Utah Federal - Accessible Nature

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park
Situated along a high plateau at the top of Utah’s Grand Staircase, Bryce Canyon’s high elevation includes the largest concentration of hoodoos (irregular columns of rock) on Earth, numerous life communities, and dark skies.
Here is the Park website. Phone 435-834-5322 Map and Guide
Accessibility Printable Access Guide
Mossy Cave 0.8 mile Streamside walk to mossy grotto

Rim Trail 11 miles total. Connects Bryce Point to Fairyland Point

Sunset to Sunrise Points .5 mile each way. Paved portion of the Rim Trail

Queen’s Garden 1.8 mile the “least difficult trail that descends into the Bryce Amphitheater. Elevation loss/gain is 357′.
Bristlecone Loop 1.0 mile. Partly paved trail with elevation gain/loss of 200′ Wheelchair-accessible with assistance. Not entirely ADA compatible.

Accessible Bristle Cone Loop Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park UT

Paved part of the wheelchair-accessible Bristle Cone Loop Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park UT

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah photographed from wheelchair accessible paved trail

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest
“The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest is one of the 12 National Forests in the Intermountain Region as well as one of the urban National Forests in the Forest Service System. It covers an area that includes northern and north-central Utah, and southwestern Wyoming.”
Here is the Forest website. Supervisor phone 801-999-2103 Contacts in the various ranger districts.

There is a video on the website describing 5 Family Friendly Trails which they say are good for strollers and people of all ages. At one point the voice-over claims they are “universally accessible”, but that is not clear from the photographs or the descriptions on the website.
? Limber Pine Nature Trail 1.4 miles

? Cascades springs interpretive trail 0.9 mile paved and boardwalk path

Devils Kitchen Trail to a geologic site 0.1 mile “Accessible”

? Current Creek Nature Trail 1.25 miles self-guided interpretive trail. Call 435-654-0470 for more information on this trail.

“Summer Lake Nature Trail 3/4 mile around a lake

Ashley National Forest

Ashley National Forest
” The Ashley National Forest, with headquarters in Vernal, Utah, comprises 1.3 million acres located in the northeastern portion of Utah and southwestern portion of Wyoming. National Forest System lands are located in three major areas: the northern and southern slopes of the Uinta Mountains, the Wyoming Basin, and the Tavaputs Plateau.” The Forest is mostly in northeastern Utah, with just a bit including the Flaming Gorge in Wyoming.
Here is the Forest website. Phone 435-789-1181 Visitor Guide
Yellowpine Interpretive trail 0.5 miles The trail is at the Yellowpine Campground.

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area “The Flaming Gorge NRA is located in the northeast corner of Utah and the southwest corner of Wyoming.”
Ryan, from flaminggorgecountry.com writes that “There are wheel chair accessible nature trails located at Moose Pond, West Green’s Lake, and Red Canyon overlook/Red Canyon Visitor center. Sheep Creek Geological loop, Sheep Creek Bay overlook, Red Canyon overlook, Dowd mountain overlook, Flaming Gorge Dam Visitor Center, and the Dam Vista Overlook are all easy access by vehicle with easy access viewpoints.”
Red Canyon Visitor Center 435-889-3713

? The Chamber of Commerce Guide lists six “easy” trails on page 29. Be sure to call either the Visitor Center or the Chamber of Commerce since no details are given. From the website: “Try the short interpretive Nature Trails at Sheep Creek, Moose Ponds, West Greens Lake and Aspen for an easy enlightening walk through a variety of habitats along this scenic drive.” Easy for them might not be easy for you. Check with them.

Dinosaur National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument has one wheelchair accessible trail and numerous easy trails. The monument lies on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers. just to the north of the town of Vernal, Utah. There are over 800 paleontological sites in the Jurassic Morrison formation. There are fossils of many dinosaurs including Allosaurus, Deinonychus, and Abydosaurus. Dinosaur National Monument protects 105 miles of the Green and Yampa rivers and more than 210,000 acres of the rivers’ canyons.
Phone 435-781-7700 Map Accessibility Links to trail details Monument website
Plug Hat Trail 0.25 mile loop paved “…trail on top of a butte affords excellent views of the surrounding landscape and provides an introduction to the pinyon pine-juniper community.”
Cold Desert Trail 0.5 mile loop “This short, level walk provides insight into the diversity of the desert shrub community found around Dinosaur National Monument.”
Box Canyon Trail 0.5 mile in and out. “A level walk into a shady box canyon.”
Gates of Lodore Trail 0.75 mile one way. There are a “few steps” at the beginning of the trail and then it is a level walk above the Green River ending at a view of the entrance to Lodore Canyon.
Hog Canyon Trail 1.5 mile one way. “A relatively level walk into a box canyon.”

