The last stop on our Autoventure was Cedar Breaks National Monument. We stayed in Cedar City, UT, and took the short 20-ish mile drive up to Cedar Breaks with a bit of road construction to slow us down. The park seems not to be very well known despite the spectacular scenery. It looks a lot like a mini Bryce Canyon, yet all above 10,000 feet! It is closed in winter, and nearby Brian Head has several ski areas which looked nice. The main visitor center was closed, but a temporary visitor center and store was set up just near the park entrance.
We stopped at the Sunset View Overlook for our first view of the amazing geologic formation below.
We then drove through an alpine meadow to stop at Chessmen Ridge Overlook for even more spectacular views.
We went on to the North View Overlook to see everything from yet another angle.
After a picnic lunch at the campground, we headed back to the Chessmen Ridge Overlook parking to take the Alpine Trail, a loop that took us to an algae-filled lake. We took the upper trail first and got to walk on snow for the first time in many years. The upper trail was fairly easy, but a number of trees had fallen and were blocking the trail, and the path down to the lake and lower trail was steep, muddy, and had lots of snow.
The lower trail was a fair bit more treacherous than the upper trail, with more fallen trees, more snow, and lots of mud. But, it was close to the edge of the canyon, so we got amazing views on the return journey.
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