National Parks of Southern Utah

[robertwgross]

What is the best season for nature photography in places like Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, etc.?

---Bob Gross---

[johnleveritt]

What is the best season for nature photography in places like Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, etc.?

---Bob Gross---

Here's a link:

http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/

We travel to Southern Utah quite a bit (have a cabin outside of Cedar City Utah), and most anytime here is fine except winter (Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks). Winter can be a little tricky if it's cold and snowy. Check any of them for weather reports during the winter. I know that Cedar Breaks outside of Cedar City Utah closes for the winter (10 to 14 feet of snow). If Bryce is open then you have to check the roads getting there during the winter. Hwy. 14 out of Cedar City can be tricky during the snow season. Otherwise you use Hwy. 89. If Zion is open then you can go in through Springdale, and come out at Kanab. You can then catch Hwy. 89 to Bryce.

BTW, if your going to hit all of them, and you don't already have one, get the $50.00 pass at one of the entrances, and it's good for any National Park in the United States for one year.

[robertwgross]

BTW, if your going to hit all of them, and you don't already have one, get the $50.00 pass at one of the entrances, and it's good for any National Park in the United States for one year.

Oh, yes. I've had a pass every year for decades now, and I always come out far ahead on them.

It seems like April or early May is what people suggest first for the best season. That would fit in nicely with the late March season for Death Valley and the Mojave Desert.

Thanks.

---Bob Gross---

[johnleveritt]

BTW, if your going to hit all of them, and you don't already have one, get the $50.00 pass at one of the entrances, and it's good for any National Park in the United States for one year.

Oh, yes. I've had a pass every year for decades now, and I always come out far ahead on them.

It seems like April or early May is what people suggest first for the best season. That would fit in nicely with the late March season for Death Valley and the Mojave Desert.

Thanks.

---Bob Gross---

Yes, Spring is perfect for your needs, both in both Utah, and Death Valley. I'm sure that you know this, but carry plenty of water in the Desert any time of the year. Most of the Car makers, domestic, and foreign use Furnace Creek in Death Valley for the testing of their cars in the heat.

I don't know your time schedule, but if your going to Death Valley, and Utah, don't forget the Nevada sights in between. You will be close to Beatty, Goldfield, Tonopah, Manhattan, Round Mountain (all old gold, and current mining towns, and ghost towns), Tonopah Test Range, Area 51 (Alien Hwy. really, it's called that). Over to Caliente (old railroad town), and Panaca where you turn on to the Hwy. over to Utah, coming out at Cedar City Utah.

[gramps]

I live in southern Utah near the parks. IMHO winter and fall are the best for pic taking. Bryce takes on a completly different image when there is snow on the ground. Also AND THIS IT THINK is the biggie, when the landscape is wet the colors are more intense............esp. the red rock areas.

[robertwgross]

Winter might be a good time there if the skies are clear. But if there is much snow on the ground, that will slow me down a lot (carrying gear). I tend to spend very little time near the roads and tend to be in the backcountry.

OTOH, if it is just cold red rock, then it wouldn't be bad. One foot of snow would be a problem.

Death Valley National Park is kind of screwed up right now. Back in August and September, there were some flash floods that completely took out the highway from Furnace Creek to Death Valley Junction. Maybe they will get it rebuilt by spring. That just complicates going from there to Nevada, although the Amargosa Desert is interesting to see if you can get there before the temperature goes through the roof.

---Bob Gross---

[johnleveritt]

Death Valley National Park is kind of screwed up right now. Back in August and September, there were some flash floods that completely took out the highway from Furnace Creek to Death Valley Junction. Maybe they will get it rebuilt by spring. That just complicates going from there to Nevada, although the Amargosa Desert is interesting to see if you can get there before the temperature goes through the roof.

---Bob Gross---

Hmm, I didn't know that it was screwed up. It's been awhile since I've been there. I used to travel the whole area in my past life as a worker bee (26 years in the whole area From Las Vegas to Tonopah, and all points in between). Now that I'm retired, I tend to go to Southern Utah, through the Arizona strip, since my wife and I own property there.

[CyberDyneSystems]

:arrow: :( <== This is the "jealousy" smily...

Sounds awesome :)

[Tom W]

I can't say when the best time is to go, but I spent a few days in middle Utah (Moab area) in April, 1999. Very nice area. The scenery is absolutely spectacular. The weather was great for most of the trip. On the last day, it rained and cooled down a bit, but it was still comfortable.

The only weather-related problems I had on that trip were travelling over Vail Pass (some 11,000+ feet in elevation, a little west of Denver) on my way back home. Snow was the problem, though I had the right vehicle and tires for the task. Still, it slowed my return trip a bit.

I only wish that I had brought a camera a bit more substantial than my Olympus P&S 35 mm.

EDIT: PS, here's a couple of horrable scans, but they do convey the beauty of the area:

http://phototom.fotopic.net/p8701505.html

http://phototom.fotopic.net/p8701506.html

[gramps]

one GREAT spot in southern Utah during the rainy season (which is once in a blue moon) is to be on Lake Powell. The colors of the rocks and the many waterfalls are really a sight.

[billhercus]

It was the "Island in the Sky" that I visited 3 years ago in a beautiful February that I will never forget - those wagon train tracks .......