The Virgin River drains much of Zion National Park and then flows past St George, Utah, where it is joined by the Santa Clara River. It continues south through the dramatically beautiful Virgin River Gorge on its way to joining the Colorado River. We have explored a number of sites in Zion National Park, though whether any are considered “public” by the National Park Service seems to vary from time to time. The St George area has a number of well-known sites, including at least two public sites, Anasazi Ridge and Little Black Mountain. Both sites have at least one solar interaction, and Anasazi Ridge has some of the most fascinating solar interactions we have ever seen.

The Virgin River South area offers a number of sites to the east of the Virgin River and west of Virgin Peak in the starkly beautiful area known as Gold Butte. We also explore an area off its west bank near Overton, Nevada. None of these sites is formally designated as public, though many are well-known and frequently accessed.

Facilities supporting Virgin River North are located in St George and Springdale. Responsible agencies are the National Park Service (Zion National Park), the Bureau of Land Management (many of the sites around  St George), and the State of Utah.

Approximate travel time to base at St. George, UT:  129 miles; one hour, 49 minutes.

Approximate travel time to base at Springdale, UT:  miles; two hours, 3 minutes.

 

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