Popular Reasons to Visit Park City Utah in the Summer

by Susan Mayloch

When people think of Park City, winter sports and the "Greatest Snow on Earth" are usually the first things that come to mind. What most don't realize is that Park City has as much to do in the summer as in the winter, if not more. The hard part is choosing which activities to do if you have a limited amount of time.

Winter skiing is not the only sport for those seeking adventure in Park City. To start, the resorts are home to world renowned mountain bike trails. Deer Valley hosts downhill races during the summer for all skill levels, although most people come to watch the experts attempt the challenging single tracks. If mountain biking does not appeal, there are many other ways to get adrenaline pumping, including rock climbing and river rafting.

While sports are a big lure for many vacationers, there are also numerous activities to keep families entertained. Park City Mountain Resort offers pulse-racing rides like the zip line, alpine coaster, and alpine slide for kids and adults alike. Mini-golf, a climbing wall, and a human maze are also great alternatives right at the base of the mountain.

Utah Olympic Park can give aspiring Olympians and adventure seekers the opportunity to experience the rush of racing down the bobsled track. An expert will guide the sled down the track at speeds up to 70 miles per hour-definitely not for the faint of heart! If the bobsled isn't enough, there is also a freestyle aerial splash pool at the park, where Olympians practice, as well as putting on public shows. There are even aerial camps available for those who want more of a hands on experience.

Park City hosts a number of events throughout the summer, including the Kimball Arts Festival in August, which unites artists from all over the country to sell their wares to crowds wandering Main Street. Music aficionados can get their fill at the Park City Jazz Festival with its multiple stages and world famous musicians. Another delight for the senses is the Park City Food and Wine Festival, which features fine wines and food from local restaurants.

On an every day basis, Park City possesses enough dining options to satisfy any palette. Various international foods, as well as classic American fare, can be found throughout town. Whether it's fine dining in an award winning Continental restaurant in Deer Valley, or having a casual meal in a bistro on Main Street, it would be difficult to sample all that Park City has to offer in just one trip.

Shopping is yet another pastime for locals and visitors alike. Strolling down Park City's quaint Main Street while deciding between checking out a souvenir shop or one of Park City's many boutiques is a great way to spend a day. There are also plenty of shops specializing in gear for mountain sports, from mountain biking to rock climbing-some even offer ski apparel and equipment year round.

It can be easy to think of Park City only in terms of its snow. While this is a big attraction for people in the area, the summers are usually what keep people from leaving. Coming up to Park City in the summertime, with the abundance of activities and scenic landscape, it can be easy to understand how people come for a week, and end up becoming locals.

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Susan Mayloch is a travel and outdoor writer from Park City UT. Susan uses a local website for information on Park City Activities.

Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article168553.html

Arches National Park Utah

Formation in Arches National Park Utah

If your western trip happens to take you near the southeast part of Utah, you have a real treat in store. Arches National Park is geologically one of the most unique of all our national parks. The south end of Arches NP starts just a few miles north of the town of Moab Utah. This beautiful national park makes for a great family vacation stop providing not only one of a kind scenery but also many foot trails. Moab Utah is also home to Canyonlands National Park, about 35 miles west of the town. Many tourists to Utah make Moab a kind of base for their hiking, biking and river activities in that part of the state. For those wanting to find out how Moab received it's name from it's Mormon founding, the bible refers to an area east of the Jordan River as Moab.

One unique trait of Arches National Park Utah is that it lies on top of a large underground salt bed. In fact, according to the National Park Service, this salt bed deposited 300 million years ago on the Colorado Plateau, is what is responsible for the types of geology found there. The arches, the balancing rocks, spires and sandstone fins. Over millions of years, floods, oceans and winds covered and battered this area. The resulting debris from this action turned into rock that at some points was a mile thick. The enormous rock pressure caused the underlying salt bed to buckle and liquify and this shot the rock upward as domes. The enormity of this geologic shifting created the beautiful scenery you see today at Arches National Park. The park offers the beauty of contrasting colors and textures found nowhere else on earth. These Utah arches display amazing geologic sandstone formations.

Balancing Rock formation

An interesting thing is that the park continues to change even today. New arches are being created and some old ones are being destroyed. According to the NPS, in 1991 a sixty foot long, eleven foot wide and four foot thick, rock slab fell from beneath Landscape Arch. More recently, in 2008, Wall Arch, located along the Devils Garden Trail collapsed. The NPS added that all arches are really temporary and that at some point erosion coupled with the force of gravity will crumble the arches. The very fact of the delicate nature of the arches and spires make this one of the most active national parks in the nation.

