Thursday, April 2, 2009

Hidden America — Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park


A few days ago I posted about Great Sand Dunes National Park, a little-known treasure of the National Park system in southern Colorado.  If Great Sand Dunes is known to few, then Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in southwestern Utah is known to almost no one.

The dunes at Great Stand Dunes are much higher than the ones at Coral Pink Sand Dunes, but the at the latter the sand is a brilliant salmony pinkish-orange color.  This park is not far from Bryce Canyon National Park with its famous eroded red rock formations, but here the erosion is already complete.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes is a convenient stop if you're traveling between the north rim of the Grand Canyon and the Bryce / Zion / Escalante area.  There's a campground at the park.  The nearest town is Kanab, Utah. 

I've been there twice.   One time we had the place to ourselves, the other time there were two other cars there.  At one end of the dunes is an area in which off-road vehicles are allowed, but as long as you stay out of that area you're likely to have the place to yourself.

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