Have you been to Utah yet? So many people visit Las Vegas but never travel the two hours into the outdoor wonderland that Utah is! Utah is a wonderful place to get in touch with the outdoors. It can be great during all 4 seasons, fall, winter, spring and summer. Any time of the year is a great time to do some southern Utah tours.

Author: Bob Therrien

http://www.adventurezonetours.com

 

Covering 84,904 square miles, Utah is bordered on the north by Idaho, on the east by Wyoming and Colorado, on the south by New Mexico and Arizona and on the west by Nevada. Utah is located in the heart of the American West.

The land itself embraces everything from desert to alpine and is divided into three major kinds of landscape: Basin and Range, Middle Rocky Mountain and Colorado Plateau. (Now, don’t you wish you’d paid attention in that geography class?) To make it easier, we generally talk about the Great Basin, the Rockies and Canyon Country.

Southern Utah is a land of drop-dead beauty. Gorgeous! Awesome! Unbelievable! It doesn’t really matter which byway you take (but be sure to take Highway 12—Utah’s All-American Road); it doesn’t matter which St. George golf course you tee off, which back country guide you charter, which spa you use to escape: it’s all one stupendous eyeful after another. Ever wonder how Dead Horse Point State Park got its name? Well, a bunch of cowboys forgot to water the horses and…you get the picture. No matter what its origins, the views from Dead Horse will leave you speechless. Southern Utah is “The Old west…” “John Wayne Country…” “Little Hollywood…”

For amphitheaters chock-a-block with sandstone spires all aglow in luminescent earth tones: Bryce Canyon National Park. For looming sandstone walls guarding a pastoral Virgin River landscape marked by unique microclimates, fauna and flora: Zion National Park…Monument Valley, Lake Powell? Southern Utah is the kind of place other states can only dream of.

An ancient spirit inhabits southern Utah. It is evident in the cataclysmic forces that have thrust the earth up into snow-capped mountains; in the towering fins of ruddy sandstone cut by the patient forces of erosion into bridges, arches, deep canyons, and strange “hoodoos” of stone; in dramatic faults where the earth jumbles and twists, contrasting with gentle, rolling hummocks of “slick rock.

Visiting Utah can be quite an experience. The major airport to fly into the region is normally Las Vegas, Nevada for southern Utah tours. Saint George and Cedar City both have growing airports with thousands of travelers who fly there too!

Utah is very diverse. It has everything from desert to alpine and is divided into three kinds of landscape. First the Basin and Range, then Middle Rocky Mountain and Colorado Plateau. Normally referred to as the Great Basin, the Rockies and Canyon Country. There is so much to choose and do!

 

· Hiking

· Camping

· Biking

· Golf

· Boating

· Beaches

· ATV

· Museums

· Scenic Drives

· Dog Sledding

· Snowmobiling

· Horseback Riding

· Hunting

· Antique Shopping

· Festivals/State Fairs

· Rafting

· Ice Skating

· Fly Fishing

· Wildlife

· Lake/Rivers

· Alpine & Nordic Skiing/Snowboarding

 

Red rock canyons, sandstone cliffs, the desert, the best snow on earth skiing, Joshua trees, slot canyons, canyoneering, travel, tour & adventure await you for your Southern Utah tours.

Utah has five National parks. Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, and Zion National Park.

 

If that’s not enough of the most incredible landscape anywhere, there are 3 National Monuments. Cedar Breaks National Monument, Dinosaur National Monuments and GSENM, Grand Staircase National Monument. How about adding two National Recreation areas to the mix and maybe you’ll never want to leave Utah. The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area all add up to one of the most spectacular places on earth to visit.

 

Southern Utah has Saint George just a couple of hours north of Las Vegas. It has an elevation of 2,880 feet above sea level. St. George has an average annual temperature of 59.9° F with summer temperatures well into the 100s. Palm trees and red rock cliffs are the norm in Saint George along with all the convenience of a city of 100 thousand.

