Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
I decided to stop by and spend a couple days exploring the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on my way home from the Rocky Mountain ATV Jamboree. While I am not a big fan of riding in the dunes, I had read about this area and it seemed to offer a diverse terrain. Leaving Richfield Ut, I took Highway 89 all the way. This is a much more scenic route than Interstate 70 and 15. Its about 130 miles from Richfield to the intersection of State Route 9 (which leads into Zion National Park) and another 15 miles to the entrance of the park on State Route 43. I had made a reservation to camp in the park's campground which is very nice and allows direct access to the OHV riding area. This is a very remote area and there is no cell phone service but a pay phone is available in the Ranger station. My satellite phone worked great since you have clear access to the entire sky. Just before you get to the campground, you will see a large area which is used to for staging and overnight dry camping (N37°03.992, W112°42.315).
The park is a 3,730 acre recreation area with over 2,000 acres of sand open to OHVs. The area open to OHVs is about six miles long and approximately one mile wide. Mount Carmel Junction is the closest services area, Kanab is also nearby and has all services.
I decided to stop by and spend a couple days exploring the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on my way home from the Rocky Mountain ATV Jamboree. While I am not a big fan of riding in the dunes, I had read about this area and it seemed to offer a diverse terrain. Leaving Richfield Ut, I took Highway 89 all the way. This is a much more scenic route than Interstate 70 and 15. Its about 130 miles from Richfield to the intersection of State Route 9 (which leads into Zion National Park) and another 15 miles to the entrance of the park on State Route 43. I had made a reservation to camp in the park's campground which is very nice and allows direct access to the OHV riding area. This is a very remote area and there is no cell phone service but a pay phone is available in the Ranger station. My satellite phone worked great since you have clear access to the entire sky. Just before you get to the campground, you will see a large area which is used to for staging and overnight dry camping (N37°03.992, W112°42.315).
The park is a 3,730 acre recreation area with over 2,000 acres of sand open to OHVs. The area open to OHVs is about six miles long and approximately one mile wide. Mount Carmel Junction is the closest services area, Kanab is also nearby and has all services.
Heading Towards the Dunes
I spent a few hours after I arrived checking out the sand dune area. The scenery is magnificent and there are numerous routes to take ranging from easy flat sand to steep deep bowls. I left the campground and headed NorthEast towards the dry camping area. I stayed out of the deep bowls and followed the terrain along the Eastern edge of the riding area. I did enter a few moderate / non life threatening bowls which were really fun. I got stuck a few times attempting to exit the bowls but finally was able to keep the throttle open long enough to emerge unharmed.
The staging area was about half full with a combination of day use riders and overnight dry campers. It is plenty large and located just off the entrance road into the park. I followed a group of riders up to the top of a large bowl and watched as they dropped in and headed for the bottom. They then circled around and climbed out opposite of my location. looks like fun. I explored for a while then headed back taking a route that paralleled the entrance road. Once back at camp I checked in with the wife (using the sat phone) and called it a day.
The staging area was about half full with a combination of day use riders and overnight dry campers. It is plenty large and located just off the entrance road into the park. I followed a group of riders up to the top of a large bowl and watched as they dropped in and headed for the bottom. They then circled around and climbed out opposite of my location. looks like fun. I explored for a while then headed back taking a route that paralleled the entrance road. Once back at camp I checked in with the wife (using the sat phone) and called it a day.
Heading Down a Sand Wash
The next day I headed South towards away from the dunes and into the section of the park that was mostly sand washes and rocky hills climbs. This area was more to my liking, I flew down the sand washes which were double wide and had high banked turns. I spent the entire day exploring this area and following sand washes until the walls narrowed and I could go no further (check out the video). It looked like the trails went on forever and I am sure you could spend several days without riding the same trail twice.
The park did not have a lot of marked trails but there were several signs that pointed you back to the main campground. The sand really is pink and orange and with the background of the red cliffs and blue sky, it is just an amazing sight.
The park did not have a lot of marked trails but there were several signs that pointed you back to the main campground. The sand really is pink and orange and with the background of the red cliffs and blue sky, it is just an amazing sight.
I am really glad that I made the decision to spend a few days at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. If you enjoy riding the dunes or exploring sandy trails, this is the place for you. Check out my video below for a good overview of the terrain and scenery.
