Cedar Breaks National Monument

The Cedar Breaks area also offers a hike on par with Zion National Park's Subway for advanced hikers with wayfinding and backcountry experience. The Rattlesnake Creek Trail in the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness is a two to three-day hike just outside the park boundary that crosses mostly designated wilderness in the Dixie National Forest and drops into the amphitheater below the canyon rim.

The modern campground on the edge of an alpine meadow is one of the world’s few dark sky parks, making it one of the best locations for astral viewing. Far from any metro light pollution and high altitude, sleeping under the stars in the monument first class. Cedar Breaks National Monument holds stargazing programs with a ranger/naturalist throughout the summer as part of its commitment to pristine night skies and the Dark Sky Parks certification.

The Alpine Pond Trail offers amphitheater views via a two-mile loop at 10,000 feet elevation. Spot marmots sunbathing on the pond’s peaceful shores, then discover the trail’s. bristlecone pines, some of the oldest living organisms on Earth. Some pines here have been dated at more than 1,500 years old. The picturesque vistas of Chessmen Ridge are the apex of the Alpine Pond Trail. Return to the Alpine Pond Trailhead via the upper loop, walking through meadows of wildflowers. Hiking to the Spectra and Rampart Points takes you along the Amphitheater’s rim. Beginning with the scent of wildflowers in your nose, make your way to Spectra Point (1 mile). From here, get a closer look at the amazing geology. Continuing to Rampart Point (2 miles, one-way), follow an alpine stream through a beautiful forest of grand bristlecone pines with elegantly twisted bodies.