 

45 minutes north on highway Interstate 15 is Cedar City. It is a well known festival city. It is home to Southern Utah University, The Utah Shakespearean Festival, The Utah Summer Games, The American Children’s Christmas Festival, The Cedar City SkyFest, Neil Simon Festival, Himmelsk Festival Royal, yearly Cowboy Gathering, Rodeo, July Jamboree, Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire, Groovefest, and Paiute Restoration Gathering & Pow-wow. Cedar City is very close to Brian Head Ski Area. Close enough to be in the Vegas desert, ski during the day with views of Cedar Breaks Red Rocks and back to the desert for dinner. You’ll enjoy your trip there.

 

Source Credit: Some content provided by The Utah Office of Tourism.

Research, read and share trip reports and pics here.

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Activities to Enjoy:
Hiking	Golf	ATVs	Boating
Camping	Ice Skating	Biking	Rafting
Hunting	Wildlife	Fall Colors	Scenic Drives
Museums	Lakes/Rivers	Snowmobiling	Dog Sledding
Horseback Riding		Fresh Water Fishing
Climbing/Canyoneering		Festivals/State Fairs
Alpine & Nordic Skiing/Snowboarding

We’d like to invite you to be a guest blogger on this site and to share comments on our Outdoor Recreation Message Boards at http://www.adventurezonetours.com

National Parks, State Parks, National Monuments, and Wilderness Areas, All in One Website!

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR NATIONAL PARKS –

On AdventureZoneTOURS.com

 

 

Cedar City, UT (February 27, 2007) The good news is that the United States of America has protected some of the most unique and incredible places to see on earth, and to encourage visitors, AdventureZoneTOURS.com brings all the parks, monuments, and wilderness areas into one online message board where people can share information about these fantastic outdoors resources.

 

The bad news is that the National Parks face a budget crisis. Struggling to protect the historic, cultural and natural resources, the parks are short of funds for operating facilities, repairs to roads, bridges, trails and buildings. In 2006, a $814 million shortfall was reported. With the National Park Service covering almost 400 protected areas, NPS has fewer employees to service the growing number of visitors per year. Over 273,000,000 people visited the National Parks in 2005, with reports of declining visitors.  AdventureZoneTOURS.com fills in the gap where information on locations and services are currently lacking. Instead of contacting a variety of parks or wilderness areas to compile your trip, now planning and previewing a vacation or adventure is just a click away on AdventureZoneTOURS.COM.

 

In a recent trend, volunteering has become very popular with more people willing to offer their time or vacation in assisting the parks and outdoor organizations with clean up, rebuilding trails and other important tasks.  AdventureZoneTOURS.com not only features a message board for each region of every state but under the category Special Interests members are invited to post messages for volunteer opportunities or find links to the volunteer opportunity just right for them.

 

Bob Therrien, President of TrainingPASS Sales, Inc., creator of AdventureZoneTOURS.com, outdoor writer, and constant traveler commented, “Over the years, the hardest part for me has been the research about which parks, hikes, climbs, guides I want to visit with my family and friends. Exploring site after site, then mapping the distance from each area of interest is inefficient and many times lacking in information. To solve that inefficiency we (AdventureZoneTOURS.com) have collected all the basic information about our parks, wilderness areas and national monuments into one website. We’re still working on the mapping solution right now, so that a visitor can visually see just a region of a state and distances between multiple areas of interest.  AdventureZoneTOURS.com is an outdoors recreation message board that now needs real trip reports from people who love these parks and are willing to share information on their special places.”

 
The Outdoor Adventure Message Board opens up to reveal historic park photos and a listing of U.S. States separated into travel regions. Click on search to find your park or any state region and there are sub forums for all the parks, monuments and wilderness areas in that region. You’ll find links to park maps, webcams and several interesting choices to pick from within a state region. Choose just the park to visit or check special interest message boards for posts on volunteer opportunities and travel for women only, men, training retreats, or shuttle posts.

 
For the activity-specific minded, AdventureZoneTOURS.com encourages users to share trip reports for a variety of outdoor activities from hiking, climbing, canyoneering, geo exploring, photography, ghost towns, mines, and cave to water sports such as boating, fishing, jet and water skiing, tubing, rafting, and scuba. Winter travel sports locations for snowmobiling, skiing and snowboarding are featured. Hunting locations, ATV and horseback trails as well as the most scenic areas for outdoor photography are also available as individual topic posts. To research or share your favorite adventure travel location, and for more information, log on to www.AdventureZoneTOURS.com.