Kolob Canyon of Zion National Park

I mentioned last Sunday how Dr Desert Flower and I drove Celeste through Kolob Canyon, after leaving the main body of Zion National Park and heading north towards Park City Utah, but I did not have time to really say much about Kolob at the time.  So this posting is all about Kolob Canyon, specifically.

First, Kolob Canyon is conveniently located next to I-15.  It's very easy to access from the interstate, and when we arrived, there was not any rangers taking admission or checking for park passes at the entrance.  There WAS a sign that said everyone was required to stop at the visitors' center, but we had our yearly pass (purchased the day before) and drove past in 'blissful ignorance' ('we no speaka English so well' would have been our excuse to any park Ranger who asked us for our pass).

Having been to Sedona many times and seen our fair share of "red rocks" I am not easily impressed by large red rock formations.  Yes, they're pretty and nice to look at, but in Sedona, from the city, they are rather far away.  You can indeed go off-road and get closer to them, but they're somewhat eroded and smaller in stature.  At Kolob, the red rocks are MASSIVE, and VERY impressive.   The park road winds through the canyon, and very few park visitors were there to clog up the road (Yay!!!).  The vistas were beautiful.

 When I inquired to a Park Ranger back at the Zion NP southern entrance if there's many visitors to the Kolob Canyon entrance, she assured me "oh yes, it's very popular" - I think she was trying to sell me on it, when in fact, large crowds were exactly what I was NOT looking for.  I am glad she was wrong.

Looking South from Kolob Canyon towards Zion Canyon

If you are ever traveling along I-15 in Utah, you really should make a stop in Kolob Canyon and take some time to appreciate this national treasure.