Mountains, meadows, canyons, and thousands of acres of timber cover Color Country's national forests and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. These public lands provide unlimited recreational opportunities for everyone to enjoy. You can camp at dozens of campgrounds, hike alpine trails or deep narrow canyons, or backpack through meadows studded with wildflowers. You can pedal your mountain bike along hundreds of trails to favorite vistas, or photograph grazing elk, antelope and deer. There's a geologic showcase of arches and colorful sculpted rock to explore, and ancient Indian petroglyphs and pictographs to decipher. In winter, you can cross country ski or snowmobile in the backcountry or along groomed trails. Hunt, fish, picnic, horseback ride, four-wheel drive, or take your ATV over marked trails. There's something for everyone in the national forests and public lands of Color Country.

Dixie National Forest
Dixie National Forest is Utah's largest with almost 2 million acres spanning 170 miles across Utah's Southwest Color Country. It stretches from the Nevada / Utah state line on the west to Capitol Reef National Park on the east; and north from St. George to just south of Beaver. Three wilderness areas-Pine Valley, Ashdown Gorge and Box-Death Hollow - are favorites for hikers and backpackers. Scenic areas include Red Canyon, the Duck Creek area, Navajo Lake, Panguitch Lake, Scenic Byway 12, and the East Fork of the Sevier.

Fishlake National Forest
A small southern portion of Fishlake National Forest is in Color Country. This portion, just east of Beaver, is bordered by I-15 on the west and I-70 on the north. The alpine terrain of the Tushar Mountains is perfect for year round activities. The Piute ATV Trail, forest roads, fishing lakes and hiking/biking trails offer solitude and relaxation for those wanting to get away from it all. Scenic Byway 153 through Beaver Canyon to Elk Meadows Ski and Summer resort is one of Color Country's most beautiful mountain canyons.

The National Forests
Two national forests cover much of Color Country's high country - Dixie National Forest and the southern tip of Fishlake National Forest. Both are easily accessible from Interstate 15, US 89 and other major highways and scenic byways.

Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the principal administrator of the public lands not included in our national forests.

Several well known primitive areas managed by the BLM include the Escalante River, the Paria River Wilderness Area and the Calf Creek Canyons - Vermilion Cliffs Recreation Area. Much of the land is a fascinating array of stairwells, caves, natural arches and narrows.

The Escalante River was the last river in the lower 48 states to be discovered and named. You may want to explore the historic pioneer trail to Hole-In-The-Rock on Lake Powell and the Escalante Canyons, one of the most popular hiking areas in the country.

You can experience 200 million years of geology in the 40-mile hike along the Paria River Wilderness Area. Vertical walls plummet 2,000 feet in places to form the narrow Paria Canyon.

If you hike along the two- and three-quarter mile trail from Calf Creek campground, you'll be rewarded with the sights and sounds of Lower Calf Creek Falls cascading 126 feet from above. You can cool off in the refreshing pool underneath the falls.

Maps and information on recreational activities are available through the Dixie National Forest and the BLM.