State Parks with Beautiful Scenery

State Parks should be considered when you are planning a vacation. They are the perfect place to visit if you are interested in beautiful scenery. When traveling in the western part of the United States, there are four state parks to visit that have outstanding scenery. They are Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah, Big Basin Redwoods State Park in California, Deception Pass State Park in Washington and Malibu Creek State Park in California.

The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation manage the 5250 acres that make up Dead Horse Point State Park. Visitors here have the opportunity to enjoy the views of the Colorado River Canyon as well as the Canyonlands National Park. This state park also has camping facilities with 21 campsites, electrical hookups, covered picnic tables, restrooms and a dump station. Camping is limited to two consecutive weeks per month. There are also day-use facilities with picnic tables and bar-be-que grills here for visitors to use. Dead Horse State Park also has an interpretive trail, hiking trails and evening programs to keep visitors busy. To get to this state park from Moab, Utah, take US 191 northwest 10 miles. Turn left on State 313 and travel 22 miles. Visitors can enjoy this park year round, 6 am to 10 pm. For more information, go to www.parks.state.ut.us.

California has many opportunities for visitors to enjoy the beautiful scenery it offers. Two state parks in California offer these opportunities; they are Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Malibu Creek State Park. Big Basin Redwoods State Park with its 18,000 acres is California’s oldest state park and has the largest continuous stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco. Visitors here can enjoy family and group camping, tent camping or renting a cabin. Backpacking, hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding are also permitted on more than 80 miles. Besides the ancient redwoods, visitors will also enjoy breathtaking waterfalls. This state park is open year round and permits dogs as long as they are leashed. Taking a trip to Big Basin Redwood State Park can be an interesting adventure, but the visitor should be aware of the seasons and the weather that is associated with each one. Overall, fall is probably the best season to visit here, with warm days 60 to 75 degrees and cold nights that range from 30 to 50 degrees. Winter tends to be cold, overcast and rainy with highs in the 50’s and lows in the 20’s. Spring is cool with showers, as well as morning and evening fog. Highs in the spring range from 75 to 95 and lows ranging in the 40’s and 50’s. Summer is warm with cool nights. To get to this state park, travel 25 miles northwest from Santa Cruz via highway 9 or 236. For more information on this state park, go to www.bigbasin.com.

The other California State Park known for its beautiful scenery is Malibu Creek State Park. This state park is open year round form dawn to dusk and the visitor center is only open on weekends. Visitors here have the opportunity to go fishing on Malibu Creek as well as to enjoy the beautiful scenery provided by oak and sycamore woodlands and chaparral-covered slopes. This state park also has biking and hiking trails, guided tours, horseback riding trails and plenty of wildlife to watch. Camping is permitted, but no hookups for campers under 30′ in length. Malibu Creek State Park also has picnic areas, restrooms, showers and handicap accessible area. This state park, with over 4000 acres was also the filming location for M.A.S.H. and Planet of the Apes. To get to this California State Park, in Malibu travel south of the intersection of Las Virgenes Road and Mulholland Highway, which is 4 miles south of US 101 and 6 miles north of Pacific Coast Highway. For more information, go to www.parks.ca.gov.

The last state park on this short list of parks known for their beautiful scenery is Deception Pass State Park, located close to Burlington, Washington. Deception Pass State Park, with its 4,134 acres offers 77,000′ of saltwater shoreline and 33,900′ of freshwater shoreline along with rugged cliffs, forests, sand dunes and gorgeous sunsets making it a must visit park. Park hours are 6:30am to dusk during the summer months and 8am to dusk during the winter months. Visitors here can enjoy lakes, mountains and islands that provide beautiful scenery and photography options. This park also has hiking trails, horseback riding trails and mountain biking trails. These are also an interpretive center and a museum in the park for visitors to gain information about this area. Wildlife viewing, swimming and white-water kayaking are also activities available when visiting here. To get to this Washington state park exit I-5 in Burlington, Washington at State 20 and travel west 18 miles. For more information, go to www.parks.wa.gov.