Fifteen Things To Do at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is full of activities for the whole family! This great place is between Zion National Park and Kanab, Utah. I had seen the turnoff to it before, but had always been in a hurry. Finally we decided to plan a four-day, three-night vacation centered on the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. That was a great plan, as there was so much to do.

1. Play. This is one of the biggest sand boxes around! 

2. Sled down the sand dunes. We had some snow that made sledding down the dunes even easier, but you can use sleds anytime. The state park as well as area businesses even rent out sand sleds and and sand boards for an even smoother ride. 

3. Junior ranger program. The Coral Pink Sand Dunes junior ranger program is lots of fun, with a booklet of activities and picking up trash earning the kids cool badges.

4. Look for tracks. Many animals that live in the dunes are nocturnal, so it might be hard to see them. But it's not hard to see their tracks the next morning--or other tracks, like plants that the wind has blown.

5. Photography. Photographers will have a field day at the dunes--so many colors, textures, and patterns! Here are four photos of the dunes from the overlook, just a short walk from the parking lot. You can see how different the dunes look even though it's nearly the same shot, without any editing.

Early morning with snow

Just after sunset

About 8 am with a little frost

About 5 pm

6. Geocaching. We've recently discovered the fun of geocaching and were happily surprised to find that one of the geocaches on our list was an Official DNR Geocache. 

7. Look for tiger beetle. Coral Pink Sand Dunes has its very own tiger beetle, found only in the dunes and nowhere else in the world. It's best seen on warm afternoons from April through June. We didn't see one in person, but we did see a beautiful example in the visitor center. We also read the Coral Pink Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle brochure.

8. Look for ponderosa pines. Seeing ponderosa pines scattered in the sand dunes came as quite a surprise. Apparently they've been able to do well, as they are numerous. Some have been dated, and the state park has a fun challenge: Locate selected ponderosa pines using your GPS and find a sign at the bottom telling about what was going on in the year the tree started growing. You can pick up a brochure in the visitor center or download it here.

9. Run down (or roll down) the sand dunes. This is an easy and free activity, especially fun for kids! Did I mention that the state park has hot showers? And Kanab has a wonderful swimming pool in the summer.

10. Nature trail. The state park has a half-mile nature trail that gives a great introduction of what lives on part of the dunes and the adaptations they make to live in such a harsh place. The nature trail is a non-motorized part of the state park, as is the conservation area a bit to the north. Also, no ATVs are allowed on the dunes until 9 am, so it's nice and quiet for sunrise.

11. Bike ride.  The extremely slow speed limit and gentle terrain in the state park makes it a good place for kids to bike ride. 

12. Camp and/or picnic. The campground has 22 campsites, most of which are reservable in advance. But even if the website says they are all full (like it did for us), you may still be able to get a spot (like we did). There's also the nearby Ponderosa Grove campground, Sand Springs campground (4WD access), and dispersed camping on BLM land. The state park has several picnic tables near the nature trail.

13. Check out the visitor center. The visitor center, located right at the park entrance, has a cool exhibit of sands from around the world. There's also a snake and a few other things to look at. The best resource is the park ranger, who can answer questions about all sorts of topics.

14. ATVs  The sand dunes have long attracted all-terrain vehicles (or OHVs - off-highway vehicles). While we didn't bring any, if we went back we would consider renting them. It looked like so much fun to take a dune buggy, 4-wheeler, or dirt bike out on the dunes. And ATVs are one of the main reasons that the area was set aside as a state park. ATVs are allowed on the dunes from 9 am to 10 pm and can get noisy, so if you want quiet, try the off-season (late fall to early spring), the dunes on a moonlit night, or sunrises.

15. Visit nearby attractions.

Besides Zion National Park and Kanab, you might also want to check out the Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway and South Fork Indian Canyon Pictograph Site. 

Coral Pink Sand Dunes are a great place for either a relaxing or an exciting vacation. For more information, check out the Coral Pink Sand Dunes website.

Glenwood Springs

We got off the train in Glenwood Springs partly because I had stopped their briefly on a trip may years ago (maybe with my Grandma on the way to Death Valley?) and I had remembered the awesome swimming pools. It was also partly because I figured that eight hours of train travel was enough for one day with two little kids. And I had a third reason: the National Speleologic Society convention in 2011 is going to be held in Glenwood Springs and I wanted to scope out the area.

I had booked a room in a motel only about five blocks away. Glenwood Springs turns out to have lots of motels with a total of about 1,700 rooms. Yikes! We walked up from the station (which will hopefully have the handicap ramp completed soon--carrying the stroller up all the steps was not fun) onto the pedestrian bridge across the train tracks, Colorado River, and Interstate.

We had an awesome view of the pool. And after we all took a three hour nap in the motel, that's where we headed.

They have two main pools, a therapy pool at 104 degrees and the big pool at 94 degrees. It was definitely a place to relax. Desert Boy tried out arm floaties and liked them. By the end he was able to kick himself around without hanging on to me. He also really liked to play on the steps and even found a friend to play with for awhile.

