Grand Canyon review

Leaving Lake Powell and Page behind I am traveling to my final national park – the Grand Canyon. I would like to give you a review of Grand Canyon and will write down all experiences I have on my way through Grand Canyon.

Here a Grand Canyon picture (click to enlarge):


To get more information about historic and geographic aspects of Grand Canyon national park, please check this and this link. I am just writing a review and will not focus on the park background.

My hotel is located in Tusayan and named Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn. I am heading there right now. To get there I have to drive through Grand Canyon. I am giving you a review of everything I checked out here in Grand Canyon.

Desert view point was my first stop. It is a relatively large viewpoint with shops and rest rooms. I parked my car and followed other people to a tower from where you have a good view over Grand Canyon. You should stop at Desert View point and check out the amazing view over Grand Canyon.

My next stop is the Lipan point. You have a pretty good view over Grand Canyon, as you are on 2300 meters. You can see the Hance rapid. It is around a mile long and Major and was terrific for early Grand Canyon expeditions.

Moran point is the next point on the way to Tusayan. It's named after a spanish expedition who were the first Europeans to see Grand Canyon. I saw several tourists next to me, climbing on rocks with the Canyon going a mile down right next to them. A biker with several Harley Davidson tattoos stood right next to me and told me with Texanian accent: „Mister, tellin' you somethin' – some people aint no' havin' a god damn brain in there head.“ Really, if you do not suicide in Grand Canyon, don't climb on the cliffs.

Leaving Moran point behind I am stopping at Buggeln point. It's a nice looking picnick area in Grand Canyon where I will now take some minutes off and eat something. Probably a good idea for you too :). Here are only a few benches and I had to choose another location and am now sitting on a tree. Be careful, I was just bitten by an ant. I have never see that large ants before. It hurts a little.

Next point is Grand view point. As the name says it offers a wide view over Grand Canyon. As a reason an hotel as once been there. If you are interested in walking you can take a 2 day trail from here down to Colorado river.

I am exiting Grand Canyon now and heading to my Best Western. Hope you enjoyed my Grand Canyon review. My rating is 10/10 points. You will be amazed. I will be writing a short conclusion tomorrow of all my national park experiences. Anyways, I am a bit fed up with national parks now and happy to see something different very soon. I am going over Flagstaff to Phoenix in two days, to then head back to San Diego and Los Angeles. Anyways, thanks for reading my recommendations, tips and review of Grand Canyon national park.

Antelope Canyon review

When you are in Page you will probably want to check out Antelope Canyon. Lake Powell is directly attached to Antelope Canyon. This is a short Antelope Canyon review.

Here an Antelope Canyon picture (click to enlarge):


Check this link to read more about Antelope Canyon.

I got a coupon for Antelope Canyon but enjoying my day around Lake Powell I did not make any use of it. I drove to the park by car. Entrance fee is 20$ unless you have a national park pass.

Antelope Canyon dissappointed me as I saw no real Canyon. Only some ciffs around Lake Powell, but really, you can already see them from Page. I recommend you not to check out Antelope Canyon. However, I have to say, I have only been at Antelope very short.

Hope you enjoyed my Antelope Canyon review. My rating for Antelope Canyon is 3/10.

Cortez review

Leaving Moab my next stop is the town of Cortez. It is right after the Utah/Colorado border. I would like to provide you with a short Cortez review.

Cortez is a friendly, little town with a lot of shopping possibillities. You have Citymarket, Wallmart and several fast food restaurants here. The air is clean and the town in no way dirty.

If you need a hotel or stop in front of Mesa Verde National park, then Cortez is the town where you want to find a hotel. Hope you enjoyed my short Cortez review.


View Larger Map

Mesa Verde national park review

Leaving Arches and Canyonlands national park behind I am leaving the town of Moab, heading towards Cortez. Cortez is my next stop as it is relatively close to the Mesa Verde national park. I would like to provide you a short review of Mesa Verde national park.

At first I felt relatively unexcited because I have seen so many national parks in the past weeks. But then when entering Mesa Verde I quickly noticed it would be another unique national park. Mesa Verde is not focused on the nature, but on the people that lived in there. You will encounter a lot of remains from native Americans.

Here a Mesa Verde national park picture (click to enlarge):


For more information about the park, please click this and this link.

And let me tell you, it is amazing, I took a ranger tour down to a small town that was build in an alcove. You will want to see this inside Meda Verda national park because there is no other place on earth that has 800 year old buildings from past peoples in a that good condition. The tour was relatively difficult but still a very extreme experience, we walked down the cliffs with several ladders to the Cliff palace. The cliff palace is a small cliff dwelling consisting of several spruce tree houses built by Ancient Puebloan Indians. I have never seen that before and you can only see that in Mesa Verde national park.

