Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [469]
Just outside the east entrance to the park, there is a small store and gas station at the Zion Mount Carmel Restaurant (☎ 435/648-2829).
Nearby Entertainment
Just outside the south entrance to Zion National Park, in Springdale, are two worthwhile attractions.
The Zion Canyon Theatre, 145 Zion Park Blvd. (☎ 888/256-3456 or 435/ 772-2400; www.zioncanyontheatre.com) boasts a huge screen—some six stories high by 80 feet wide. Here you can see the dramatic film Zion Canyon—Treasure of the Gods, with thrilling scenes of the Zion National Park area, including a hair-raising flash flood through Zion Canyon's Narrows and some dizzying bird's-eye views. The theater also shows a variety of other Hollywood and large-format films. Admission is $8 adults, $5 children 3 to 11, free for children under
3. The theater is open daily from 11am to 8pm in summer; call for winter hours. The theater complex also contains a tourist information center, an ATM, a picnic area, gift and souvenir shops, and food outlets.
The Tanner Twilight Concert Series presents a varied performing arts program in the stunning, 2000-seat outdoor O. C. Tanner Amphitheater, just off Zion Park Boulevard. Performances range from symphony orchestra concerts and dance performances to bluegrass concerts and cowboy poetry presentations. Shows begin at 8pm every Saturday through the summer and cost $9 for adults and $5 for children under 19. For information, contact Dixie College, in St. George (☎ 435/ 652-7994; www.dixie.edu/tanner/index. html).
A Nearby National Monument
The area surrounding Zion National Park offers a variety of scenic wonders and recreational opportunities. In addition to other nearby national parks, which are discussed elsewhere in this book, you'll discover one relatively unknown gem, Cedar Breaks National Monument, which looks a lot like a small version of Bryce Canyon National Park.
CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT
A delightful little park, Cedar Breaks is a wonderful place to spend anywhere from a few hours to several days, gazing down from the rim into the spectacular natural amphitheater, hiking the trails, and camping among the spruce and fir trees and the summer wildflowers.
The park forms a natural coliseum more than 2,000 feet deep and over 3 miles across, filled with stone spires, arches, and columns shaped by the forces of erosion and painted in ever-changing reds, purples, oranges, and ochers. Why the name Cedar Breaks? The pioneers who came here called such badlands "breaks," and they mistook the juniper trees along the cliff bases for cedars.
JUST THE FACTS
When to Go. At more than 10,000 feet elevation, Cedar Breaks is always pleasantly cool. At night it actually gets downright cold, so take a jacket or sweater, even if the temperature is scorching just down the road in St. George. The monument opens for its short summer season only after the snow melts, usually in late May (although in 2005 heavy snow kept the roads closed until early July), and closes in mid-October. If you happen to have a pair of cross-country skis or snowshoes, you can visit anytime.
Getting There. Cedar Breaks National Monument is 85 miles north of the main section of Zion National Park. From Zion's south entrance, head west on Utah 9, then north on Utah