Category: Hike

Five Reasons to Take Your Kids to Snow Canyon State Park, Utah

My tots and I loved our recent trip to Snow Canyon State Park, Utah.  Here are the top five reasons I would recommend it for your family:

1. Campground – The campground is well maintained, has sites for tents or campers and had the cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen when camping. Pull chain showers are also available to registered campers. The ranger station also includes a small book store and there’s a play area for kids. If possible, get your friends together and stay at the group site, it was self enclosed, had easy access to trails and bathrooms.

2. Short Hikes – Hiking with kids is never easy, but the great thing about Snow Canyon State Park is the multitude of short, but interesting hikes.  There’s lots to see and do, less than a mile from the main road.

3. Biking – Snow Canyon State Park is known as a great place for biking, in fact the ranger told me St. George holds their Ironman triathlon biking portion within the park.  The canyon is one long, paved downhill if you start at the top. If you’re averse to biking next to twenty five mile per hour traffic, there are two great bike trails as well.  The first, Whiptail, is paved and starts at the Upper Galoot Parking area.  It follows along the main road six miles down to the park entrance.  The second trail, West Canyon Road, is eight miles on a gravel access road that parallels the amazing rock formations in the park.

4. St. George, Utah – If you’re camping with kids, it’s always good to have access to a store in case of emergencies.  Whether you forgot a favorite toy, need a snack or just want a break, it’s nice to have access to the benefits of a city. We especially appreciated the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center and visiting a local park in St. George, as different activities from the daily hiking and biking.

5. Scenery – Snow Canyon State Park has a variety of rock formations from red sandstone to dark lava rock. Add to that the fact that the entire park is located within the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, a habitat conservation area whose purpose is to protect the endangered Mojave Desert Tortoise, and you can appreciate the wildlife, as well as the beauty.

Utah State Park Snow Canyon: Scout Cave

Snow Canyon State Park, Utah – Scout Cave hike

The longest hike that we attempted while on our trip to Snow Canyon State Park was the Scout Cave hike, via Johnson Canyon. This trail was well established and fairly flat, made of sand and rock. The trail head was just outside the southern park entrance on the west side of the road.

We started on the trail later than I would’ve liked, so the sun was hot early on. A half mile into the trail, we took a right turn since a gate closed the trail to the left, leading into the seasonally closed Johnson Canyon. This trail had no shade for the first two thirds, until we descended into a valley with a trickling stream from a natural spring.  There, a few cottonwood trees grew tall enough to offer some shade.
Because of hiking in the heat, not bringing snacks, and little g falling asleep on my back, I called it quits three, but most of our group continued on the trail another twenty minutes or so, to explore the interesting cave that gave the trail its name. This last part of the trail was within view of housing developments in St. George, so instead of looking at houses, Big E and I looked at tadpoles in the water and dug in the cool sand, while little g napped in the shade.
It was a good hike for kids, but at approximately three miles it was a little too long for my tots. The kids over eight and the teenagers in our group really enjoyed it, thanks to crossing a rare desert stream and finding cave at the end.

Utah State Park: Snow Canyon, White Rocks Amphitheater

Another great hike for kids is Utah State Park: Snow Canyon’s White Rocks Amphitheater trail. The longer White Rocks trail continues from the same trail head, and is approximately four miles, so make sure you follow the signs for the Amphitheater. The trail head for White Rocks Amphitheater (and trail) is less than a mile past the northern park entrance. Just look for the gravel pullout on the west side of the road.

The trail is moderately difficult, alternating between rocky and sandy terrain. But it’s mostly flat, which is a blessing if you have a baby on your back, and it’s less than a mile round trip. Like all good trails for kids, it has a great destination – a natural rock amphitheater – which entertained Big E for an hour with all the scrambling around and chasing other kids.

Snow Canyon State Park boasts beautiful red rocks formations, black lava rocks like at Cinder Cone and an a swath of white rocks all in one place. The White Rocks Amphitheater brings the contrasts of these three colors into dramatic focus. I never thought rocks would be so interesting, and to find such stark colors dotting the landscape all in the same place is truly amazing. If you’re looking for a quick hike for the tots, I would recommend White Rocks Amphitheater.

Utah State Park: Snow Canyon, Petrified Dunes

One of our favorite hikes at Snow Canyon State Park was the Petrified Dunes. When you think of hiking red rock terrain, this is what comes to mind.  Stair like sandstone formations create endless hills and valleys to explore. Tenatious desert plants, like sagebush and cactus, cling to life in the crevices. Lizards dart across the way and the world around you is the color of fire.

The trail from the parking area to the dunes is short, sandy and clearly marked.  Once you’re on the dunes, however, the rock surface hides any semblance of a trail, so we just picked a direction and climbed a while. Big E needed help up the steeper sections of rock, but did great over all. Another mom commented, “He’s like a mountain goat, the way he scrambles up the rocks.”

Little g was held by me constantly, mostly because she cried when I tried to put her in the hiking pack or down to walk on her own. The hike is only about a mile round trip and was easy, even with young children, assuming your young children don’t go to the very top of the dunes. If your preschooler is anything like Big E, however, you will be climbing to the very top. He wasn’t about to let the big kids have all the fun. I was nervous about him slipping off from way up high, but luckily his aunt held tight to his hand the whole way.

We visited the Petrified Dunes in the evening, to enjoy the sunset and the cooler temperatures. The watercolor sky was truly a sight to behold. The red rocks lit up with golden light until night slowly overtook it all. It was a beautiful scene, but once we were plunged into darkness the absence of a marked trail was scary.

After the light faded, scrambling on the rocks was a whole different adventure. I was grateful for the key chain flashlight hooked to my keys, and for the headlamps of my fellow hikers.  Without them, I would’ve fallen several times with little g in tow. The trail was completely lost to us in the dark. We moved slowly down the rocks, choosing our foot placement carefully. We walked in the general direction of the road, took a few detours, but eventually found a safe route back to our cars.
Even in the dark, the trail was fun. So fun, in fact, that we returned during daylight hours to explore even more.  Snow Canyon State Park Petrified Dunes hike was a fun place to play with kids of all ages.