The Virgin River Gorge is a spectacular, 500-million-year-old natural canyon slicing through the rugged Arizona Strip.
Virgin river at sunset surrounded by high canyon wall in the Arizona Strip
Virgin River Rec Area
Carved by the Virgin River, this narrow, multi-colored rock canyon is famously traversed by a 15-mile stretch of Interstate 15 between Littlefield, Arizona, and St. George, Utah.
Virgin River Canyon Recreation Area is located off the Cedar Pockets exit (Exit 18). It is the only developed campground on the entire Arizona Strip. It has tent and RV sites, day-use picnic areas, and potable water.
Day-use and camping fees apply, which can be checked or reserved on Recreation.gov.
The Drive
The I-15 corridor through the gorge is considered an engineering marvel and one of the most scenic stretches of highway in the U.S. Completed in 1973 after nearly a decade of blasting through solid rock, this winding road requires caution but offers dramatic windshield views of towering 500-foot canyon walls.
Images
The images in this post were taken at different times. On a return trip from Nevada this year, we passed through the gorge right at sunset.
The clouds started glowing and the virgin river reflected pink. I pulled off to take pictures and the color lasted long enough to get the lead image and the one below from the camping area at the top.
On other planned trips I was down at the river level at sunset.
It’s a short but steep trail down to the river area from the camping area at the top,
When clouds are brewing this is a spot I like to go to. It’s much more of a sunset park than sunrise.
Coming Up
I am still editing Milky Way Images and an about finished.
I have a new Benro Polaris star tracker to discuss. The learning curve is very steep. I spent a lot of time this Spring trying to get this to work in the field.
This Spring was fabulous for wildflowers in out garden and those images are coming up too.
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