Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/725964
With more than 2,000 natural arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch that graces the Utah state licence plate, this park offers more sightseeing opportunities from your vehicle than perhaps any other park. And with many easy hikes available, Arches is one of the top national parks for families travelling with children. It also has the largest concentration of arches in the world as well as the park's longest arch measuring 88 metres, Landscape Arch. (It's the fifth-longest span in the world.) Behind the visitor centre is the start of the 64-kilometre scenic drive through the park. Check out the Windows Section for some of the largest arches and be sure to drive to the Delicate Arch viewpoint for a distant view. If you have more time, plan on taking a very popular late-afternoon hike to this favoured icon. As always, take plenty of water. BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK Highlights: Bryce Amphitheater, Sunset Point, Full Moon Hike One of America's smallest national parks at just 32 kilometres long, Bryce is about 75 minutes northeast of Zion. However, unlike the canyons of Zion carved by the Virgin River, Bryce is actually the result of layers of limestone, siltstone and mudstone eroding over eons into amphitheatres. These colour-striated rock hoodoos are so mesmerizing that, geologically speaking, it's like the hoodoos have gone psychedelic with their labyrinth of vivid colours and bizarre patterns. From orange and red to pink, purple, beige and white, the hoodoo colours and affiliated spires, fins and win- dows change hue much like the famous Uluru rock in Australia's Outback changes its colouration throughout the day. Keep in mind that you are at 2,438.5 metres when visiting Bryce, so prepare for changing temperatures by layering your clothing. Just a 14-minute drive from the visitor centre, Bryce Amphitheater is easily the most-visited feature in the park and is also the easiest to reach. Sunset point is a popular spot for taking photographs at— you guessed it—sunset. Perhaps one of the most coveted Bryce experiences is the famous bi-monthly Full Moon Hikes, which take place year-round. Lines form early for the 60 tickets awarded for each night's walk. FALL 2016 DREAMSCAPES 37 ARCHES NATIONAL PARK Highlights: Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch Considered one of the top national parks in America, Arches National Park is located on the Colorado River in eastern Utah, about 6.5 kilometres northwest of the charming community of Moab. Bare slickrock with scattered pinon pine and juniper largely defines this spectacular landscape, consisting of sandstone fea- tures such as fins, towers, turrets, spires, ribs, hoodoos and balanced rocks offering an interesting array of geological oddities.