Nathan and I took Hwy 89 from Bryce Canyon NP to the park. The road is well-paved all the way to the park's Ranger Station, but passing that spot the road turns into a small dirt road. The single day-use entrance fee is $6 per vehicle, and the ranger gave us an informative brochure to plan our visit.
I would say that this park is like a hidden gem of Utah. It has 1,200 acres of pink sand dunes stretching along the mountain ranges. Nathan and I have seen sand dunes before in the Death Valley National Park, but this one is amazingly different and kind of more impressive.
The main part of the park is right behind the Ranger Station. There is an observation deck where you can get a spectacular view of the dunes. There is also a small campground right behind this spot. A lot of people were here with off-highway vehicles (OHV) to get the most adventurous feeling out of the park.
The biggest sand dune we saw from the observation deck. Sand dunes are created by three factors: sand, strong winds, and something to slow that wind like a cliff or mountains.
The pink sand here might seem dry on the surface, but it is actually pretty wet if you dig in just an inch below. I wasn't surprised why there were so many plants growing on the sand since they've got a good supply of water right underneath.
At the time we visited, all the plants were dried out, but I could imagine that it must be gorgeous when these flowers bloom in many colors on the coral pink sand and under the beautiful blue sky.
The park's brochure suggests that we should come visit in June to see the beautiful wildflowers.
In the park there also are geological trails that we can follow to study about plants and animals living in the park. However, Nathan and I didn't see a single animal in the park on our visit.
I don't know why they have this long fence stretching a long way through the sand dunes. I guess it is to prohibit visitors from walking on the clean, big dunes. The park's brochure also states that the "265-acre conservation parcel serves as a resource management area for protecting the Coral Pink Tiger Beetle and its habitat."
Well, this must be it!
Nathan and I didn't explore the park beyond this observation point because it was too windy to walk around on the sand, and we wished we had goggles to protect our eyes then. We unintentionally got a souvenir -- a bunch of coral pink sand--in our shoes, ears and eyes to take home. :-)
These are photos of the scenery along the roads from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park to Las Vegas. After driving on the dirt rode to get out of the park, we drove on Arizona Hwy 389, which changed into Utah Hwy 59 and then turned into Hwy 9 and 15.
