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Kodachrome Basin State Park
Millions of years ago, springs and spouting geysers welled upward in an area not unlike portions of today's Yellowstone National Park. Over time the source of these waters dried up; the sediment-filled spouts solidified, surrounded by a landscape of Entrada sandstone.
Kodachrome Basin State Park.
Ravell Call, Deseret News |
More eons passed, and while the softer sandstone eroded away grain by grain, the plugs of these mineral faucets — made of harder stuff — proved more resilient.
Today, frozen in time, they're a geologic phenomenon and a centerpiece of Kodachrome Basin State Park, a sparsely visited wonderland of pale spires (those ancient cores), cliffs and arches carved in the region's malleable sunset-colored sandstones.
There are at least 67 chimney-like "sand pipes" in the Kodachrome area. Such spires, found nowhere else in the world, are up to 52 meters high. The most significant are found in the Grand Parade area near the campground.
Chimney Rock, a giant thumb rising from the plateau, is one of the most popular scenic attractions. Grosvenor Arch, about 10 miles southeast of Kodachrome, is perhaps the area's most famous formation.
The desert climate and slickrock make the Kodachrome vicinity a great place to visit in late fall, winter or early spring, when many other Utah state parks are too cold for a comfortable visit.
Kodachrome, now part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, leaped to national notoriety when it was featured in the September 1949 issue of National Geographic magazine in an article by writer-photographer Jack Breed. The expedition into a basically unsettled area of the Colorado Plateau involved 15 adventurers, three Jeeps, two trucks and 35 horses. Because of the "astonishing variety of contrasting colors in the formations," they applied the name "Kodachrome Flat" to the area.
The state of Utah bought land for the preserve in 1962, but the first real improvements — a campground and ranger residence — weren't built until 1974. In 1988, modern restrooms and hot showers were added.
The park had only 1,000 visitors per year in its early days, but visits have since multiplied to more than 64,000 annually.
A visit to Kodachrome can be a pleasant, half-day jaunt or a camping and hiking destination.
Kodachrome Basin State Park is nine miles south of Cannonville, off U-12, one of Utah's "scenic byways." The park is about 290 miles from Salt Lake City, and 22 miles southeast of Bryce Canyon. It has one developed campground with 27 sites.
A concessionaire has six deluxe log cabins for rent within park boundaries.
Also available are commercial horseback and horse-drawn coach rides. The park offers hiking trails ranging from one-half to five miles. A panorama trail is designated for mountain bikes.
For more information go to parks.state.ut.us/parks/www1/koda.htm or call 1-435-679-8562. For reservations call 322-3770 in the Salt Lake area and 1-800-322-3770 outside the area.
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