I rate the park with 10/10 points because of its landscape, the ranger tours and the historic background. Check out my next review of Lake Powell. Hope you enjoyed my short review of Mesa Verde national park.

Canyonlands national park review

After visiting Arches National park yesterday the last national park close to Moab I have not visited yet is Canyon Lands national park. I woud like to provide you with a short review of Canyon Lands. so that you can decide whether it is worth your time to check it out or not.

Here a Canyonlands national park picture (click to enlarge):



Check this link for more information on geographic aspects and history of the park. Also check out this link.

Canyonlands national park is around 25 miles from Moab and I recommend you to get some gasoline before heading towards Canyonlands. There is no gas station in or in front of the park. Just get your gasoline in Moab and not on the highway because in my case Moab's gas prices were 20 cent cheaper per gallons.

When you enter Canyonlands national park you will encounter a Visitor center on your right side. You can not compare it with the visitor center in Arches and Bryce Canyon as it did not contain a lot of information as was not well made.

I took the road to the end of Canyonlands national park and then took the Grand View Point trail. It is around 1 mile and upon reaching the end you will encounter a beautiful view over the plateau, cliffs and valley below. I definitely recommend you to take the trail as it is a very extreme experience and you will see nature on its best.

On the way to back to Moab, I stopped at the Upheaval Dome. There are several benches and it is a quite good place to rest and eat something. The benches are all in shadows of trees so that the climate is relatively fresh compared to the rest of the park.

A short conclusion of my Canyonlands national park review, it is worth the money. My rating: 9/10 points. I will be heading back to Moab now for which I also provided a short review. Check out my Cortez review which I will write tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed reading my review of Canyonlands national park :).

Arches national park review

Leaving the bizarre Goblin Valley behind and heading on to Moab, my next park is Arches national park. Arches National park is known for many bizarre Arches all over the park. I would like to provide you a short review of Arches national park.

Here some Arches national park pictures (click to enlarge):


For more information about geographic aspects and history of the park, please click this link, or this link.

Arches Canyon entrance is only 3 miles outside of Moab. The fee for entering the park is 20$ per vehicle. I checked out the visitor center first because it is right at the entrance of Arches Canyon, I was amazed by the size of the visitor center. It has a lot of good information and reviews of Arches national park. The whole history of the park is written down there, you find information about Uranium mines in the park, or how development of the famous Arches was possible.

I continued driving and then saw the famous Moab fault. Million years ago the earth's surface cracked and the Moab valley was made possible. The first stop has all details. I recommend you to stop there as that is quite interesting if you ask me.

Arches itself has a lot of bizarre and amazing rock formations. Almost all are out of the so called Entrada-sandstone. The arches can be seen at different locations inside Arches National park. I really liked the park and rate it with 9/10 points. Only 9 points because it was way too hot for me ... :P. Hope you enjoyed my short review of Arches national park,

Check out my review of Canyonlands national park which I will be writing tomorrow inside the park, I am heading back to moab now, for which I also provided a short review.

Capitol Reef review

Leaving Bryce and Escalante Canyon behind my next national park in Utah is the so called Capitol Reef. I am currently driving on the scenic highway through it and would like to let you know my Capitol Reef review so you an decide whether you think Capitol Reef is worth the money or not.

A Capitol reef national park picture (click to enlarge):


For more information about geographic aspects and history of the park, please check this link.

My hotel is just outside the town of Torrey, the Best Western Capitol Reef resort. It's ideal, because it is just outside of Capitol Reef with a beautiful view on multicolored Capitol Reef. The first people living here were Mormon settlers, they opened farms, that's why their village was named Fruita. The Mormons living here in Capitol Reef sold their property at around 1910. You can now visit Fruita with your car and see how the Mormons lived over here in Capitol Reef. As I am giving a short review, I can only recommend you to check out the small Oasis in the middle of Capitol Reef. Also make sure to check out the visitor center here in Capitol Reef as it gives you relatively good background about Capitol Reef. Also check out this link. to get more information on the web about Capitol Reef.

Right after Fruita I took the scenic drive it costs 5$ and is well worth the money. Beautiful cliffs and rocks can be seen on both sides of the street. The scenery is unique and amazing. I am amazed by this extreme experience. Every mile you see a shield warning you of flash floods here in Capitol Reef. Be careful and don't over estimate yourself when it rains. I am heading back to my hotel. Check out my Best Western Capitol Reef resort review and my Arches Canyon review, where I will be tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed my short review of Capitol Reef. My rating 10/10.

