There are few better places to stare into the dark starry skies than Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. OK, Natural Bridges National Monument on the eastern side of the state isn't too shabby for star-gazing, either. But it doesn't have an astronomy festival, and Bryce Canyon's 14th Annual Astronomy Festival arrives next week.
It sounds counterintuitive to head to the Utah desert this summer to cool off. But Utah is an enigma: it is desert, canyons, and high mountains in one trip. You find groves of Ponderosa pines and wildflower meadows in abundance in Bryce Canyon National Park. The days are warm, the nights are chilly. The view of the desert is astounding, and at night visibility is measured in light-years.
Bryce Canyon National Park officials, rather than forcing private equestrians to pay a guide to lead them on trail rides, should see the marketing and PR value in having rangers saddle up to lead rides much as they lead hikes, for free.
You can bring your own horse to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah's redrock country and ride off into the shimmering sunset, but under a rule change you'll likely have to hire a guide from the concessionaire who offers trail rides.
An open house is scheduled for March 5 at Bryce Canyon National Park to discuss the park's environmental assessment on a "multimodal transportation plan" that would link the park with Bryce Canyon City.
Are you making your summer park vacation plans? Don't place full faith in on-line reservations sites, as they don't always tell the full story of what's available.
Bryce Canyon National Park officials, after considering public opinion and input from other federal agencies, have come up with two alternatives for a proposed multi-use path.
Though most visitors to Bryce Canyon National Park find the greatest beauty in the colorfully eroded amphitheaters that earned the park its status in the National Park System, it's hard to deny the charm of the park's log cabins freshly dusted with snow, as these were several days before Halloween.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park to open Wednesday, citations issued at Olympic National Park, and a call for states to share in national park management are among the issues floating around the National Park System during the ongoing government shutdown.
Wondering which national parks have been able to reopen with state funding? Here's a list, and the dates the parks are to remain open...barring some resolution in Washington or more funding from the states.