Cedar Breaks National Monument – Glorious Amphitheater of Red Rocks!

July 2019 – After enjoying many trips to the edge of the Grand Canyon this summer, we were ready for a little different scenery, so we headed north to one of southern Utah’s most dramatic yet less visited red rock wonders, Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Located close to the famous National Parks at Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon but situated at of 10,000 feet, a much higher elevation than either of the other two Parks, it is a place that is forever haunted by wild weather patterns that make the extraordinary red rock vistas and dense woods even more dramatic.

As we arrived in the afternoon, the sky was wearing a forbidding grimace, and we quickly changed from the shorts we’d been wearing for the last few months into long pants and jackets!

Even more startling, we saw patches of snow in the woods as we drove. Holy smokes! It was late July and there was knee deep snow on the ground in some places!

Cedar Breaks National Monument is known not only for its eye popping amphitheater of red rock hoodoos but for its vibrant display of summer wildflowers. The wildflower season runs from mid-July through August, and the flowers were showing off their most brilliant colors everywhere.

We hustled out to Point Supreme, the main Cedar Breaks overlook, as quickly as we could. Rain clouds were threatening, but what really caught my eye was the wonderful contrast of the soft green hillsides peeking over the mile high walls of red rock cliffs.

If doesn’t matter how many times we see these red rock cliffs and spires, whether here at Cedar Breaks or over at nearby Bryce Canyon, they are spectacular. The bright colors and the towering “drip castle” types of formations that look like they were made by kids at the beach are just astonishing.

And from the top of the canyon, looking down into the bowl shaped amphitheater, we always find it so hard to comprehend just how enormous the seemingly tiny pinnacles are. But a look at the tall pine trees snuggled up to the bases of the hoodoos gave us a sense of their immense size.

The sun was obscured by the threatening black clouds which softened the colors of the canyon and eliminated the harsh contrast of light and shadow on the ridges.

Then, suddenly, the sun came out in force for a little while, and the amphitheater was bathed in golden light.

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Like all of America’s National Parks and National Monuments, dogs are allowed on leashes but only in certain areas. Point Supreme, which lies directly behind the Visitors Center, is one of the few areas at Cedar Breaks where pups can get a look at the eye-popping view, and Buddy gave the grand vista a cursory look and sniff.

But he was much more interested in other things at Point Supreme, like watching the ground squirrels running around the base of a tree in the distance, and he quickly took up a position in the middle of the overlook with his back to the view to keep an eye on the squirrles and also act as the Official Greeter.

Buddy turned his back to the view so he could greet everyone arriving at the rim and keep an eye on the ground squirrels too!

There was only one other couple at the overlook, and they had already given Buddy a pat on the head, so they resumed admiring the breathtaking views. But Buddy sat stock still for several minutes until a family suddenly appeared on the path walking towards him.

They had a little toddler with them who was as thrilled to see a puppy as the rest of the family was thrilled to see the views for the first time. As I watched Buddy and the toddler interact, I wasn’t sure who was more fascinated by their new friend, the puppy or the baby!

Who’s more intrigued by whom? These two played together very happily while the adults savored the views

While the toddler and her old sister played with Buddy, our focus returned to the incredible 270 degree views surrounding us. What a place this is!

Cedar Breaks

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Suddenly, the sun began to play games with the clouds, and we watched in awe as light and shadow chased each other across the vast landscape and the heavens opened above us with shafts of light between the clouds.

The weather turns on a dime at Cedar Breaks, and suddenly the heavens opened above us.

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Mark grabbed his 12 mm fish-eye lens for a very creative shot.

A fish-eye view!

And then he asked me and Buddy to pose by the railing. Sure!

Two happy campers

Little family groups came and went at Point Supreme, but we stuck around for a while to watch the show.

Vivid colors.

Each cliff, hillside and hoodoo was unique in color and shape

Then we took a stroll down a path that was lined with beautiful wildflowers. The little bluebells were so delicate!

The wildflowers peak at Cedar Breaks between mid-July and mid-August

The tiny bluebells start as pink buds and then open up to a pretty shade of blue

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And the columbine wildflowers were dancing in the slight breeze. Some of the columbine were pure white and others wore a wonderful combo of blue and white with yellow trim at the center.

A beautiful two-tone columbine flower

There are lots of things to see at Cedar Breaks National Monument, and we’ve written about them in the past.

The Alpine Pond Trail hike is a great place to savor the wildflowers and the Spectra Point Trail hike is an absolute Must Do if you don’t have a dog or don’t mind leaving him/her in the car. The hike takes you out on a long peninsula that juts into the red rock amphitheater, and at the end you find yourself surrounded by thousand year old bristlecone pine trees.

