Cedar Breaks National Monument

Contact Information:
2390 West Highway 56, Suite #11
Cedar City, UT 84720
435-586-9451
http://www.nps.gov/cebr/

Size: 6,155 acres

Location: In southwestern Utah. From I-15 southbound, take UT 143 east; from I-15 northbound, take UT 14 east for 18 miles, then UT 148 north for 4 miles. 

Description: A huge natural amphitheater has eroded into the variegated Pink Cliffs (Wasatch Formation), 2,000 feet thick at this point. Millions of years of sedimentation, uplift and erosion have created a deep canyon of rock walls, fins, spires and columns, that spans some three miles.

Activities: The Cedar Breaks Scenic Drive offers beautiful views of the rock formations, meadows and forests. Four developed overlooks, and trailheads for two hiking trails, are located along the scenic drive. The Spectra Point/Ramparts Trail is moderately strenuous at 10,000 feet above sea level, leading for one mile to the Spectra Point Overlook. Many visitors return to the trailhead from Spectra Point, making a two-mile round trip. Hikers who are prepared for a slightly more strenuous stretch on this trail may continue one mile further to the Ramparts Overlook at trail's end, then hike the two miles back to the trailhead for a four-mile round trip. The Alpine Pond Trail is a two-mile self-guided loop trail through meadows and forest to a small spring-fed pond. 

Geology programs are presented on the hour between 10 am and 5 pm daily, from late May through mid-October at the Point Supreme overlook. Evening campfire programs are presented at the campground amphitheater and begin at 9:00 each evening during the camping season (mid-June through Labor Day). lowers: The meadows at Cedar Breaks are full of a wide variety of wildflowers. Visitors are encouraged to bring a camera and a field guide to discover the beauty of alpine flowers. 

Operating Hours: From early June to early September, the visitor center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. From Labor Day until mid-October, it is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. All summer visitor facilities are closed from mid-October through late May. The Cedar Breaks Scenic Drive remains open to vehicular traffic until snow and heavy drifting occur, normally anywhere from late October to early December. Please call 435-586-9451 to check the status of the road before traveling to Cedar Breaks during this time. Winter recreational activities begin once there is sufficient snow depth for cross-country ski, snowshoe, and snowmobile trails.

History: Proclaimed on August 22, 1933. 

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