Cedar Breaks National Monument

Fall Colors near Cedar Breaks

Leaving Bryce, we wanted to finally see Cedar Breaks National Monument (last time we were stopped by 4 inches of snow). Cedar Breaks is at 10,000 feet of altitude, so as we approached from the North, we went through quite a few Aspen glens. We observed brilliant yellows, oranges, and even some red leaves. When we turned into the park, the forest changed to Engelmann Spruce. But here most of the trees were dead, victims of the Spruce Beetle, which attacked this area in the early 1990s. We did a little hike to Alpine Lake. The lake itself was scenic, but I was disappointed that we didn’t have any major viewpoints along the trail. 

Alpine Lake

As we returned to the highway, we did have those viewpoints, and found that Cedar Breaks was a mini-Bryce Canyon, but the cliffs faced to the West, rather than the East and there were fewer people. 

Cedar Breaks Amphitheater

We continued on to the Kolob Canyon portion of Zion National Park. The 5 mile scenic road gives you several viewpoints of the canyon. At the end of the road, I took the short Timber Creek Trail which provides a viewpoint of the valley below the canyon. We continued on to Springdale, the town just outside Zion National Park. Since I couldn’t get reservations in the park, we stayed at the Quality Inn RV Campground. This campground is full service and just outside the park. You need reservations somewhere or you’ll won’t camp anywhere near Zion. 

Kolob Canyon