Utah Park List
- Arches National Park
- Arches National Park contains the greatest density of natural arches in the world! Millions of years of deposition, erosion and other geologic events have created over 2,000 natural windows, pinnacles, spires, strangely shaped rocks, and sandstone arches. The world-famous Delicate Arch is among these formations. The extraordinary features of the park create a landscape of contrasting colors, landforms and textures that is unlike any other in the world.
- Bryce Canyon National Park
Welcome to Bryce Canyon, famous for its unique geology consisting of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. Check out eerie, grotesque and often whimsical hoodoos in the park, along with ancient trees and scenic views from the rim. The park transcends 2,000 feet of elevation and exists in three distinct climatic zones: Spruce/Fir Forest, Ponderosa Pine forest, and Pinyon Pine/Juniper Forest. Scientists and children alike can enjoy this magical park!
- Canyonlands National Park
- Welcome to Canyonlands National Park's colorful landscape, which has eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The rivers divide the park into four districts, including the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character and offers different opportunities for exploration.
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Called "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman, Capitol Reef National Park is bursting with unique natural and cultural history. The park was established to protect its infamous Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long wrinkle in the earth's crust known as a monocline that extends from nearby Thousand Lakes Mountain to the Colorado River (now Lake Powell). Comprised of 378 square miles of colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths, this park is truly spectacular.
- Cedar Breaks National Monument
People have been visiting Cedar Breaks area for over 9,000 years. The monument rests on top of the Colorado plateau and at over 10,000 feet in elevation offers breathtaking views. The park's giant amphitheater, more than 2,000 feet deep, has been carved by millions of years of sedimentation, uplift, and erosion.
- Dinosaur National Monument
- The largest land creatures of all time once roamed and died in the area now known as Dinosaur National Monument. Fragments of a long ago world are scattered among the craggy hills of the monument. The main exhibit wall of dinosaur fossils is closed, but some fossils can be seen by hiking 1/2 mile from the Temporary Visitor Center. Other highlights of the park include captivating rock art and scenery, homestead sites, and whitewater rafting.
- Natural Bridges National Monument
- Natural Bridges preserves some of the greatest examples of natural stone architecture in the southwest. Three such natural bridges formed when running streams slowly cut through the canyon walls. In honor of the Native Americans that inhabited the area, the bridges are named "Kachina," "Owachomo" and "Sipapu."
- Timpanogos Cave National Monument
- Whether interested in a cave tour, Ranger-led program or just to hike or walk, visitors can find a variety of adventures at Timpanogos Cave National Monument. American Fork Canyon, located only a few miles from the monument, provides a backdrop of spectacular canyon views. Crystal mountain lakes and beautiful trees and flowers make Timpanogos Cave National Monument an oasis away from the populated Wasatch Front.
- Zion National Park
- Zion National Park offers some of America's most beautiful and adventure inspiring landscapes. Day and overnight visitors to the Utah playground are greeted with endless desert trails, precipitous canyon walls, magnificent wildflowers, and breathtakingly open skies. A dream destination for summer or winter outdoor enthusiasts, this southwestern park will please both those who want to sightsee and soak up the fascinating Native American history, and those who want to run, bike, hike, and swim their way into the "red earth" sunset.
News from the Parks
Gettysburg Address to Return for Visitor Center Grand Opening
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
Anglers Wary of North Cascades Plan to Limit Fishing
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
Bison Advocates Go for Space
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
Rapid Climate Change Threatens to Thaw Icy Wonderland of Alaska
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
Park Seeks Construction Comment
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
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Minute Man National Historical Park
Minute Man, 2674; National Park Service