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
“…Bear River MBR contains nearly 80,000 acres of marsh, open water, uplands, and alkali mudflats.” “Birds come to the Refuge by the millions to eat and rest during migration, and many other species stay to breed, nest and raise their young across the Refuge wetlands.”
Here is the Refuge website. Phone 435-723-5887 Hunting & Fishing brochure with map facebook page
Marsh Meander trail 1.5 mile unpaved trail through the wetland habitat just outside the center.
Wetland Walk is partially paved, and may be at least partly accessible but the website does not say so. AllTrails calls it a 0.6 mile loop.

Dixie National Forest

Dixie National Forest
The almost 2,000,000 acres of Dixie National Forest stretch for about 170 miles across southern Utah. The forest includes Red Canyon and Hell’s Backbone Bridge. There are many opportunities for “hiking, fishing, and viewing outstanding scenery.”
Here is the Forest website. Phone 801-466-6411 Maps
Red Canyon Powell Ranger District Visitor Center Phone 435-676-2676 Trails Map and Descriptions The map omits the easy Hoodoo Trail. Red Canyon is a lovely place near Bryce National Park, but without the crowds.
Hoodoo Trail #3011 0.3 mile “Walk under the hoodoos, through sagebrush, pinyon, and juniper trees.”
Pink Ledges Interpretive Trail 0.4 miles This trail is a bit more difficult than the Hoodoo, so you may just want to go for part of it and then turn around if you don’t like the slope.

Pink Ledges Trail, Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest Utah

Arches National Park

Arches National Park
Arches National Park “…has over 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks.
Here is the Park website. Phone 435-719-2299 Map Trails Visitor Guide Accessibility
“An audio tour of the park’s scenic road is available for purchase or rental at the bookstore. …. Large-print and braille publications are available at the visitor center.”
These three trails are considered “barrier-free”: (“Barrier-free trails may contain minor obstacles, steeper grades and temporary washouts.”)
Devil’s Garden Trail to Landscape Arch 1.6 miles round-trip
Windows Trail – the first 100 yards only.
Double Arch Trail – This is a hard surface with a slope.

Double Arch, Arches National Monument UT photographed from easy vantage point — Double Arch, Arches National Monument

Sawtooth National Forest & Recreation Area

Sawtooth National Forest / Sawtooth National Recreation Area
This 2.1 million acre forest is situated in south central Idaho and extends into northern Utah. It includes the 217,000 acre Sawtooth Wilderness. These lands include high granite peaks, narrow glacial valleys, deep forested valleys and high alpine lakes. It abounds with wildlife and flowers. Map of SNRA
Fairfield Ranger District 208-764-3202, Ketchum Ranger District 208-622-5371
Minidoka ranger district 208-677-4878, Sawtooth NRA 208-727-5000 or 208-744-3000 Here is the website for the National Forest and the website for the National Recreation Area.

Murdock Trail Map and information A little over the first mile is wheelchair accessible. From the guide, “The Murdock Creek canyon features wildflowers, wildlife, and dramatic rock outcroppings, and there are several nice picnic spot along the trail.” The trail is dirt with small rocks. Thanks to trail guidebooks author Maryann Gaug for letting me know about this trail.

Accessible bridge on easy Murdock Creek Trail, Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho — Accessible Stream Crossing on Murdock Creek Trail Sawtooth Nat’l. Forest, ID ©Maryann Gaug

Partly wheelchair accessible Murdock Creek Trail, Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho — Partly accessible Murdock Creek Trail Sawtooth Nat’l. Forest, ID ©Maryann Gaug

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park –
“Located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country, Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles.”
For easy walking, we loved the canyon floors at Capitol Reef. These sand and gravel surfaces would bog down a wheelchair, but we did meet one intrepid wheelchair user who was enjoying the spectacular beauty from the paved roads. You can arrange for a driver to take you into the beautiful Cathedral Valley. My photographers and writers club, Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers, used Hondoo Rivers and Trails in Torrey. This park is not as crowded as many of the better known national parks in the west.
Here is the Park website. Phone 435-425-3791 Map Accessibility Brochure
The petroglyphs along Utah Highway 24 are accessible by boardwalk.

Capitol Gorge 1 mile

Goose Necks 0.1 mile

Grand Wash 2.2 miles

Sunset Point 0.4 mile

Canyon floor, Capitol Reef National Park

Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park

Zion National Park

Zion National Park
Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the Zion has a unique geography and a variety of life zones. The Virgin River flows through the 15 mile long Zion Canyon’s towering red and tan walls.
Here is the Park website. Phone 435-772-3256 Accessibility Map and Brochure Hiking Map and Guide

Pa’rus Trail 3.5 miles “Paved trail follows the Virgin River from the South Campground to Canyon Junction.”
Riverside Walk 2.2 miles. “Minor drop-offs. Paved trail follows the Virgin River along the bottom of a narrow canyon. Trailside exhibits.”
Lower Emerald Pool Trail 1 mile paved with some minor drop-offs.
Grotto Trail 1.2 mile connects the Zion Lodge to the Grotto and is near the road most of the way.