Escalante Canyon review

I am currently driving through Escalante Canyon and woud like to provide you a short review of it, My travel guide recommended to take this scenic highway when travelling from Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef. I will sleep in Torre, for which i will also provide a review. The scenic drive took me through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

A Escalante Canyon picture (Click to enlarge)


The Escalante Canyon is amazing with its unique rocky, colorful landscape consisting of beautiful cliffs. It is unique in Utah, in the USA and on the world. I can only recommend you to take the scenic highway number 12. It starts at Bryce Canyon and leads to Boulder and then Torrey. You will be amazed by Escalante Canyon's landscape. I just drove through Boulder and it is probably the smallest town I have ever seen. There are two buildings with some cows in front. If you need restrooms, gas, food, or drinks then I can only tell you, don't aim to find that in Boulder, as here is really nothing.

If you are interested, check out my Torrey review, which is my next stop and then my Capitol Reef review.

Bryce Canyon review

Leaving the town of Panguitch I am now heading towards Bryce Canyon. This is a short review of experiences I encountered in Bryce Canyon. The review is also a short guide for you, so that you can decide whether you should visit Bryce Canyon or not.

A Bryce Canyon picture (Click to enlarge):




For more information about geographic aspects and history of the park, please click this link.

Stay in your car during lightning storms, watch dangerous cliffs, no pets or bicycles on trails, that's how you are welcomed in Bryce Canyon. The nature here is more than extreme and I can only recommend you to follow that advice. Several people die here every year because they do not watch out. Make sure to wear appropriate shoes because inappropriate shoes lead to injuries and even fatalities.

I am currently sitting on a fence at Yovimpa Point. You can access it by taking a short trail from Rainbow Point. Rainbow point is at the far end of Bryce Canyon, around 20 miles by car from the entrance. It is on around 9000 feet and currently relatively warm here at Yovimpa. It is known as one of the spots with best view. You can see mountains in more than 60 miles distance. Compared to LA, where you can only see 5 miles, that's quite a lot. I really recommend you to check out Yovimpa, as it is very beautiful here with all the sharp red cliffs. The trail leading here is only 500 feet, so that is not a big deal and can be done by couch potatoes as well. I took the Bristlecone loop trail which is around another mile from Yovimpa point. Although I am quite sporty I breathed heavily when I returned to my car.

I am driving to the Black Birch Canyon now which has an elevation of 8750 meters. The silence is impressive and you feel very well with the good air. Nonetheless a few steps are already hard because of the thin air. The view is amazing. You should definitely check out the Black Birch Canyon.

My next stop is the so called Agua Canyon. There is a raven sitting on the fence in front of me. They are very common in Bryce Canyon. Because they are adaptive they learn very fast and can do whatever is best for them. I will be attaching a picture of the raven. The Agua Canyon is very beautiful with the red, sharp cliffs and the wide view over Bryce and mountains 60 miles away. There are two persons trying to feed them. That is not allowed and punished with an high fee. Fed animals have little chance to survive in nature. So don't feed them.

Next view point is the Natural Bridge. It is a bridge formed by erosion and is worth to see. It was formed in thousands of years. You can park right next to it with your car. Then take some breathtaking pictures which you will never forget :-).

I continued to Sunset point and wanted to take the Navajo trail to check out Osiris and Thor's temple which are both described as impressive and beautiful. The guide describes them as the most beautiful peaks here in Bryce Canyon.
However I am now in a thunder storm and decided to follow the advice to stay in my car. Consequently I can unfortunately not review them but you should check them out.

All in all I must say that Bryce Canyon was very impressive and beautiful. I liked it a lot that you can take your car with you, so that you are free. I must say that I found Zion a little more impressive. Nonetheless, Bryce is completely different and I rate it with 10/10 points. What I like lot here is the visitor friendliness and the very good visitor center. Check out my next writing, a Capitol Reef review which I will write in the park again. I will also write a short review of my Capitol Reef hotel. So thanks a lot for reading my bryce canyon blog. Hope you enjoyed this review.

Zion National Park review

Zion National Park is one of the most popular National parks in western USA. I went from Firestone National park directly to Zion National Park and would like to give you a short review of Zion National park. It was quite late already around 8 pm. when I entered the park because my hotel, the Zion Mountain resort was located outside of the park at the other side. It was quite an extreme experience, seeing Zion national park in the dark with all the curvy roads and sharp cliffs. I can definitely recommend you to do that as well. If you are in the first tunnel when driving through the park, turn off the light for a scary, exciting feeling which you do not want to miss.

