Spring, summer and fall in southern Utah seem to get all of the love and in truth what’s not to love about the warm weather and the cool nights? But skipping over one of the prettiest seasons of all is something that needs to be corrected. Winter in southern Utah is also one of my favorite times of year, it puts an entirely new perspective on things and on views.
When you visit places like Cedar Breaks National Monument and see the snow covered red view, it completely changes the feeling and wonder of what you’re viewing. Cedar Breaks especially is an amazing site to see when it’s had it’s first snow storm.
Now after the first storm that’s big enough to drop a significant amount of snow, the road gets closed off and it’s only accessible by snowmobile, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing. So you might have to time it just right, or rent some snowmobiles!
I grew up with snowmobiles and we spent a lot of time “sledding” up around Cedar Breaks. The snow up there is as good as it gets and there are a lot of places to go hill climbing and riding there. Still one of my favorite places anywhere to go snowmobiling. We would always pack a lunch and then we’d sit down on the northern observation deck in the snow and soak in the view as we ate. Great memories at a great place.
Winter in Zion
Zion National Park also has some very pretty spots that are accessible during the winter months, as attested to by this photo. This was taken off of Kolob Terrace road right after a smaller storm, one that wasn’t big enough to lock down the roads.
They plow the terrace road up until right before that really sharp turn and you head up the hillside. So that means this spot here you’ll be able to get to most of the time.
In the main part of Zion there’s still some great places to go to during winter, especially when it snows! Now granted you probably won’t be doing any major hiking in deep snow, but when Zion gets snow it’s usually just a little bit, so nothing to worry about.
It’s fun to even just take a drive up through the park heading to the east side of it, up where checkerboard mesa is. The views looking down the canyon as it’s coated with white stuff is simply beautiful and a must see.
So there you have it, two of my favorite places to experience winter in southern Utah; Cedar Breaks National Monument and Zion National Park.