Most travelers to this region of the United States know that Indians inhabited the area for centuries. This part of the country is home to many ancient pueblo dwellings as well as petroglyphs and pictographs. These remnants of the Indians presence tell historians quite a lot about their pueblo civilization. These native Americans both hunted grew crops such as beans and squash. Arches National Park is located just north of the pueblo dwelling civilization and as a result there are no cave dwellings found there. Not too far south of Arches however at Mesa Verde National Park are some of the most stunning cliff dwellings found anywhere.

European settlement in southeastern Utah was not from the Spaniards to the south but from the Mormons. The Spaniards explored the area mostly to find routes from the Santa Fe area to their missions in California but did not build settlements as they did in Nuevo Mexico. The Mormons made an early attempt in the 1850's to establish a mission in today's Moab but ran into trouble with the Ute Indians. Eventually, Moab was founded by ranchers, farmers and miners in the last few decades of the 1800's.

Two related articles you will enjoy are Zion National Park in Utah and Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Arches National Park geology

This particular part of Utah, near the Four Corners area, is near to many national parks. I've found that a route can be driven from the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, up to the Glen Canyon Dam outside Page Arizona and then west to Utah enabling you to take in Zion National Park, Bryce National Park and then eastward to Moab Utah and the national parks found there. Your western trip can then allow you an easy drive down to Mesa Verde National Park and nearby historic Durango Colorado. Leaving the east entrance to the Grand Canyon you want to go to Hwy 89 and drive north to Page Arizona. From Page, US Hwy 89A crosses the Colorado River and the Glen Canyon Dam. Hwy 89A will take you west to Zion National Park and will also take you north to Bryce Canyon. Drive north from Bryce Canyon on Hwy 89 to Interstate 70. Drive west on scenic Interstate 70 all the way to the US Hwy 191 exit and Moab is about 30 miles south. This is a multi day trip but allows you to visit many of our finest national parks all along the way.

Mesa Verde National Park is about 138 miles south of Moab via US Hwy 191 and US Hwy 491 outside of Cortez Colorado. Durango Colorado is about 48 miles east of Cortez on US Hwy 160.

(Photos are from author's private collection)

Zion National Park Utah / A Western Road Trip

If you're looking for an adventurous national park in Utah then Zion might be just the thing.

Zion National Park located in southwestern Utah presents some of the most scenic canyon country found anywhere in the U.S. I had the pleasure of taking a road trip to Zion and it makes a great addition to any summer vacation planner.

Zion National Park occupies a unique geographical area  located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin and Mojave Desert provinces. Because of this, both the wildlife and vegetation is quite diverse.

Zion National is Park Near Several Interesting Sites

Zion National Park is located near to several other parks and historic sites. Zion sits to the north of the Grand Canyon, to the south of Bryce National Park and to the west of Page Arizona, the Glen Canyon Dam and the Lake Powell recreation area. Most people who visit Zion also add these vacation stops to their itinerary. Amazingly, even though they all are in basically the same part of the American southwest, each of these National Parks mentioned are very different from the other. Because of this, a visit to all three during a southwest vacation makes for a great time.

The estimate is that Zion National Park receives about 3 million visitors per year and a good portion of these are from outside the United States. If you haven't traveled to Zion before, you may want to allow yourself three to five days for your visit.

Simply staying inside your vehicle and driving through Zion is a great tour in itself. I've drove this more than once. In Zion Canyon, the rock walls tower 2,000 to 3,000 feet above your car. As with all National Parks, there are excellent hiking trails at various skill levels and always a favorite, ranger guided tours, really give you plenty of options to explore the park. Zion National Park hiking trails are some of the most scenic in the southwest.

The History of Zion National Park

Some interesting history about Zion National Park includes how it got it's name. Pioneers who tried to homestead there in the latter part of the 1800's gave it the name "Zion" which is a Hebrew word for safety or a place of refuge.

 Ironically, the area offered very little in terms of agricultural opportunities due to the poor soil and occasional flooding. The first cabin was built in Zion in 1863 by Mormon pioneer Issac Behunin. The canyon where he built his cabin now bears his name.