A picture of Zion National Park (click to enlarge):


For more information about the park, geographical and historical aspects, please see this link

On the next morning I went back to the entrance of Zion national park to the visitor center. It is located on the right when you enter the park and can not be missed. There are restrooms and a huge parking lot which however is easily full. You will have to be there before 10 am or you might not be able to park. You are required to park there because only from that parking lot you can directly access shuttle buses and only by using those buses you can access the most beautiful parts of Zion National Park. As an alternative to the every 6 minute departing shuttle buses you could also ride your bike to those places. Take the shuttle bus to the last stop and follow the trail following the river from there. It is very beautiful as you are walking next to the 1000 feet high cliffs. The landscape of Zion National park is unique and definitely worth a watch :). I went to the Emerald pools after and took a trail from there to the so called Grotto. Make sure to take a lot of water with you and be prepared for an experience you will never forget. I hope you enjoyed my short Zion National Park review.

If you like check out my next short post, a Cedar Breaks national monument review.

Cedar Breakes national monument review

To get from Zion national park to the Bryce Canyon I can only recommend you to not take the 14 but to drive through the Cedar Breakes national monument. I will try to give you a short review so you can decide whether you think it's worth the time and gasoline. Make sure to fuel up before entering because you will not encounter gas stations for around hundred miles along the road. It took me around ¼ of the fuel tank to get to the next gas station.

To get to know a bit more about the history and geographic aspects of the park please check this link.

The road will take you up to 10000 feet very slowly. On the right and left you do not see any civilization but beautiful yellow flowers and green pine trees. Some of them died and now look grey, resulting in colorful contrasts. Volcanoes formed the landscape and you very often see lava on the left and right side of the road.
There is a lot of vegetation around and you occasionally see some deers. Be very careful when you are driving. If you came from Las Vegas it will be refreshing for your eyes to see something non-desert and very green. It is also a good contrast to nearby Bryce, Archers and Grand Canyon. I can only recommend you to take the road through the Cedar breaks national monument.

A picture of Cedar Breakes I took some minutes ago:


I arrived at the Cedar breaks national monument visitor center, you can find restrooms right here here. The temperature here on 3000 feet is 60-70 degrees and with wind it feels quite cold in a shirt :P. To enter the park itself by foot you have to pay 6$. I did not enter but took the spectra Point trailhead, it can be accessed from the parking lot. At first I thought it would be nothing special because it looks like the landscape I described above. A warning shield tells you to not trespass during thunder storms and to stay away from cliffs. Once you pass the first forest (around 100 yards) you will see those cliffs. To review it, it looks amazing and is a very extreme experience. You are standing on top and look down the Bryce canyon like cliffs. I wanted to continue walking on the trail to get a better view but a sudden thunderstorm made me retreat and instead write this short review and report out of my Jeep Commander. Also make sure you clean your shoes before entering the cars as in my case they were quite muddy.

I will continue driving now to Bryce Canyon. All I can say, take the vista points as this somehow friendly and unexciting looking landscape is extreme and worth to see. If you like, drop me a short comment how you liked my Cedar breaks national monument review or just if you liked it too. I will be adding some pictures one I have WiFi and a mobile phone network again (haven't had mobile phone networks for more than 72 hours now).

I decided not to check out the Amphitheater for now because it is currently raining heavily. I passed the Chessman Ridge Overlook and now directly head to Bryce Canyon. Unfortunately I can not check out the Alpine pond and the Alpine pond because of the weather. Next national park I pass to get there is the Dixie national forest for. I will also be writing a little Dixie national forest review. My rating: 9/10

Here a satelite map of Cedar Breakes:

View Larger Map

Dixie national forrest review

Leaving Cedar Breakes national Monument with the target Bryce Canyon I am passing the Dixie national forest. To give you an idea of it I am writing this Dixie national forest review. After Cedars Breakes the landscape surrounding the roads did not change a lot. The landscape consists of forests, meadows and sometimes small beautiful looking wooden houses.

If you want to get to know a bit more about geographic aspects and history of the park please see this link.

The trees are not only pine trees but also birch trees making it a beautiful combination. I am currently in a thunder storm and it rains a lot, however the sun manages to shine every few minutes resuting in beautiful rainbows. The road descends steadily but is in good quality. Switch from ATG to manual shifts to prevent your breaks from overheating. Shift down and it should not be a problem, at least my Jeep Cherokee performs pretty well here in the Dixie national forest.

Very interesting are Buffalo farms which you sometimes see on the right and left of the road when driving through Dixie national forest. You will also encounter lava from ancient volcano explosions. Be careful as I experienced 2 deers crossing the street. Nonetheless, Cedar Breakes was a lot more interesting than Dixie national forest. My car used around 1 gallon to drive through the entire park because of steady descendings. For an European Dixie is nothing very special, the only thing would be the lava, forest and altitude combination.

A small but very interesting region of Dixie National park is the so called red canyon. It is around 15 miles in front of the entrance to Bryce but already gives a short preview of Bryce's landscape

To consider all points I think that if you saw other national parks such as Zion before then Dixie national forest will seem a little bit boring. My next writing will be a Bryce Canyon review. My rating: 7/10