Spend a month here, an hour at a time. Morning light,…read moremidday sun and the sundown hour each change the colors and shapes surrounding you in this eroded and haunting wilderness. Take Highway 89 to Big Water and turn right: the road into the badlands is not marked but it's the only one. It runs ENE along the cliffs at a distance of a mile or so. Occasionally, the dirt road jogs around large boulders that broke away from the cliffs and tumbled out to where you are now. Go there in the early morning. The rising sun finds shadows among the blue seamed cliff faces and the chinle mounds. The attached photograph "Monks" is one of those scenes I captured in the month of May. As the cliffs turn facing the sunrise, direct light outlines sharper shapes and brighter colors, even yellow desert flowers-- as you may see in the attached photo "Stealthfighters." Carbonates in leached clay show a strong green cast in the morning light, see "Peek." Colors in the same clay change in the midday sun, like that in the"Moby Dick" photograph in July. Late afternoon colors emerge in the rocks, as you see in "Attack." Toward sunset the golden hour reveals even more subtle colors in the rocks and clays. These pictures are of the badlands and the lower cliffs. If you get here from anywhere in time for sunrise, you will need to hangout in 100F heat for about 15 hours -- when the colors are least interesting. Or you can go on. Dont try to climb the cliffs or you risk landing under a rock slide -- and become another ghost of the Escalante. There are two roads up to the Kaiparowits plateau. One is mostly narrow switchbacks cut into the sheer face of the 1500-foot Vermilion cliff. When I look over the side, ghosts are waiting.

My teenage son and I drove up here in early April 2023 for a short excursion north from Wahweep…read moreMarina (on the AZ side of the state border). First, it took a while to reach the campground from the main highway. Near the beach area, it can be very sandy. If you have a rental car, be careful to find a path with flattened sand unless you're driving a 4x4 jeep. Second, the view of Lone Rock was not impressive due to the lack of water. It used to be possible to kayak around Lone Rock (when it was surrounded by 20 to 50 feet of water). Unfortunately, without the lake water, the view of Lone Rock is meh (comparing the 2023 photos with snapshots from 2019 or 2021). The low water levels are the visible effect of climate change and diminished snowmelt from the mountains feeding into the Colorado River. I did not stay at the campground, so cannot speak to that experience. But if you're looking for a view of Lake Powell - I would drive over to the Wahweep Marina on the AZ side of the state border and take a sunset photo from the boat launch area there.

Camped here with a friend in early September 2020 and it blew our expectations out of the water…read more We were nervous about the first-come-first-serve camping policy and not being able to make a reservation, but there was plenty of room even when we arrived on a Saturday evening on a holiday weekend. We pulled up about an hour before sundown, found a place to park and set up our tent, and enjoyed the beach. There was a stunning sunset and sunrise. Everyone we met was very kind and helpful. The other campers answered questions and helped us find our way around. It seemed like most of them camp here regularly, which gave it a nice community feel. The only downside we found was that it was a little loud in the evening, especially from the ATV's zooming around. Since it was really dark at night, we were even afraid they'd accidentally run over us in our tent. The next morning there was a long line to use the public bathrooms and showers, which are located fairly far from the camping ground, so be sure to account for this if needed. Beware if you have a vehicle that's low to the ground due to the sandy roads. We drove a sedan slowly and didn't have any trouble. The only mistake we made was accidentally driving over a few big rocks at our camp spot, so be on the lookout for those off the "road" I would return and camp here again in a heartbeat.

Nice clean courts for a game of pickleball. The basketball from the adjacent basketball courts…read moretends to fly in and intervene though. Low quality restrooms a bit of a walk away. Friendly beginner picklers to play with if you came by yourself. No shade though.

Were in town for the canyons and wanted to play pickleball found this park from a FB group and came…read morearound 9pm. There were people playing pickleball, a family playing basketball, some kids at the skate park. Overall it seemed well lit and safe and the pickleball courts were nice. I'd recommend

I'm not sure whether Page, Arizona is trying to keep this gorgeous, small park a secret but…read more.. Cat's Outta the Bag!! This place is gorgeous!!! You MUST get yourself to this free, city park while visiting Page and take in all of the gorgeous panoramic views - excellent park for sunsets!

Beautiful park! We enjoyed an early cool morning here taking in the scenery. Definitely worth a…read morestop!

