Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Kanab, Utah

Located 22 miles northwest of Kanab on Sand Dunes Road, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park preserves and protects the only major sand dune feature on the Colorado Plateau. Blue skies, vermilion cliffs, pinon pines and junipers, long arcs of rust-colored sand, this place is made for photographers, although you'll also find campers, OHV drivers and lots of folks just playing in these ancient sands.

The sand comes from eroding Navajo sandstone. The Navajo Formation was laid down in the Middle Jurassic era and is heavy on the iron oxides and other minerals that give that sandstone its incredible red color. These dunes started to be deposited in this valley 10,000 to 15,000 years ago by winds blowing through a notch in the Moccasin and Moquith Mountains. Blowing through that notch, the wind sped up enough to carry the eroding granules of Navajo sandstone but when it had cleared the mountains, the wind slowed down enough to drop the sand and voila: Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park contains about 3,730 acres at an average elevation of 6,000'. The park is open year round, 7 days a week during daylight hours with no holiday closures. Day visits cost $6 while camping costs $16.