Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park

In a National Park dominated by towering peaks with heavenly sounding names like the White Throne and Angels Landing, Checkerboard Mesa sounds, by name alone, to be horribly out of place. Yet this rounded glob of Navajo sandstone rates as one of Zion's most recognized and visited landmarks.

Located just inside Zion National Park's eastern entrance, along Scenic Byway 9, Checkerboard Mesa is impossible to miss. Vertical and horizontal fissures strafe the entire north side of the mesa, creating the checkerboard effect. Hence, the name. The fissures are the artistic doings of erosion and appear only on the mesa's north side (snow, one of the erosion's most ambitious agents, loiters longer on the north side), which, fortunately, for sightseeing purposes is in full view from the road. Several pullouts near the mesa provide convenient view points for picture-taking purposes.

If you're the ambitous type you can hike to the Checkerboard Mesa's summit. This two-mile trek gains 600 feet in elevation. The upper portion of the trail will test the leg muscles with some serious steeps, requiring good hiking shoes and good physical ability. This hike is not advised if snow grips the mesa.