Tucked between striped plateaus of bright orange, Kanab, Utah is a home base for people traveling to Zion and Bryce National Parks and the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. These desert plateaus aren't just beautiful; the area is also a hotbed of history, geology, and adventure. A short visit to Kane County Visitor Center is a testament to just how much there is to do in the area. We stayed eight nights in Kanab and we only scratched the surface. In addition to our "big" days at Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, including Angels Landing, and our four wheeling tour, we took a few short hikes and short day trips. This post is a fun reminder to us of all the fun we had there and also a travel guide for anyone planning a trip to Southern Utah. Southern Utah is like nothing else in the world. The orange mesas and plateaus are stunning, which is why we were quite pleased to pull up into our reserved spot at Grand Plateau RV Resort and find ourselves right between two beautiful mesas. This brand new campground truly is the finest in the city. With reasonable rates, level sites, and an excellent pool and hot tub, this is a place one could stay for a while and not get bored or tired of the scenery. Kanab is a tourist town and the Kane County Visitors Center is one of the best I've seen. The area is packed full of amazing hikes, and the county provides free fliers with descriptions of each hike, including a map and safety tips. We picked a few top rated trails that fit our schedule. Dinosaur Tracks TrailJust outside of Kanab is a short mile long trail that takes you up to the top of a mesa where you can find 1.8 million year old theropod dinosaur footprints! Kanab Sand CavesDriving into town from the north you pass the Kanab Sand Caves just off the side of Highway 89. They're up fairly high and you wouldn't think you could get into them, but of course people have found a way. Apparently these man-made caves were formed when they began mining for sand in the area. Now, visitors climb a fairly steep slippery sandstone cliff to get up to the trail that leads to the caves. Coral Pink Sand DunesLeaving Kanab, you'll find Hancock Road, which will take you to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. It also takes you down a sand road to some pictographs made by the Basket Maker People between 452 AD and 62 BC. We attempted this 5 mile drive to South Fork Indian Canyon, but chickened out two and a half miles down the road when we came upon an area of deep sand at the base of a dune and saw lightning in the distance. It was a fun drive bouncing along the road in Archie, but we decided it might be best to stick to the asphalt roads to the state park instead. For a fee of $10 (or $5 with military discount), patrons can visit Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. With so much sandstone and so little water, the winds pick up sand and carry them between two mountains, dropping them when they become too heavy to carry above the mountain. We were able to get a sled from our campground and sled down for an evening of fun. We watched a storm roll in from the south and the sun set in the west. Toadstools HikeWe Ramseys (or at least some of us) like to make the most of every hour of daylight, so one evening around 6:00 (before dinner), we drove 45 minutes south of Kanab to do the two mile Toadstools Hike. We followed a wash bed trail to a bizarre environment with orange toadstool formations in otherwise white limestone scenery. Toadstools are born from the uneven erosion of sedimentary rock. When a harder layer forms atop a softer rock layer, the lower rock gets eroded away more quickly than the harder layer on top, creating these toadstools, or hoodoos, that are common in this area. Say it with me: "Geology is SO COOL!" These were four short trails with big rewards, and we have a file folder full of other hikes we didn't even get to. This area of southwest Utah is a hiker's paradise! Have you ever been? And if so, what are your favorite hikes or things to do?
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