Snow Canyon
This State Park near St. George Utah had breathtaking landscapes of rock and lava that almost look painted. Our visit during a Spring Break camping trip included moments of sunshine, followed by snow graupel, and back again. We scoped it out, then hiked for hours with our best friends when they arrived. There was so much to see, I’m sure we could have easily explored longer.
Lava Tube
The kids (and many of the adults) thought the lava tubes were the best part! We climbed down a crevice in the 27,000 year old lava flow into a cavern, and hiked what felt a lot like a cave. Everyone had flashlights, headlamps, or phones to light the path. Our dog Roxy was terrified, though; turns out No Dogs allowed on the Lava Flow Trail, and for good reason poor thing. We saw walls with shimmering flecks in them, tunnels that led to a big open area where we took a group photo, and there was lots of climbing / crawling / stepping on Dad’s knee to get up.
Petrified Sand Dune
Snow Canyon was a climber’s paradise. The kids couldn’t stop climbing everything or going right to the edge of the cliffs, so we had to remind them about using caution and going slowly. On our first petrified sand dune, the top was almost an altar. If a storm hadn’t hit right when Tori and I reached the top, I probably would have stayed there a lot longer to let the scenery below marinate in my memory. Butterfly trail led us to terrain that looked like a desert garden. One of the viewpoints towards the end of our hike looked like a real life “The Great Valley” from The Land Before Time. The photos do not do this gorgeous place justice!
Our friends were troopers carrying their freezing kiddos back to the car for at least a mile. Definitely wear layers you can adjust if you’re hiking here in Spring, as the weather can turn at any moment. We thought it’d be a really quick visit so not being ideally dressed would be ok, but we ended up staying a lot longer than planned. The views here were unreal and I would come back to hike the other trails!
Check out more pics from our Spring Break Camping Getaway and Red Cliffs hikes here.
Love, Kat