We drove up from the Grand Canyon and stopped in Kanab for the evening. We checked out Hamblim Park…read moreso our toddlers could run around. It's a very cute little park at the foothill of a mountain. The kids really enjoyed the play structure. swings, LARGE grassy play area, and the spongee floor. Yep, I said "spongee". The ground beneath the play structure is filled with recycled (I'm guessing) rubber bits so walking on them makes folks slightly bounce. The park is right around the corner from the downtown area and on the way out of town. It was just the trick to get my littles out and about.

Kanab, known for "The Wave" and proximity to "Wire Pass" and "Buckskin", my family from Los…read moreAngeles, traveling through Kanab, also attended a spectacular firework show on the 4th of July at this Jacob Hamblin Park. My preteen kids said it was one of the best shows they have seen due to our close proximity to the lighting of the fireworks! Everything seemed bigger! Explosions louder! We were practically right under most of the explosions in the sky, with ambers literally falling on top of us / the spectators! Perhaps because if the dry air. At the very end of the show, our fears were realized as one last firework exploded on the ground, and some cardboard shrapnels flew into the spectators, hitting some of them. Fortunately, we think there were no injuries! We were just glad that we could attend and celebrate 4th of July far from home!

As part of our family trip to Utah's National Parks, we stayed at Utah State Parks since they had…read moreopenings. It was a good choice. This is a nice state park with friendly staff and clean facilities. You get access to clean restrooms with showers and even a dishwashing area. These are excellent amenities and exactly what you need after a long day of hiking the nearby national parks. In addition, the park itself has some hiking and recreational activities available and is located on a scenic reservoir. Very good state park.

We stayed there on our recent roadtrip - and the experience has spoiled us. We stayed at the newer…read moresites for RV's and the facilities seemed very new and clean. We had a beauty and peaceful view of the reservoir. Our site (and all sites) had plenty of space and distance to neighbors, so plenty of privacy yet feel very secure. I highly recommend this campsite!

Iconic, iconic, iconic. Bryce is an interesting park because it isn't all that big in the grand…read morescheme of things, but the natural formations (the hoodoos) that make up the park are some of the most interesting things to see and learn about in all of the Utah parks in my opinion. One of the most popular trails to hike is the Navajo loop via Queen's garden, which is a loop of 4ish miles that passes a bunch of beautiful lookout points as well as the "peekaboo" formation. It's very, very beautiful and not too difficult in my opinion - but do note that the very beginning/end (depending on whether you do the hike clockwise vs. counter) is rather steep and thus more challenging. I did it clockwise and therefore ended doing "Wall Street" from the bottom going up - it's several switchbacks with a decently steep grade (think Walter's wiggles in Zion, except a little bit harder since the hike to get here is longer than Angel's landing to WW). If you get winded easily, plan for at least a few hours to do the whole loop since you will tire out. Overall, I strongly recommend this hike, it's a good challenge that is very beautiful!

This is a must stop if you are planning a trip out west to hike, bike, horseback ride, or just…read moreenjoy the scenery at one of our nation's stunning national parks. We stopped at the Visitor Center to learn about the protected prairie dogs that reside in the park. This was a special focus that day. They had tables where you can learn about the varieties of prairie dogs in the US as well as why the ones in the park are endangered. We then got to use their provided binoculars to view some of the prairie dogs that live near the visitor center. The highlight of our day was taking a horseback ride. Definitely look into this as an added activity during your visit!

Beautiful campground!…read more We were driving east on Route 89A towards Marble Canyon and we were all tired and hungry. The sign for the campground was a welcome sight even though we were not thinking about camping there. We were looking for a comfortable picnic ground were we could have a festive lunch, a little nap and a couple of hours of rest before getting back on the road. So we turned right onto AZ-67 a little passed the campground entrance, and a few hundred yards, left onto the entrance of the no fee picnic area. The place is beautiful and well maintained. The picnic tables are nicely shaded by big trees and the public restrooms are clean. After filling our bellies we went for a walk exploring the surrounding, and I can tell you that the campground itself is just as well-kept and maintained. Right in the corner of Route 89A and AZ-67 there is the Jacob Lake Inn and Store. So if you want to stick around for the night, but are not big on camping check this place out, it is a good alternative to roughing it out under the trees! And the place is only 45 mile from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!

Stopped at Jacob's lake nest the north rim of the Grand Canyon national park entrance toad. Busy…read moreplace with gas , food , lodging . Seems like private concessionaires have the lease? on this busy corner . Beautiful part of our state .