Cedar Breaks National Monument

Honestly, neither Steve nor I had ever heard of Cedar Breaks National Monument until we were planning our route to Bryce Canyon!

Stone pillar with wood sign welcoming you to Cedar Breaks National Monument

Welcome to Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah

Colorful sign giving info about Cedar Breaks National Monument

A Bit of Cedar Breaks History

Still camping with our friends Sandee and Mack, we celebrated Memorial Day together with a typical BBQ of hotdogs and hamburgers, potato salad, coleslaw and pickles. Mack had brought Mesquite along and it really enhance the smoke in the burgers.

Canyon has stripes of colors from white to deep coral at Cedar Breaks National Monument

A Rainbow of Colors

While sitting around the picnic enjoying our Memorial Day feast, we decided to plan our next couple of days. Looking at a map that showed us Bryce Canyon we saw another place that piqued our interest – Cedar Breaks National Monument. Obviously we knew we had to explore it.

View of Cedar Breaks National Monument with mesas and lots of trees

Mesas Canyon and Trees

View of distant mountains and red rock formations in the foreground at Cedar Breaks National Monument

Quite the view from 10,000-feet!

Cedar Breaks is stunningly beautiful! Geological rock formations that will make your jaw drop! We may have been at an elevation of 10,000-feet, but the artistry was laid out below us.

Sparse grass, juniper trees, deep blue sky and puffy white clouds at Cedar Breaks National Monument

Wander though the junipers…

Piles of snow going half way up the trees at Cedar Breaks National Monument

There was still plenty of snow at the end of May!

Like Bryce Canyon, you are looking down into a half mile deep geologic amphitheater. At Cedar Breaks you can roam among enduring bristlecone pines one minute and stand in luxuriant meadows of wildflowers.

Chessman Ridge Overlook

Red rock hoodoos, or rock formations, at Cedar Breaks National Monument similar to the ones at Bryce Canyon

Hoodoo You Think You Are?

This area has a rich history. The first inhabitants were the Southern Paiute tribe who call Cedar Breaks “umapwich” which translates to: “the place where the rocks are sliding down all the time”. Another Paiute name for it is “Ungkaw Pekonump” or red-cove in English.

Pink and white striped canyons with trees at Cedar Breaks National Monument

Jaw Dropping Beauty

Pink and white striped canyon dotted with trees and more mountains in the distance at Cedar Breaks National Monument

This view will take your breath away!!!

When European settlers came to the area they called it “Cedar Breaks” because they misidentified the local juniper trees as cedars. The Breaks portion of the name comes from the geolographic term that describes an abrupt change or “break” in topography.

Large, artistic piece of dead wood at Cedar Breaks National Monument

Even the drift wood is gorgeous at Cedar Breaks

On August 22, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed Cedar Breaks a national monument.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

Bryce Canyon National Park - The Traveling Locavores - […] It was named for Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in 1874. Originally designated as a national monument…