The southern Utah and northern Arizona area of the American southwest was long ago seen as a tourist destination. The Grand Canyon received a big boost with the arrival of the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and it's hospitality genius Fred Harvey. You may enjoy our story of Fred Harvey and the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon.

At about the same time, the first decade of the 1900's, tourism potential for Zion was recognized. In 1909, a presidential executive order designated the area as Mukuntuweap National Monument. The problem was that visitors couldn't get there because of bad roads and the nearest rail head being some one hundred miles away. The monument's name was also changed to Zion National Monument in 1918, and in 1919 the monument was expanded and designated a National Park.

Visiting Zion National Park

During the course of a year, weather in Zion National Park is pretty diverse. The average temperature at Zion National Park is 75 degrees Fahrenheit, ranging from 52 degrees in January to a high of 100 degrees in July.

The air is arid and dry making Zion a great winter park, though you should take the precaution of being prepared for winter driving conditions from November through March. Zion National Park weather also changes dramatically dependent upon the elevation. The major tourist months at Zion are May through September.

Tourists to Zion have a very convenient way to get into the park from Springdale Utah. Springdale is located directly at the southern entrance of the park where visitors can use a park bus to get to the lodges and trail heads within Zion. Springdale has a vast array of lodging and dining at various price ranges and I found it an excellent place to stay and enter Zion from. It was originally settled as a Mormon farming community in 1862. Today, Springdale is entirely oriented to the tourism industry.

Hiking and Trail Heads

One of the things we've enjoyed at Zion are the hiking trails along the Virgin River which flows through the park. The river is a natural gateway to explore many of the great sights at Zion. The sandstone cliffs you see while hiking along the river provides absolutely incredible scenery. These are self guided trails and the bus route can transport you to most of these trail heads. The state of Utah offers a variety of landscapes, geology, and recreational opportunities and I think you'll find Zion National Park to be one of your favorites to explore. Another convenient exploration of Zion is the Riverside Walk which is suitable for smaller children and even strollers. Zion has a hiking trail for everyone.

Camping is Popular at Zion National Park

Zion National Park campgrounds are popular. In regards to camping there, Zion National Park has three campgrounds. Campers love Zion and the campgrounds are usually full by early afternoon on weekends and holidays. During the summer months of June, July, and August, the campgrounds are virtually full every night. Planning your camping trip to Zion ahead of time is advisable. Also note that there are several campgrounds outside but very near to the park.

Zion Lodge

As a side note, regarding Zion National Park lodging, there is only one lodge located within the park.The Zion Lodge features historic cabins with two double beds, full bath, gas log fireplace and private porch. The lodge also offers motel rooms in addition to the cabins and the Red Rock grill for dining. The lodge is a beautiful structure.

Getting There

People drive to Zion National Park from either the east or west. Interstate 15 is to the west of Zion and the area of Page Arizona and the Glen Canyon Dam would be to the east.

Below are driving directions to the park's entrance from either direction. Zion lodging and dining is available in the park or in Springdale Utah directly at the park's southern entrance. Springdale has a wide variety of lodging and camping facilities nearby and makes it very easy to access the park.


From the west: Interstate 15 passes west of Zion and connects with SR-9 just north of St. George. From there SR-9 travels through the towns of Hurricane, Virgin, and Springdale before entering Zion Canyon.
From the east: US-89 passes east of Zion and connects with SR-9 (The Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway) at Mount Carmel Junction. From there SR-9 travels through the park's east Entrance and into the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel before descending into Zion Canyon.

(Article and photos copyright Western Trips)

Hotels, motels, Inns, bed and breakfasts and campgrounds accommodate a variety of tastes and budgets.

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Bryce Canyon National Park

When you're planning your western road trip you will want to consider a tour of what is one of the most unique National Parks in America, Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Bryce Canyon is probably one of the hardest of all National Parks to describe. Bryce was carved by the freeze and thaw cycle, quite different from most canyons that were carved by river flow. The hoodoos that are formed by this process are truly amazing  This is what makes a  road trip Bryce Canyon National Park such a unique experience. As one of our most treasured National Parks Bryce makes a great addition to your western trip travel planner.

