Cedar Breaks Wildflowers + Stunning Brian Head Overlook

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A red paintbrush in a canvas of purple flowers

Over the years, when we’ve chatted with other travelers about this area, they’ve often asked us, “Did you go to Brian Head?”

Well, “Brian Head” is the name of a ski resort near here, and after hearing so much about Brian Head we made a special trip to the ski resort years ago. It was an interesting place, but didn’t impress us as being some kind of magical “must see” spot.

This year, while we were out and about, we noticed a sign at the start of a dirt road that said: “Scenic Vista.” This sounded promising!

The road wound around and climbed up a steep ascent. At the top, we realized we were at Brian Head — the Brian Head everyone had been talking about!

Brian Head is a knoll at an elevation of over 11,300 feet, and it offers a commanding view of the surrounding area. Back in the 1930s the CCC built a stone monument for visitors at the top.

At the Brian Head overlook there is a stone building built by the CCC in the 1930s

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There are a few trails that take you to various views, and they were all terrific. But the most dramatic was the one overlooking the amphitheater of Cedar Breaks National Monument in the distance.

The red rocks of Cedar Breaks glow in the distance.

We had arrived on a blustery late afternoon during the “golden hour” just before sunset, and the red rocks of Cedar Breaks were lit with a magical glow.

What a cool view of Cedar Breaks!

From this perspective we could see how the Cedar Breaks amphitheater was cut right out of the side of the mountain. How totally cool!

Cedar Breaks seen from Brian Head

There are several hiking trails around Cedar Breaks National Monument, and the Alpine Pond Loop Trail is where lots of wildflowers hang out. However, it is not pet-friendly. So we walked the dog friendly trail between the main overlook, Point Supreme, and Sunset View quite a few times, and we found lots of wonderful flowers in bloom.

Some of them seemed to have been carefully arranged by a divine hand.

I looked down and saw this awesome little flower arrangement right at my feet

Nature’s handiwork

A pair of columbines

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A busy bee

Mother Nature’s arrangement of Indian Paintbrush with a log in the background

Buddy checks out some flowers

On our RZR rides in the area, I had noticed a clump of purple flowers nestled against a triangular rock. I had a hunch they would be especially pretty at sunset, so I headed out one evening to take a pic. I wasn’t disappointed — what a beautiful flower arrangement Mother Nature had made!

This cluster of flowers looked so cool during the day I returned at sunset to capture them with a pretty sky

As the days went by, some types of flowers began to fade while others began to bloom. Patches of bright yellow flowers appeared here and there.

When one group of flowers faded another bloomed. Yellow flowers appeared after a few days.

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We met lots of different folks who came to the area to see the exotic red rocks at Cedar Breaks, but we also came across a few travelers who were visiting at this time specifically to see the wildflowers too.

Indian Paintbrush

If you decide to put Cedar Breaks National Monument on your travel itinerary, be sure to get to Brian Head, the “real” Brian Head!

And if you go in mid-summer, keep an eye out for Nature’s handiwork in the colorful wildflower displays all around.

Columbine

A soft blanket of flowers