 |
Photo by John Castis
View of Spider Rock from a paved walkway at Canyon de Chelley |
Ups and downs on
the Arizona-Utah border
Visiting three popular national parks along the Arizona-Utah border has its ups and downs.
All three parks provide easy access and diverse geography and can be enjoyed in about a week, highlighted by the granddaddy of them all, the Grand Canyon. The other two are Zion National Park and the sometimes overlooked but distinctive and intriguing Canyon de Chelley.
These three parks are within 200 miles of each other, as the turkey flies — farther by car, which is how you likely will visit them. A good starting and ending point can be Flagstaff, Ariz., which is served by two interstates and one airline, U.S. Airways.
Looking down
Our first stop is Canyon de Chelley (pronounced “shay”) National Monument, near the town of Chinle in northeast Arizona. It consists entirely of Navajo Tribal Trust Land, and because of this, there is no admission fee. This small park of 131 square miles is easy to tour by car and especially easy to examine from above, where paved walkways lead visitors to varied overlooks, such as the 800-foot-tall spire known as Spider Rock. To the Navajos, it is a spiritual symbol and the home of Spider Woman, who, according to legend, taught the Navajos how to weave on a loom.
Canyon de Chelley has one of the highest concentrations of pre-historic cliff dwellings in the Southwest, where early settlers lived between 350 and 1300 A.D. Some of these ruins can be seen from above with the aid of binoculars, including the spectacular White House Ruin, which also can be reached by a well-maintained trail. Fitness and at least two hours are the requirements for this excursion, the only one permitted without a park ranger or Navajo guide.
Guided tours are available along Chinle Wash using specially equipped vehicles to give the visitor a close view of other ruins, as well as the homes and farms of Navajos who still work the fertile land.
Looking up
Our next stop is Zion, Utah’s first national park, established in 1919. From Canyon de Chelley, you probably will arrive from the east, on State Highway 9, also known as the Mount Carmel Highway. This year, expect delays because of major roadwork, but don’t let this dissuade you, as this leads to perhaps the greatest entrance to any national park in America.
It’s a tunnel. More than a mile long, the tunnel was called one of the greatest engineering feats of modern times when constructed in the late 1920s. Back then, smaller and narrower vehicles were permitted to park along one of the so-called windows blasted into the tunnel. They provided a dramatic view of the narrow valley 800 feet below. Today, stopping is no longer permitted, and RVs require a $15 escort fee, in addition to admission to the park. The escort fee is good for two trips.
Once you leave the tunnel, however, there are several parking areas along the switchback highway, providing opportunities for spectacular viewing and photography. This is when you get a hint of the dramatic and varied scenery for which Zion is known. Among birders, Zion also is known for 290 species. And if you see a condor, you’re not imagining things. California condors were released in the Vermillion Cliffs, nearly 50 miles to the east, in the 1990s. Since then they have made their way west to Zion.
For most of your adventure in Zion, you’ll be looking up from the valley floor, perhaps from near the beautiful Virgin River. You may also be looking up from near a bus. That’s because private vehicles are prohibited between April 1 and Oct. 31 along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, the road that leads to the Zion Lodge. Fully accessible buses leave every few minutes from the expansive visitor center near the south entrance to the park, and at various locations in the tourist town of Springdale, replete with camping, motels, restaurants and gift shops.
With advance reservations, you can stay at the modern Zion Lodge or at one of the nearby cabins, which come complete with fireplaces. All the accommodations can be easily reached by flat concrete sidewalks. The cabins have three or four steps to the front porch.
Looking down
If you are visiting the Grand Canyon for the first time, I recommend the South Rim. Not only is it open year round, it also has more facilities for visitors. Additionally, there are more gentle paved walks that lead to the canyon’s edge.
If you enter the park at the east entrance, make sure to stop at the Desert View pull off, where a broad paved walk leads visitors to the famous Watchtower and a dramatic view of the canyon. Designed by architect Mary Colter, the Watchtower first opened in 1933. You don’t have to climb it to get a great view of the canyon below.
At the visitor center and the Grand Canyon Lodge, visitors may use free wheelchairs. Additionally, the park provides a free alternative fuel shuttle bus, complete with wheelchair lift.
Another fun way to get to the Grand Canyon is by the Grand Canyon Railway (www.thetrain.com). You pick it up in Williams, Ariz., about 28 miles west of Flagstaff. A fully accessible shuttle bus greets the train at the Grand Canyon railroad station for the short trip up to the famous El Tovar Hotel and the canyon rim.
If you only have a day, you can enjoy a round trip, coupled with a sightseeing opportunity of more than three hours at the rim before returning to Williams.
Another side trip is the 3-year-old Grand Canyon Skywalk, owned by the Hualapai Indians (www.grandcanyonskywalk.com). It features a 70-foot glass walkway cantilevered 3,600 feet above a side canyon. The $31-million attraction is fully accessible. Getting to the Skywalk involves a 10-mile drive on a dirt road. Admission is about $30, plus a $43.05 fee called a “Legacy Pass.” — John Catsis