We didn’t do those hikes on this visit, but we marveled at the power of summer storms as huge black clouds let loose a deluge that afternoon and all the next day.

We got hail interspersed with heavy rain punctuated with ferocious growls of thunder and too-close-for-comfort bolts of lightning.

So, we bundled up and Mark baked banana bread and put turkey pot pies in the oven too to keep our rolling home warm inside.

All this was happening during a blistering heat wave all across the country that delivered the hottest week of the summer to almost every corner of our beautiful nation!

During a brief break in the tempest around us, we snuck out to the rim of Cedar Breaks at Sunset View Overlook which is at an elevation of 10,354 feet. The sun was nowhere to be found, but the rain let loose once again, and we laughed along with a handful of other tourists who ran out of their cars in raincoats, braving a downpour to take a look at the red rocks in whiteout conditions!

Cedar Breaks National Monument is a fabulous RV destination in any kind of weather. And it’s almost guaranteed you’ll have some kind of intense weather if you visit mid-summer when the southwest monsoon season is underway. Bring shorts but pack long pants and a raincoat too because you just never know!

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More info about Cedar Breaks National Monument:

• Cedar Breaks National Monument Official Website
• National Park Service Map of the Monument
• RV Camping Options
• Location of Cedar Breaks National Monument

Other blog posts from Southwestern Utah and the National Parks:

Index of Articles from our visits to National Parks, National Monuments and UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• “Healer of Angels” – The Eagle Whisperer – Martin Tyner of Southwest Wildlife Foundation
• A Gateway to Utah’s Outback!
• A Utah Backcountry Adventure!
• Best Friends Animal Sanctuary & Southwest Wildlife Foundation in Utah
• Bryce Canyon – Hiking The Rim & Navajo Loop + A Tourist Time-lapse!
• Bryce Canyon – Rainbow Point – Bristlecone Pines and Sweeping Vistas
• Bryce Canyon Gone Wild – Tempests, Rainbows & Wildlife
• Bryce Canyon in Winter – Snow and Lace on the Red Rock Spires!
• Bryce Canyon National Park – “Mossy Cave” – Mystery Waterfall!
• Bryce Canyon National Park – Fairyland Trail – A Beautiful Hike!
• Bryce Canyon National Park – Inspiration Point – OMG!
• Bryce Canyon, UT – Fairyland of Pink Turrets
• Capitol Reef National Park Utah – Awe-inspiring!
• Capitol Reef NP – Cathedral Valley – A Stunning Backcountry Drive in Utah!
• Casto Canyon Trail – A Delightful ATV / UTV Ride!
• Cedar Breaks National Monument – A Hidden Jewel in Utah
• Cedar Breaks National Monument – Wild Skies & Summer Storms
• Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah – Better Than Bryce?
• Cedar Breaks Wildflowers + Stunning Brian Head Overlook
• Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park – Shape Shifting in the Sand!
• Dixie National Forest Utah – Caves and Hikes
• Fish Lake Scenic Byway
• Fish Lake Utah – Alpine Beauty & Brilliant Stars in Dark Skies!
• Fish Lake Utah – Fun Things To Do in the Lakes and Mountains
• Fish Lake Utah – Wildlife and Aspen Groves
• Grand Staircase Escalante Nat’l Monument – Lower Calf Creek Falls Hike
• Johnson Canyon Movie Set – A Spooky Ghost Town – Happy Halloween!
• Kanab – Hub for the National Parks + Gorgeous Canyons Nearby!
• Kanab & Alton, UT – Whoa!!!
• Kanab, Utah, 4th of July – Stars & Stripes in the Red Rocks!
• Panguitch, Utah – Little Britches & Big Horses in the City Park
• Parowan UT – Vermillion Castle and County Fair
• Red Canyon – Arches Trail – Windows & Hoodoos in Utah!
• Red Canyon Utah and the Bryce Canyon Bike Trail!
• Red Canyon Utah is an Overlooked Treasure
• Sand Hollow Side-by-Side UTV/ATV Adventure Rally – Test Drives in the Dunes!
• Sand Hollow State Park, Utah – An Oasis in the Desert!
• The Burr Trail – A Fabulous Side Trip on Utah’s Scenic Byway 12
• The Day the Sheep Moved In!
• Utah Scenic Byway 12 RV Trip – Driving An All American Road!
• Zion National Park “West” RV Trip – Gorgeous Kolob Canyons!
• Zion National Park RV Trip – One AWESOME Canyon!
• Zion National Park’s Hidden Jewels – Off the Beaten Path in an RV!
• Zion NP, Kodachrome Basin & Snow Canyon, UT – Great Red Rocks!

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