park in 1916. Today, Lassen is one of the best-kept secrets in the federal system. Its 10,457-foot namesake mountain dominates the western section of the park, while to the east, cinder cones rise above a lava plateau and small lakes dot the pine forests.
October 13, 2008 - 3:54pm
The southernmost mountain in the Cascades was established as a national park in 1916. Today, Lassen is one of the best-kept secrets in the federal system. Its 10,457-foot namesake mountain dominates the western section of the park, while to the east, cinder cones rise above a lava plateau and small lakes dot the pine forests.
Local Tourism Will Get Boost from Historic Site
October 9, 2008 - 3:47pm
The Auburn-Opelika area is expected to get a boost in tourism from the opening of a completely redesigned Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site, operated by the National Park Service just down I-85 from Auburn in the nearby city of Tuskegee.
October 9, 2008 - 3:47pm
The Auburn-Opelika area is expected to get a boost in tourism from the opening of a completely redesigned Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site, operated by the National Park Service just down I-85 from Auburn in the nearby city of Tuskegee.
Visitors Flock to Sandburg Home for Poetry, Goats and Hiking Trails
October 9, 2008 - 3:37pm
When the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site was established 40 years ago, the mission was to preserve legacy and literary works of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sandburg. His modest home was kept intact with all the furnishings, magazines and newspapers in place when Sandburg died in 1967. National Park Service staff designed interpretive tours of the home, and public programs were given at the dairy goat farm that Sandburg's wife, Lilian, operated.
October 9, 2008 - 3:37pm
When the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site was established 40 years ago, the mission was to preserve legacy and literary works of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sandburg. His modest home was kept intact with all the furnishings, magazines and newspapers in place when Sandburg died in 1967. National Park Service staff designed interpretive tours of the home, and public programs were given at the dairy goat farm that Sandburg's wife, Lilian, operated.