It was convenient going later in the evening because there's a discount after 6 pm and I had forgotten the sunblock.

Little Miss Emma (aka Desert Girl, but she just hasn't had enough desert adventures for me to be ready to call her that) was all decked out in her swimming costume. She sat on the edge of the pool for awhile in her stroller, but eventually she told me she wanted to get in. She loves the water just as much as Desert Boy.

We strolled around and played in the water for a couple hours and then decided we were pruney enough to head back to the motel.

The next morning our destination was Two Rivers Park, a beautiful spot near the river. They have a neat playground, and Desert Boy gave me a little attitude when it was time to leave.

He got happier when I pointed out the freight train crossing the Roaring Fork River, which in the above photo is joining the Colorado. We took the pedestrian bridge and followed the trail along the river. With both rivers slightly flooded, it was neat to get to be so close to them. The trail system is excellent in Glenwood Springs.

From the pedestrian bridge we got a closeup view of the freight train--and of the many barn swallows that make their nests under the bridge.

Many of them flew when we got close.

The trail along the river follows an old railway right of way so is very gradual. In places there are some old tracks, and Desert Boy had fun walking along them. We also had fun watching the paragliders come over the mountain. They land in the dog run next to the trail.

We were getting hungry so we walked a couple blocks east and were on main street and found a grocery store. Desert Boy declared he was ready for a picnic as soon as we got out of the store, so that's what we did. Hey, whatever works, right?

We had walked over two miles by this point and still had at least a mile to go. Desert Boy was getting a little cranky, but fortunately a bus pulled up. Glenwood Springs has a free bus system, and since we still had some free time, we rode it out to the mall so we could see a little more of town. Glenwood Springs is a very linear town, with the river, Interstate, and train tracks creating a bit of a barrier between the two sides of town.

Finally it was time to pack up and walk to the train station to catch our train. Inside the train station is a small railroad museum, and Desert Boy was fascinated with the model trains.

Our train was delayed, so we went out and got some ice cream. Waiting is always better if you have some ice cream.

Quick Run in Cathedral Gorge State Park

 On our way to Las Vegas, my husband and I stopped at Miller Point, part of Cathedral Gorge State Park. It was a lovely February day, and we needed to stretch our legs. So I challenged my husband to a little run.

The badlands scenery made it extra enjoyable.

From Miller Point we entered the badlands, descending numerous stairs and running on a faint trail.

It was pretty easy to tell where we were going. Plus I kept slowing down to take photos. Fortunately with all the light the shutter speed was fast so they didn't turn out too blurry!

I could spend so much time here, looking at all the erosion patterns.

Soon we were out of the badlands and things were flattening out.

We reached a trail junction in just over four minutes.

 Then it was time to turn around and run back up hill!

That was quite a bit harder, as I panted up the stairs. Nevertheless, I was so glad to get my blood flowing and wake up a bit. From here it's 2.5 hours to Las Vegas if you head south. And if you head north, it's 2.5 hours to Great Basin National Park or Ely. So this is a perfectly timed diversion.

In the summer it can get really hot. But in the other seasons it's fantastic. We've added it to our camping list, and hopefully we can explore the state park more thoroughly soon! As an added bonus, they have some pipe caves eroded into the badlands.

Till next time!

Horse Canyon Hike

 We bumped our way up a really rocky road recently to go for a little hike. We were wishing that the new addition to our family was up to speed so we could get there in a little more comfort! Finally we arrived at the trailhead for Horse Canyon. I had been there before but had not hiked past the trailhead, and I really wanted to this day, despite the snow.

 So we trekked up the trail, which I found extremely beautiful. There were all sorts of things to look at, like this hornet's nest. I was glad it was winter and I didn't have to worry about them.

 Desert Boy thought it was fun to run. He had a lot of energy.

 He slowed down to get a stick. Why is it that every kid needs a stick to hike?

 We eventually got to the sign marking the Mount Moriah Wilderness. The kids thought that was far enough to hike, so they snacked with Dad while I went up the trail a little farther. I didn't want to turn around, it was so pretty. I will have to go back another day!

 They were still snacking when I got back. Snack breaks are very important.

 I couldn't resist a few candids of the kids.

 My, what big blue eyes you have, Desert Girl!

 On the way down Desert Boy wanted to run some more, so I went with him. (We teach the kids they have to stay in sight of us when hiking because we don't want them to become a mountain lion snack.) Desert Boy slid along just fine. When we got to this little branch across the trail, he decided he wanted to go under it. That required him laying in the snow, but he didn't seem to care.

When we got back to the two-track road that led to the trailhead, Desert Boy had so much energy that we kept hiking down the road, past the big, beautiful ponderosa pines. It was a really fun hike, more than any of us expected. It turned out that a little snow and cold didn't put a damper on the day.