Snow Canyon Loop

The challenge: This is a 32-ish mile day hike loop near St. George Utah. This must be completed in a 16 hour period. The State Park is only open during the hours of 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

The route: Start at the northern end of Snow Canyon parking your car at the Whiterocks trailhead. Traverse Snow Canyon State Park from North to South exiting through Chuckwalla Trailhead and returning back to your car on a South to North route. Connect these trails in the following order:

North to South:

1. Whiterocks
2. Lava Flow
3. Butterfly
4. Petrified Dunes
5. Hidden Pinyon/Red Sands
6. Scout Cave
7. Paradise Rim
8. Turtle Wall
9. Chuckwalla

South to North

1. Rusty Cliffs
2. Gila
3. Whiterocks

Overnight option: There is no backpacking option along this route. The rusty cliffs trail does briefly leave the state park and enter the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. This is in the lowland zone of the RCDR and backpacking is not allowed in this area. Some options for breaking this hike into two days are as follows:

1. Reverse the hike starting and ending at Chuckwalla. Stage a camp at the snow canyon campground. Caution: You cannot leave a car overnight at the Chuckwalla trailhead. You will need to use a shuttle option or park offsite from the trailhead.
2. Other shuttle options are to leave a car either at the north or south end of the park and car camp offsite from the trailhead. Both the northern terminus (Whiterocks) and the southern terminus (chuckwalla) do not allow parking between the hours of 10PM-6AM. It is enforced. Plan accordingly.

Trip Report:

Friday night after work I drove down from Salt Lake City and arrived at my in-laws house late around 11PM. After a solid 6 hours of sleep, I woke early around 5:30AM or so. I warmed some coffee that my mother in law had left me and nabbed the PB&J sandwiches she had prepared for me. I ducked out and drove to the whiterocks trailhead arriving just after 6AM.

The trailhead was marked as a pay area, so I drove into the park, paid my day fee, and left my permit stub on my windshield. I organized my pack and started the trail in the dark with a headlamp my wife had given me a few weeks prior. As I walked through the early morning darkness, I heard a cooing bird in a tree just off trail. It sounded to me like the coos of a morning dove or a pigeon, but as I neared the tree I watched a large bird with a wide wingspan fly from the tree. It was clearly an owl. It flew so quickly that I was unable to snap a picture. This was the only wildlife I would spot on this trip except for some other birds, a few lizards, a rabbit, and a ladybug.

I made quick time as I connected several short trails. I was tempted to explore the lava tubes, but too eager to get some miles behind me. By the time I arrived at the petrified dunes segment, I encountered the first humans including a couple of day hikers and a group of dancers on top of the petrified dune filming themselves and enjoying the golden hour of lighting.

I sped through the park, soon reaching the paved whiptail trail which allowed me to speed through miles of trail. I contemplated a better alternative to this trail would be to complete it in reverse. This easy section of hiking would be a nicer way to end the hike. I plowed through the paved trail and recognize the sand dunes and jenny’s canyon trailhead across the main road. I had visited this area with my family when my children were younger.

When I arrived at the southern pay station it is time to cross the street and begin the scouts cave trail. This trail veers through a short canyon, butts against some private homes, and then climbs a short and steep staircase. This is the first major elevation on the hike so far. It has been pretty flat elevation up to this point. At the top of the staircase, I make the mistake of veering north instead of south. The trail peters out and I find myself off-trail guessing at the route. Eventually, I find a proper trail and then I soon realize that it has joined me to the Johnson’s canyon trail and it returns me back to the main road and the pay station. I am back to where I was an hour ago. I’m in the wrong location. I need to be further east and south of here. After some internal struggling, I decide to redo the section of the scout cave trail that I have already completed. I am discouraged but I convince myself it is the right choice. I repeat the mileage quickly. This time when I return to the top of the staircase, I veer right instead of left. The trail is obvious and I’m not sure how I made the mistake before. This trail soon leads me to the top of a ledge overlooking Ivins with expensive houses and golf courses. As I connect to the paradise rim trail, it becomes congested with cyclists, day hikers, and dogs. I take pictures of people taking pictures for my wife’s instagram: @pictures_of_people_taking_pics

I soon connect to the turtle wall trail. I know I am soon approaching the popular chuckwalla trailhead as the crowds become thicker. I know I am nearing the trailhead because I encounter old people, young children, and people smoking cigarettes. When I reach the trailhead, I see some kind of hiker meet-up happening in the parking lot with introductions being made. I plow past this group and use the restroom. I have arrived at the southern terminus and it is time to loop back to my car at the north end of the park. It is around 1:00 PM. With my hour detour at scout cave trail, I anticipate I will reach my car at about 7PM tonight. I am pleased with the time that I am making but starting to feel a little tired already. I know that it is time to break for lunch. I had already been snacking on the PB&J my mother in law had made for me. But now it is time to cram some more calories.

I cross the busy highway and crawl under the barbed wire fence properly dusting my clothes. I walk directly east until I encounter the rusty cliffs trail. This is a dirty trail with much broken glass and litter. I walk north along this trail briefly. Now a safe distance from the crowds at the chuckwalla trailhead and on the rusty cliffs trail, I stop for my lunch. I eat a tuna creation wrapped in a tortilla and several handfuls of trail mix. I also pound some water. As I continue north on the rusty cliffs trail, I’m not terribly impressed by the state of this trail. It is mostly covered in trash and you can hear the roar of the highway. It is along this trail that I scare a rabbit from the brush and we startle each other. When I reach the end of this disgusting trail it is time to cross the highway.

