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Southern Utah
Hiking Forum
The Ultimate Southwest Vacation includes Cedar Breaks National
Monument!
Experience the Spectacular Canyon Country Tour
Stay in Mt. Carmel Jct., the heart of the parks, and visit
the treasures of the Southwest.
Mileage: Mount Carmel Jct.
Cedar Breaks 45 miles
Dixie Forest 22 miles
Zion National Park 12 miles
Bryce Canyon 60 miles
Grand Staircase 9 miles
Red Canyon 47 miles
Sand Dunes 11 miles
North Rim 85 miles
Toroweap 90 miles
South Canyon 75 miles
Plan your Cedar Breaks Vacation with our Utah
Maps and Information
In these pages you will find insiders information on Cedar
Breaks National Monument. This detailed guide includes road maps, park maps,
pictures, trail beta, backpacking, history, fees, geology, flora, fauna, campgrounds
and things for kids to do.
Making summer memories in the Utah national parks and Utah
national monuments.
Utah!
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Cedar
Breaks Road Map
Cedar Mountain Map
Directions to Cedar Breaks
U-143 Closure
Dates. U-143 to Cedar Breaks closes at times in the winter, due to snow depth.
From Las Vegas: Take I-15 north to Cedar City. Take U-14 east
from Cedar City to U-148 and turn left to Cedar Breaks.
From Arizona: Take US-89 north through Mount Carmel Junction and turn west on
U-14. Turn right at U-148 to Cedar Breaks.
From Salt Lake City: Take I-15 south, exit at Parowan. Take U-143 to Cedar Breaks.
From Mount Carmel Junction: Take US-89 north to U-14. Follow U-14 to U-143 and
Cedar Breaks.
Mule Deer are some of the most common mammals
seen in the Cedar Breaks area. The winters are harsh in the sub-alpine forest,so
the deer migrate to lower elevations.
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Cedar Breaks Fauna
A variety of fauna have adapted to the elevation of Cedar Breaks, where
a lofty 10,000' environment pushes the extremes.
Surviving Cedar Break's Winters
Many mammals live in the Cedar Breaks area including ground squirrels, pikas,
marmots chipmunks and deer. Surviving, and thriving, in the extreme cold winters
has resulted in the adaptation of unique characteristics. Many of the animals
commonly seen in the summer,
hibernate though most of the bitter winter. Some mammals such as the marmot consume
an enormous amount of food during the warm months of the year. This allows
them to sleep throughout the winter. The chipmunks and ground squirrels wake
up once in a while to consume stored food. The rarely seen pika on the other
hand, prefers to make its home on the high rocky slopes. It makes a warm blanket
of cut grass and stays huddled in its hut until it is warm.
Why is the spruce bark beetle important?
Look close at the trunks of many of the trees in Cedar Breaks and surrounding
Dixie National Forest. You will see odd shapes or designs dug into the bark.
These are beetle tracks. Normally, the beetles only attack dead trees, but when
a beetle epidemic hits, large numbers of beetles kill the living
trees as well. Although it may seem to be a problem, the killing of these trees
makes room for new growth and is nature's way of keeping the forest healthy.
The beetles are a native species to the forest, and nature will be allowed to
run its course. In the 1920's, the spruce bark beetle killed the spruce trees
on Boulder Mountain near Teasdale. The forest is now young and healthy.
Under normal conditions the spruce trees fight off the attack of the beetle,
so the beetles are forced to be content with downed trees. When the beetles reach
epidemic numbers they are able to kill healthy trees, overpowering the trees
natural sap defense, especially if the trees are subject to drought. Dixie National
Forest renews itself about every 300-500 years, but it's usually through the
process of fire instead of a beetle epidemic.
Recently another beetle, called the Fir Engraver, has been found in the forest
and is attacking the Fir trees.
Nature's Natural Tillers
Looking closely at the meadows in Cedar Breaks, you can find little heaps
of dirt scattered about. These piles of soil are made by pocket gophers as they
dig through the soil and pop their heads up above ground. This tilling of the
soil is beneficial to the parks environment.
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