East of the notorious Wave formation, White Pocket requires an arduous 4WD approach, but visitors are rewarded with fascinating and bizarre landscapes for miles. Twisted geology and ice cream colored rock will leave your imagination reeling.
With more than 30 unique state parks to choose from in Arizona, there is truly something for everyone. But with so many options, it can be difficult to determine where to plan your upcoming trip! Let this guide to four diverse parks help you narrow it down this summer.
In the forested stretches above Cedar City, Brian Head Ski Resort dishes out powder days to those seeking turns. From the vantage at the ski resort, red rock formations in the distance gleam under fresh snow. This is truly a unique experience from a ski lift!
The red cliffs became more vibrant, and the yucca, ocotillo, agave, cactus and other desert plants stood proudly on the trailside. Truly, this state park is such a wonderful place to play, and it’s only a few miles from Old Town Cottonwood, making it a breeze to get on the trails.
I caught myself getting lost in the scenery around when I hit a rock and flew off my bike sideways. The guys I was riding with quickly returned to check on me, but I dusted myself off and kept grinning down the trail.
Over the course of five days, you’ll spy for bobcats and hawks, hike quiet trails beneath the famous red rocks of Sedona, and live the good life on a lake—whether that means days spent on the quad or in quiet reflection.
Here at Visit USA Parks, we live for cross-country road trips. They are simply the best way to take in the expanse of the American West. But after six hours at the wheel, there is no amount of sugary truck stop snacks that can keep you going (and we encourage safe, alert driving at all times!). It’s much better to pull over in a place like Platte County, Wyoming, where there’s so much to do you might even spend an extra night.
After you’ve cast, clip-clopped, or pedaled to your heart’s content, enjoy a meal and a toast downtown. If you are feeling invigorated from all the mountain air, you could even journey to the Estes Park Memorial Observatory after the sun goes down.
September and October are special months on the East Coast. The leaves begin to turn colors, the temperatures drop to a comfortable chill, and Americans begin to embrace the Danish “hygge”—a mood of coziness and contentment. If there’s one place to be during the cozy fall months, it’s the Northeast. Between the coast of Maine and Acadia National Park, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, you’re sure to get your fill of fall foliage on this road trip.
Camping in Bryce Canyon Country with care and attention—and leaving without a trace—will not only make your experience more peaceful, it will also preserve that perfect spot for you for years of return trips.