Cedar Breaks National Monument — Attraction in Four Corners States

This is a great place to visit, especially if you are not hiker or someone who wants to be out of their car for a long time. This beautiful spot is VERY accessible and easy to visit with it's flat, paved terrain and short walk. The drive to Cedar Breaks from Cedar City is incredibly gorgeous and if you visit while Cedar Breaks is still closed for snow the drive up to the gate thru the canyon is worth the trip for those views alone!

Back to Cedar Breaks: -You could go hike all around the area, camp at a nearby campground, have a picnic at one of the tables or along a low rock wall. Lots for active people to do!!

-BUT if you have mobility issues, elderly, kids with short attention spans, or if you just feel tired from the elevation then this place is awesome. The parking lot has a bathroom and it's a very short walk to the ranger booth (from the parking lot) to pay your admission fee. (Or show your pass.) Then beyond the booth is another short, flat walk to a gift shop/information center where you can use the observation window to look out at Cedar Breaks and get out of the weather if desired. (It can be colder there than Cedar City because of the elevation and can have some good wind. We bring blankets to wrap around us and sweatshirts just in case.) Beyond the gift shop/information center is another flat, short walk to the panoramic view of Cedar Breaks. It's amazing. I would recommend visiting this lovely place!

The gift shop/information center looks like a cabin and kids can earn a Junior Ranger rank there. I've watched them be sworn in, it's a IG moment for sure.

If you want to explore more, there is a road out in front of the parking lot that you can follow that will lead you other vista spots to see Cedar Breaks and a path you can turn off onto to drive up a mountain to the top that provides amazing views, but if you're nervous on a narrow road then maybe let someone else drive up that mountain road.

The rest of it is very easy driving, and eventually you'll end up in Brian Head, a skiing community. Lots of hiking, photography, and scenery to soak up!...

Cedar Breaks NM sits high above Cedar City (approx. a 24 mile drive) with the park located at the amazing elevation of 10,000 ft. If one drives via Utah State Route 143, it brings you along the absolutely beautiful Patchwork Parkway Scenic Byway, designated a National Scenic Byway.

Cedar Breaks contains an ancient uplifted geologic layer that used to be on the bottom of a lake on the Colorado Plateau. The resulting amphitheatre is about 3 miles long and drops some 2,000 ft into a canyon of towering formations including hoodoos. The hoodoos here are estimated to be 60,000 years old. This exposed cliff (made of mostly sandstone, limestone and siltstone) is eroded into the brilliant rainbow shades of red, orange, yellow and purple. It has been called the The Circle of Painted Cliffs.

Because of the extreme elevation, Cedar Breaks is only open from late May through mid-October. During its Wildflower Festival in July one year, when I visited, it was actually snowing. But it was beautiful as the colorful summer wildflowers were lightly coated in white.

A small information center and educational bookstore is here. Camping (26 spots) is available. A few trails, rated from easy to skilled, can take you either on a forest hike (ancient Bristlecone Pines are here) or along the steep amphitheatre rim. In 2017, Cedar Breaks was designated an International Dark Sky Park as an area of natural darkness. It is a difficult process and a major achievement. So taking in a sunset at Point Supreme followed by an evening that displays the brilliance of the Milky Way makes camping here exceptional. Cedar Breaks NM is a park well...

Really disappointing. I didn't realize until the night before that it was close to where I was staying. My fault I didn't map it out before going. I figured I could get a map at the Visitor Center. Boy was I wrong. The Visitor Center was closed for construction and the entire parking lot was taken over with construction vehicles. The few spots left were taken because the main hiking trail is right there. I was hoping to use the restroom at the Visitor Center. Nope. So I keep driving not knowing what I should be looking out for. No internet so I can't get a map on my phone. Stopped at a couple overlooks which were nice. One had the start of the Alpine Pond trail which I did and was a good two mile loop. At the start of the trail was a box that said it contained trail maps. Nope. Box was empty. Continued driving further north. Came to a crossroads and wasn't sure if the park ended so I turned around. Later I learned there was another overlook had I gone a bit further. Never found a restroom. Upon looking at a map later it appeared there was a temporary visitor center. I actually had stopped there. Didn't look open. All the reviews said this place had few people. Wrong. Nearly every small parking area was full. And no maps or visitor center...