Kolob Canyons

— When we first visited Glacier NP, a park ranger told us that the average park visitor spends only about eight hours in a national park. That is profoundly sad. So, you can imagine that a park with many popular features and trails has several places that people seldom see. Take, for example, Zion NP. The park is 229.1 square miles (593.3 square kilometers). Consequently, most people focus only on hiking Angel’s Landing, hiking any of the trails that offer a view of the Watchman, and other popular areas. If you want to visit the Kolob Canyons area of Zion NP, you will need to drive outside the main park area 17 miles (27.3 km) south of Cedar City, off Interstate 15. In fact, it is 40 miles (64.3 km) north of Zion Canyon. It takes determination and time to experience the beauty of this area.

When we visited the Kolob Canyons, we were greeted with strong rains. We drove around a little and sat in a parking area having lunch and waiting for the rain to stop. The rain slowed down a little, but still, we were unable to hike. However, while driving around, we did see some beautiful sites, such as the photo featured in this post. Heavy clouds were beginning to lift and some sunshine was peaking through them. It was a somewhat magical scene.