The name is a piece of advertising that turned into geography. In 1948 a National Geographic expedition passed through this corner of southern Utah, struck by the colours of the rock, and named it after Kodachrome, the film that Kodak had made famous. The state later adopted the name for the park, and it has stuck, which tells you something about how intense the reds, pinks, and whites of the cliffs can look in good light.
What makes the basin unusual is not the colour but the stone pipes. Dozens of narrow, chimney-like columns stand scattered across the valley floor, ranging from a few metres to the height of a small building. They are sand pipes, formed when sediment filled ancient springs and then hardened, and as the surrounding softer rock eroded away, the pipes were left standing. There are said to be around sixty or so, and geologists still argue about exactly how they formed, which is oddly comforting.
The road to the park runs south from the village of Cannonville, roughly ten miles, and is paved and easy. It leaves Highway 12 and the crowds behind, and the basin itself is a quiet place with a campground, a few short trails, and views across to the cliffs of Grosvenor Arch country. A gentle road loops through the basin, and it is the sort of place where you cut the engine and listen to the wind. The ride on Highway 12 around it is better than most, with long, high-desert curves that climb through juniper and sagebrush and drop into red-walled valleys.
Do not look for fuel here. Cannonville and Tropic are small, and it is safer to fill the tank in Panguitch or Escalante, which is a good-sized stop on the byway and has stations and cafes. Water is available at the park, but carry your own on any walk, because the sun is fierce, particularly from June to August. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons, and a winter morning with a dusting of snow on the pipes can be astonishing. Afternoon storms in late summer bring flash floods in the washes, so keep an eye on the sky and stay out of the dry channels.