Page 273 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

SPECIAL T Y V A C A TIONS AND A C TIVITIES  271

needs to be booked well in
advance. Xanterra Parks &
Resorts offers adventurous
mule rides that last two days
from the South Rim, over-
nighting on the canyon floor
at Phantom Ranch (see p236).

Air Tours
These are a good option for
those time-restricted travelers
who wish to see the more
remote attractions.
Canyonlands National Park is
The Sandia Peak Tramway near Albuquerque famous for its vast wilder nesses:
Redtail Aviation offers one-
licenses, although catch and near Flagstaff (see p71) is hour flights over all three
release is the rule in many areas. par ticularly popular with districts in Canyonlands, as
Information about licenses, cross-country skiers. well as a two-hour flight over
tournaments, and tours can be the stunning Monument Valley
obtained from marinas, outdoor Horseback Riding (see pp168–9). The striking red-
equipment stores, local gas rock pinnacles formations of
stations, and state Game and Horseback riding is synonymous Bryce Canyon (see pp156–7) can
Fish Departments. with the Southwest, and almost be seen by both plane and
every area has stables that rent helicopter on tours lasting from
horses. Some ranches offer 17 minutes to one hour.
Skiing and Winter Sports
guided trail rides as well as the The most popular air tours fly
In general, the ski season in chance to live and work as a over Grand Canyon. Several
Southwestern resorts runs from cowboy. The range of trips is companies offer day trips from
November to April. A range of impressive: from hour-long Las Vegas (see p127) – helicop ter
skiing trips are available, from rides to two-week dude ranch tours go to the Skywalk, or
all-inclusive packages to day vacations (see p235). down to the Colorado River,
trips from nearby towns. There Ranches are dotted across at Grand Canyon West, while
are plenty of equipment-rental the region, but the best-known planes can fly all the way to the
outlets, although resort are those in southern Arizona, South Rim of the national park.
packages usually include skis, lift particularly near the town of Both helicopters and planes
passes, and lessons, if necessary. Wickenburg. The area’s pleasant also fly in fixed circuits from
Other winter sports such as winter climate attracts the small airfield in Tusayan, at
snowboarding, snowmobiling, thousands of visitors, and even the park’s southern entrance.
and cross-country skiing are large cities such as Phoenix and However, increasing numbers
becoming increasingly popular, Tucson have riding stables and of airborne tourists are raising
with runs and equipment now offer trails through beautiful the issue of noise pollution as a
available in most resorts. desert scenery. Cooler summer pressing problem throughout
Utah hosted the Winter locations such as Sedona and the canyon. More and more
Olympics in 2002 and offers Pinetop Lakeside in Arizona are visitors complain that engine
some of the best skiing in the also popular riding centers. noise diminishes what should
region. The Telluride Ski Resort Most of the national parks be a tranquil experience
is set among the 19th-century offer trail-riding tours, but of the area’s beauty.
towns and mountain scenery the noted mule trip into
of southwestern Colorado. The Grand Canyon (see p66)
facilities and runs here, with
elevations of more than 11,500
ft (3,500 m), attract many
visitors during the season,
including lots of the country’s
celebrities. Purgatory-Durango
Mountain Resort is less chic
and less pricey, but provides just
as much challenge with vertical
drops of over 2,000 ft (600 m).
New Mexico’s Taos Ski Valley
includes world-class slopes,
and the Arizona Snowbowl Horseback riding through the desert near Tucson, Arizona

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