Most hikers go to the 5 National Parks when they visit Utah, for good reason.   There is a lifetime of hiking just to go these spectacular parks, but there are also 7 National Monuments (including Cedar Breaks and Grand Staircase-Escalante) and National Forests, Areas, and Sites.  But there are also State Parks.   On our last trip, we explored two of them Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Snow Canyon.

We returned to Coral Pink Sand Dunes for an easier morning of touring after some longer days of hiking.   In the desert hills, weathering of the sandstone hills result in sand deposits in the hills and valleys.   In this area in a remote valley near Kanab, the winds have blown sand through a notch in the hills and the sands have accumulated for about 15 000 years, forming large sand dunes, all colored coral pink from the combination of iron oxides and other minerals.

There is a short hike on the dunes and a good nature trail loop to follow.   We enjoyed looking at the wind-patterned shapes on the dunes.

Some of the patterns reminded us of seashore sands, molded by waves.

Although there appeared to be no animals in the dunes, there were tracks from nocturnal activity, especially from snakes and lizards.

We watched a lizard run from one bush to another and then noted its tracks.

We have sand dunes here, so this park is not unique experience for explorers from the BC Interior, except perhaps in the size of the area and the desert ecology.   When touring the southwest, though, the Park lies between Kanab-Mt. Carmel area and the East Gate of Zion National Park so it is worth a side trip.