Canyon Breeze Holsteins
Cedar Breaks National Monument is located a little under 1 and 1/2 hours away from Minersville, UT. Cedar Breaks offers some spectacular views while you stand above 10,000 feet on a cliff edge and look into a desert amphitheater 2,500 feet deep. There are 2 scenic look-outs at the top of the monument and one that they call sunset. The Indians called Cedar Breaks the “Circle of Painted Cliffs.” Cedar Breaks stretches 3 miles and resembles the look of Bryce Canyon National Park. This site is not visited as much as the other National Parks nearby and the visitors station is very small compared to these same parks, but hundreds of thousands of visitors see this natural amphitheater every year. The visitor center is open June-October, but their headquarters at a lower elevation is open year round.
One of the neat things about this monument, is the fact that it is surrounded by the Dixie National Forest. The Dixie National Forest occupies almost two million acres and stretches for about 170 miles across southern Utah. There is a loop from Parowan to Brian Head to Cedar City that is about 45 minutes that provides a quiet, serene drive through the forest and Cedar Breaks. There was a landslide that wiped out part of the road right outside of Cedar City last October that they are just barely getting repaired. The road up to Cedar Breaks from Cedar City has only been open for certain hours during the day, but will open up continuously starting August 1st. Elevations for the Dixie National Forest vary from 2,800 feet near St. George, Utah to 11,322 feet at Blue Bell Knoll on Boulder Mountain. These two National sites provide a breathtaking views of two very different sites.
Most of these pictures were taken in the morning hours during a quick ride to see this National Park. The orange and reds flow through this canyon and it really is an amazing site to behold. I don’t know if these pictures do justice to how far down the canyon’s go and how far it stretches, but we hope you enjoy!
We may be taking next week off for Scenic Sunday, we are not sure yet. We will keep you informed.
