ENTRANCE FEES
Entrance fee's for the parks in the area are as follows:
Grand Canyon North Rim
- $20.00
Zion Canyon - $20.00. There is a $10.00 escort fee for
larger vehicles. i.e.; motor homes, coaches, travel trailers.
Bryce Canyon - $20.00, or $15.00 if you park and take the
Shuttle. (May 15 - Sept. 30). $10.00 in the off-season, no shuttle.
Lake Powell - $10.00
NATIONAL PARK PASSES
1) The National Park Pass gives unlimited entrance into all National
Parks in the United States for one year from the time of purchase.
It also admits the cardholder into National Monuments and Recreation
areas administered by the National Park Service. This includes
Lake Powell, Cedar Breaks, and Pipe Spring. The cost is $50.00
and the pass is not transferable. It admits the owner and other
passengers where per-vehicle entrance is charged. Where per-person
fees are charged, it allows the owner, spouse, children, and parent
admission.
2) The Golden Eagle Pass is sold for $65.00 and
allows the buyer additional access to all federal fee areas.
3) The Golden Age Pass is a lifetime, one-time fee,
for US residents only, aged 62 and older.
4) The Golden Access pass is a free lifetime pass
for the permanently disabled and for US residents only. All permits
can be purchased at any National Park entrance station, or on
line for a service charge. The National Park Pass is cost effective
if you are planning on visiting three or more parks on your trip
(and remember it's good for one year in the US).
GRAND CANYON - Click
Here to learn about the Grand Canyon
ZION NATIONAL PARK
Zion
National Park is a myriad of deep sandstone canyons, which
extend over 30 miles from end to end and covers 229 square miles.
The Zion Canyons were named by early Mormon settlers (members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and many of
the formations in the park have names from the bible. The park
was established in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument and expanded
in 1919 to Zion National Park. The park is composed mostly of
sandstone stained by the oxidizing of iron in the rock. Zion National
Park with its many canyons contains 75 species of mammals, 271
birds, 32 reptiles and amphibians and 8 fish in the streams and
rivers, which have carved these canyons.
Protected within Zion National Park is a spectacular
cliff-and-canyon landscape and wilderness full of the unexpected
including Kolob Arch - the world's largest arch - with a span
that measures 310 feet. Zion National Park is full of beautiful
colors, scenery and wildlife. Wildlife such as mule deer, golden
eagles, and mountain lions, also inhabit the Park. The sandstone
which makes up most of the rock in Zion National Park was formed
by the compacting of sand about 150 million years ago. This occurred
when cementing properties of compounds such as calcium carbonate
compacted the sand which covered the huge desert of the west.
Dunes were at that timed formed into the present
day Navajo Sandstone. The next stage of creation occurred starting
close to 4 million years ago when streams running of the Colorado
Plateau caused the Virgin River to flood. As the river flowed
through the current Zion, it eroded the rock away taking boulders,
sand, and pebbles with it. Over time it formed, or rather carved
the canyon we see today.
BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL
PARK
Bryce
Canyon National Park is located in southern Utah on the eastern
side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in Garfield County. Settlement
of the area began in 1874. Ebenezer Bryce moved from Pine Valley
and settled a site near the mouth of Bryce Canyon in 1875. Bryce
used the now famous canyon as a cattle range, and it was given
his name as early as 1876. Bryce Canyon is a series of natural
amphitheaters below which stands an array of white and orange
limestone columns and walls sculptured by erosion. The erosion
has been accomplished mainly by rain, snow, and frost prying off
cliff fragments rather than by stream erosion. Nearby streams
actually flow away from the canyon. The high rim country of the
park is part forest dominated by fir, pine, and aspen, and part
meadows of grass and sage. At lower, drier altitudes, pinon pine
and Utah juniper predominate.
Geologically,
the rocks of the canyon are among the youngest of the Colorado
Plateau. Despite the fragile nature of the environment, there
are many miles of foot and horse trails below the rim. A twenty-mile
paved highway runs along the edge of the rim. Overlooks provide
magnificent views of the natural structures carved by erosion
into fanciful forms that glow in delicate and varied colors. In
1919 the Utah state legislature asked Congress to create Bryce
National Monument, which was done in 1923. The Union Pacific railroad
acquired a state school section on the rim and began developing
campgrounds, cabins, a lodge, and improved access to the Canyon.
In 1928 Bryce Canyon was removed from Forest Service jurisdiction
and made Bryce Canyon National Park. Later 12,000 additional acres
were added to create what is now a 37,277-acre park that attracts
hundreds of thousands of visitors each year from throughout the
world to marvel at its unique beauty.
LAKE POWELL NATIONAL
RECREATION AREA
(Glen Canyon National Recreation Area):
On the 15th. of October 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower pressed
a button at his desk in the White House and initiated the blast
that began the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam just eight
miles south of the Utah border in Arizona. When completed this
dam backed up the flows of the Colorado and San Juan rivers 186
miles and 72 miles respectively, thus creating 1,960 miles of
shoreline and one of the largest man-made lakes in the United
States.
Work crews founded the town of Page, Arizona, which
soon became a city serving the needs of travelers. Today, the
hydroelectric dam sends its power throughout the West. Rainbow
Bridge, a rock arching span of 278 feet is located in a side canyon
on the East side of the lake and is the largest natural rock bridge
in the world.
PIPE SPRINGS NATIONAL
MONUMENT
An oasis in the desert Pipe Spring was set
aside in 1923 by the U.S. Government as a National Monument. The
area surrounding Pipe Spring was once inhabited by ancestral Puebloan
Indians and more recently populated by a band of the Paiute Indian
Tribe. These people were the first to be drawn here by the four
springs in the immediate area.
Later, Mormon settlers, attracted by and
grasslands and available water called Pipe Spring home and established
a ranching operation. At one time the grass in the area was said
to have grown "belly high to a horse." Today, visitors
can tour the remains of this Mormon cattle ranch established in
the late nineteenth century. A fully furnished historic fort,
Winsor Castle, allows visitors to step back in time and relive
Mormon pioneer life.
CORAL PINK SAND DUNES
Coral Pink Sand Dunes is located eleven miles
north of Kanab, Utah on US 89. This state park is open all year
and is a wide-sweeping expanse of coral-colored sand. You can
hike, take photos, camp, ride ATVs and dune buggies, or
just relax in the sand.
One of the favorite getaway spots for "the
locals", Coral Pink Sand Dunes is a favorite spot for hiking
and photography. Sunrise and sunset photography is simply spectacular
here! The Park is open all year 'round, but spring and fall are
the best seasons for hiking and photography.
For Off-Road Enthusiasts, there are 1,000
acres of play area, and hundreds of miles of trails in the vicinity
of the Park. Since regulations concerning off-road vehicles are
changing in this area, be sure to contact the Ranger Station for
the latest news of open trails.