As we headed south to Arizona from Lake Powell, our friends headed north to explore more of southern Utah. They called to tell us about Cedar Breaks National Monument, which they described as one of the most beautiful places they’ve seen in the area. That was enough of an endorsement for us to set our course from Sedona. We’re glad we did!
Cedar Breaks is a gigantic rock amphitheater that’s over 2,000 feet deep and 3 miles in diameter, with nearly 270 degrees of rim opening up toward the west. It’s filled with a series of smaller canyons, each filled with more crazy-shaped rock structures than the last. Most remarkable are the bold colors – reds, yellows and purples – layered among the bright whites and grays, and topped by the bright green junipers (not cedars – the original settlers made a mistake and the name stuck) of the 10,000 foot high Markagunt Plateau. And the snow.
All of the hiking trails at Cedar Breaks are along the rim and were still closed due to snow cover which could be slick and cause a hiker to slide over the edge of the rim, which we would not enjoy. However, we did find a way to bushwhack to a sun-exposed, dry area of the rim to gain a new perspective on the amphitheater. We were treated to more views along the scenic drive allowing us to get way too many pix that all look like a giant rock amphitheater.
For anyone interested in more rock amphitheater pix…
Wow~Did Doug have his ‘hiking guitar’ so you could hear what the acoustics sound like? Your hiking poles would do as drum sticks……….
Love the muted colors! Do you miss green?
Thanks Barb! We didn’t play music in the Cedar Breaks Amphitheater… We did sing in Echo Canyon at Zion and Long Canyon Slot in Grans Staircase-Escalante!
There’s so much green in Utah! Spending most of our lives in New England where almost everything is green, our eyes are naturally drawn to the bright reds, pinks and purples – so different. We have noticed so many varieties of green – dark Ponderosas, bright Cottonwoods, reddish Manzanitas, silvery Sage – and taken pix. They don’t seem to make it to the posts, although they should. They too are beautiful! And there are bunches in the albums. Thanks for keeping us honest on the green.
We miss our friends in VT!
Cedar Breaks was closed when I went by but I loved the scenic driving routes along the perimeter!
Hey Gail, we agree! Perimeter was gorgeous! Looked like the hiking would be fun, so we were surprised when the ranger said trails were closed on June 1. Then we saw the snow on the trails…