I find a break in the fence immediately and push through this brief off-trail section of trail. It only takes a few minutes to spot the Gila trail below. The gila trail is very visible from the cliff top. Some simple route-finding will lead you down to the proper trail. It is a fun adventurous break from the monotonous walking I have done today. When I reach the Gila trail, I encounter some hikers. The trail presents itself in an east/west direction. It’s not obvious to me which way leads me north so I ask them. They don’t quite understand my question, but after some discussion they point me in the right direction. They are going this direction too but are hiking a little faster than me because I am starting to lose some steam at this point in the day. At the top of a hill, we reach a service road and they break off to the south but they wait for me first to make sure I am pointed in the right direction. They assure me I am almost to my car but I know this isn’t true. I just go along with them and thank them but know in my heart I still have a long afternoon ahead of me. “You’re almost there and it’s all easy service road walking from here.” They tell me. It’s not true, but I know that. I walk a short ways and the service road quickly returns to trail hiking.

This part of the gila trail is fun and adventurous. The trail leads in a couple different directions with several signposts leading the way. The trail goes up and down over hills and slick rock and there is some fun scrambling. Eventually it runs a property line with private property butting against the state park. At one point, the sign points me to the right and steers me closer to private property. In hindsight I wonder if this sign was mistaken. I border the private property and walk along the backyards of wealthy estates. I can’t quite find a proper trail but it hasn’t been long since I spotted a sign so I know I’m close. I consult my map and try to figure out where I am. When I look up from my map, a man is standing in his backyard confronting me. He’s not kind and asks me in a rude manner if I’m lost but doesn’t seem to be too interested in helping me much. He seems frustrated by my presence and annoyed that he must converse with me though it’s not something I asked for either. Eventually, he tells me that I’m “getting close to being on private property”. I respond to him, “That’s ok”. That response seems to annoy him even more. I leave him and scramble down a steep hill and around a mountain rejoining the proper trail shortly. I wasn’t as far off course as he led me to believe. From here, I have no more routefinding issues. The trail is easy to follow and I am high on the mesa overlooking snow canyon running parallel to the highway. I spot the parking areas and try to ponder my exact whereabouts and my distance to my car. I consult my fitbit often and check my mileage. I don’t know exact distances but I believe I should hit the car at about mile 32 because Chuckwalla trail head (southern terminus) was at about 16 miles. At the overlook, I see many cars and I soon realize that I am nearing the whiterock trailhead.

My next major milestone, is the northern pay station and it’s just a quick jaunt from here on the Gila/White rocks trailhead. But it feels like a death march. I reach my car about the time the sun is setting.

I glance at my watch and it reads 6:57PM. With my start time at 6:20AM, this means I completed the 32 mile hike in 12H 37M. I brag to myself this is a FKT for this route I invented. I’ll have to search to know for sure if others have completed this route before. Back at my car, I find a pull off to park and sleep.

Bonus hike: Snow Canyon to Brio Development.

The Route: Starts at the Snow Canyon overlook and ends at an undisclosed location (my in-laws’ house in the Brio development in Washington, UT). This is a roughly 17 mile route through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. My plan was to connect the following trails (though my execution varied greatly):

The plan:

1. Lange’s Dugway Trail
2. Cotton wood Road (AKA Turkey Farm Road)
3. Broken Mesa Rim
4. Overland break in trail
5. Millcreek Trail
6. Neighborhood walk (washington parkway bike path)

The execution:

1. Lange’s Dugway Trail
2. Cotton wood Road (AKA Turkey Farm Road)
3. Black Knolls
4. Overland break in trail
5. Middleton power line
6. Ice House
7. Neighborhood walk (washington parkway bike path)

Trip Report:

I started off in the morning hours well rested but still a little tired from my 32 mile hike the day before.

I left my park at the Snow Canyon Overlook and crossed the highway immediately finding a road/trail leading me through some cow pastures atop a mesa. This route had some gradual and gentle elevation gain. At the top of the mesa, the trail winds me down and I can see a long lava carved canyon filled with lava rock with the cottonwood road in the distance. It’s unclear to me how the trail will cross this canyon. As I near the lava rock, the trail gently leads me across a nice route through the canyon floor and back up to meet the road.

It is here that I make a navigational error. I consulted my map earlier, but forgot that I needed to go left rather than right up Cottonwood road. I make an error and head right and it isn’t until much later that I realize this error. When I eventually realize my error I am south of the obvious yellow knolls which are yellow colored peaks emerging from the barren dessert. Upon consulting my map, I realize that I am supposed to be north (not south) of these yellow knolls). Luckily, I have service at this point and am able to consult some online map resources. I consider backtracking but instead I find a reroute that will require a little more road walking. Near the black knolls trailhead I reroute again to avoid the road walk and opt for the black knolls trail rather than continuing on cottonwood road. The black knolls trail is a fun place to have a photo shoot with a lady bug.

The end of the black knolls trail cliffs out with the middleton power line trail visible below. Some easy routefinding over lava rock boulders makes it relatively easy to pick a line from the cliff top to the valley floor. Following the powerlines is slow and uninteresting. I start to encounter a few day hikers likely from the subdivision I am nearing. I try to spot my in-laws neighborhood in the distance but I still don’t quite have my bearings. When I join the Ice house trail towards the subdivision I am gaining nearer to their house. Eventually this trail ends at the subdivision and I patch together some paved bike trails and road walk along washington parkway. Entering my in-laws subdivision requires me to cross through some future homes starting with a few vacant lots and then climbing down a wall into a half constructed house house before reaching my final destination. Knocking on their door, my in-laws greet me and offer a warm shower, some food, some company and conversation and a new puppy to play with. After a short visit, they give me a ride back to my car at Snow canyon and I make the long tired drive back home to Salt Lake. I appreciate their support of me to be able to enjoy this mile packed weekend of slackpacking the St. George area.