Snow Canyon State Park is located about 11 miles northwest of St. George, Utah. When we visited this park this is where we opted to stay but this park also allows camping. This park is within the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve which protects the desert tortoise. It’s a popular park for biking, hiking, photography, camping, horseback riding, canyoneering, technical climbing, and junior ranger programs. It’s best visited in spring or fall because it is a desert park and is subject to extreme temperatures in the summer time.
History
The park was established in 1959 but the area has been used by people for more than 10000 years from due to artifacts found, it’s believed that Paleoindian mammoth hunters also used this canyon. Originally it was named Dixie State Park and later renamed for Erastus Snow, an Utah pioneer.
Geology
Originally this part of Utah was an ancient desert sea with huge sand dunes up to 2,500 feet thick that were transformed into stone creating the memorizing burnt orange and cream white Navajo sandstone. Water and wind have reshaped this sandstone into the canyon we see today. Another unique feature of this park is the lava that flowed into the canyon leaving behind basalt from a cinder cone that erupted nearby around 1.4 million years ago.
Camping
There are 14 RV sites in this park with water and electric hook ups and 17 multi use sites. There are other amenities including hot showers and a dump station. One of the best things about this site is the backdrop of the ‘painted dessert’ style red and white sandstone cliffs. Truly a wonderful place to wakeup a drink a cup of coffee.
Hiking / Biking
The park boasts more than 38 miles of hiking trails with various degrees of difficultly. There are several nice trails for biking and there is a bike rental place near the park entrance. Lots of the lava flows and sand dunes can be seen from the bike trails. There is a 3 mile paved trail for walking/biking.
Here are the ones we choose to go to since we were only hitting the park for one day and we had a 6 year old and 9 year old in along with grandpa so we didn’t want to do anything too strenuous.
Jenny’s Canyon – only a 1/2 mile. Rated EASY. The trail led to a red slot canyon which was beautiful and there was some shade along this trail. There wasn’t alot of parking here so try to hit this one early or late in the day. I was surprised by all the plants along this trail but there was a little creek bed that was dry when we walked through so that might be why so many were along this trail. The kids loved the slot canyon and climbing around in the rocks. I would highly recommend taking this short easy hike.
Lava Flow Trail – 2.5 miles. Rated MODERATE. We walked on this trail right after a rain storm and there were lots of puddles, it was slippery, and it was a lot of uneven surfaces. However, walk through the lava fields and looking into the lava tubes made this slightly more challenging hike worth while. Dave climbed into a couple of the tubes to get a better look.
Pioneers Names – 1/2 mile. Rated EASY. There are pioneer names written in axle grease on the canyon wall that date back to 1881. We found this hike to be a little more challenging, several individuals had climbed up the rocks to get a better look at the names which was very steep and slipper but provided us with a wonderful view of the area.
Sand Dunes – 1/2 mile. Rated EASY. There was a large lot by the Sand Dunes with a restroom was appreciated by our group. The hike to the sand dunes feel very short and easy but you are walking on sand which is difficult for some with mobility issues and you might have to dump the sand out of your shoe afterwards. The view of the desert sand dunes was impressive!
Plants and Animals in the desert?
We visited in the winter so we didn’t see any animal life but we did see tracks in the sand so we know they were there. Even though it’s a desert with an extreme climate it is home to several animals including the desert tortoise, snakes, lizards, roadrunners, quail, foxes, coyotes, and Gila monsters. I was surprised to see so much plant life on some of the trails we saw lots of yucca, sage, and scrub oaks in the park.
I found it amusing that they have a guide of what to do if you see a tortoise in the road in their pamphlet which includes stoping your car and picking it up using both hands (so you don’t tip it) and carry it across the road.
Overall experience
This park was a wonderful visit and not crowded like the national parks in Utah are. It’s beautiful and full of places to explore and marvel at. In some cases it was more relaxing than Zion or Bryce since you could walk down a trail and find yourself in a beautiful nature setting without 100s of others. The lava tubes were a unique experience we had never seen before and were thrilled to get an opportunity to see into them. We highly recommend visiting this state park.