Bryce Canyon became a National Park back in 1928. Located in southwestern Utah, this beautiful area was named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Morman pioneer. Bryce was raised in Scotland, converted to the Mormon faith and then emigrated to Utah at only seventeen years of age. During his lifetime, Bryce moved to Pine Valley Utah where he constructed the Pine Valley Chapel and what is today the oldest Mormon chapel still in use. Pine valley is about a 150 mile winding drive west of Bryce Canyon National Park. The straight line distance is much less

During the first decade of the 1900's the first visitor accommodations will built at Bryce along the Paunsaugunt Plateau rim. By 1920 efforts were started to set aside these scenic wonders. President Warren G. Harding in 1923 designated part of the area as Bryce Canyon National Monument under the Powell National Forest. A year later in 1924 Congress passed a bill which established the area as Utah National Park. Legislation was passed in 1928 that year to change the name of the park to Bryce Canyon National Park.The park is open all year and offers recreational opportunities during all four seasons. It's estimated that Bryce Canyon National Park is visited by more than 1.5 million people annually and from all around the world. During summer hiking, sightseeing, and photography are the most popular activities. The spring and fall time offers a peaceful solitude. During winter months the park offers the most unique winter views found anywhere in the U.S.

As a historical note, there is also a small community in Arizona named after Bryce. Bryce Arizona is located northeast of Tucson and just a few miles north of Pima Arizona, not far from the New Mexico border. This was where Ebenezer Bryce eventually settled with his family and died in September 1913 at age eighty-three. Ebenezer Bryce is buried in this settlement.

Bryce Canyon National Park and the Bryce Canyon Lodge receive thousands of tourists each summer that arrive to see the hoodoos. In fact, southwestern Utah is a summer playground for outdoor enthusiasts. To the south and west of Bryce canyon is Zion National Park. To the south and east is the Glen Canyon Recreation Area which includes Lake Powell for boaters as well as the historic Glen Canyon Dam.

One of the more fun things to do at Bryce Canyon is the trail ride. The escorted ride takes you down and through the canyon past the many beautiful geologic formations called "hoodoos". A hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid basin. A "hoodoo" has an uneven thickness which really gives it it's unique look. Pinnacles and spires differ in that they have uniform thickness. As you can see from the pictures of hoodoos on this page, they vary greatly in size. Some are over 100 feet tall. I had the opportunity to take this trail ride and I can tell you it's quite a lot of fun. The guides are terrific and you don't need horseback riding experience to enjoy this activity.  To sign up for the Bryce trail ride simply go to the lobby of the Bryce Canyon Lodge where you will be greeted by a cowboy at the trail ride desk.

After signing up for the ride they will direct you to the  corral where you will be assigned the horse or mule that best fits you..The trail ride is one of those must things to do at Bryce Canyon National Park. It's a fun and relaxing way to see the hoodoos.

When you take the trail ride and view the hoodoos close up, you will notice how the lower parts of the formation were eroded away. The hoodoos which are sometimes called "tent rocks"were created when volcanic ash was covered with more solid volcanic rock such as basalt. The volcanic ash on the lower portion eroded away much faster than the rock on top. Eventually over a much longer period of time the lower portion will erode away to the extent that the upper harder cap will topple over. The same way which hoodoos were formed will eventually destroy them. Wind and freezing temperatures still work their wonders on these beautiful geologic formations. The pictures on this page show how uneven the vertical thickness is as you view each formation from top to bottom.

The ranger programs at Bryce are excellent and free. The magic of Bryce Canyon sparks the imagination and wonder in park rangers as well as visitors. The length of ranger programs can vary from minutes to hours so you can pick the tour that best fits your schedule. Ranger programs offer an excellent way to expand your exploration of Bryce Canyon. Typical ranger programs include the Rim Walk, Geology Tours, Evening programs, Full Moon Walk and of course plenty of programs for the kids. I had the opportunity to go on many of these. They are all great and I think the evening program was one of the best.

If your western road trip brings you to Bryce Canyon from the south from the vicinity of the Grand Canyon, you will want to drive north to Page Arizona via US Hwy 89. Continue on Hwy 89 over the Glen Canyon Dam and drive westward. At Mount Carmel Junction Utah Hwy 89 turns to the north. Follow US Hwy 89 northward to state route 12 and drive east. The mileage to Bryce Canyon National Park from Page Arizona is about 154 miles on US Hwy 89. Campers will delight in the fact that there are two campgrounds at Bryce Canyon which are open all year.

(Photos from author's private collection)

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