A day around Kanab, UT

Before going to Kanab, Utah, I didn’t realize how close it is to so many great destinations, Zion NP 30 minutes, Bryce NP 90 minutes, Grand Canyon North Rim 2 hours. And there’s a bunch of great hiking opportunities in Vermillion Cliffs and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments.

I spent 3 nights in Kanab in early November, and very much enjoyed the location along with the hot tub at our hotel. I was in Kanab, because it’s the closest town to Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and The Wave. We spent 3 nights in Kanab and our Wave permit was for Tuesday, so we had Monday to explore.

Our first stop was Belly of the Dragon, which is just off of highway 89 south of Mount Carmel Junction. Easy to find and requires very little walking, it’s a tunnel that was carved for drainage under the highway, but it has been further eroded by water. A quick stop unless you want to walk up the wash on the other side.

From Belly of the Dragon, we were only 13 miles from the east entrance to Zion NP, and we couldn’t resist driving in.

After the official entrance to the park, grand views in all directions make It well worth the drive.

A not too long trail with lots of reward, is the Canyon Overlook Trail. The trailhead is right before the tunnel and the day we were there, we had no trouble parking. It’s about a mile long and much more adventurous than I expected as I was picturing wide and paved.

The end of the Canyon Overlook Trail is a fabulous view over Zion Canyon, particularly scenic in the fall.

The next stop was a short hike up a large sand dune at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

And the last stop was to see the Dinosaur Footprints that are on top of the hill just outside of Kanab. The trail goes from the south end of the Utah Port of Entry parking lot and winds around and up the hill to the top.