St. George Hiking?

[moab mark]

My wife's soccer team is playing in a tournament in St. George this weekend and we are looking for somewhere to take her team hiking Sunday?
At summer games we did kanarra creek from Shanes site and they really liked that. I assume Angels Landing probably has snow on it. So would like to stay close to St. George. Is there anything fun in the snow canyon area. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Mark

[Deathcricket]

Snow canyon is nice, it's mostly for rock climbers, but there is a couple cool hikes in there. Bring a couple flashlights for the lava tube caves, they are easy to find and fun. It's breathtaking the first time you lay eyes on it. It's just small and I'm spoiled perhaps. It's a great place to have picnic, no doubt.

http://www.utah.com/stateparks/snow_canyon.htm

trails here

http://www.utah.com/stgeorge/hike.htm

and red cliffs has one decent trail in it, you could kill 6 hours there easy. I prefer this one to the ones in Snow canyon. But there is only one, where snow canyon has a couple options. There are a couple really short ones. Do not do the "indian campsite" trail. But the short one with dinosaur tracks is also very enjoyable. I can't recall the names but you'll see on the map when you get there.

http://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/

trail pdf here:
http://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/trail

IMO, Nothing beats Zion though. The extra hour drive is worth it. You could even just do the river walk, emerald pools, observation point, or angel's landing and they would blow anything in STG away. Don't get me wrong though, the other places I mentioned were good too. I went there (zion) about 3 weeks ago and there wasn't much snow but an inch of ice making it fairly treacherous. It might have melted though and be worth checking out.

[Scott P]

Ditto on the Snow Canyon stuff.

If Angels Landing is indeed too snowy/icy, some trails/routes in Zion that usually stay snow free are Coalpits Wash, Huber Wash, Petrified Forest Trail and Sand Bench.

The most scenic part of Coalpits is in the upper end, but it takes an overnighter to get there. The other sections closer to the road aren't bad though and have some pretty sections.

Huber Wash is just OK and has an interesting mass of petrified logs in the upper end, but instead of heading back down the wash I would suggest making a loop out of it with the Petrified Forest Trail. The Petrified Forest trail is open and sunny and has nice views of the huge soaring cliffs of Zion.

Sand Bench is a hike along a trail and with little elevation gain, but it also has some nice views of the towering cliffs.

The above are the lowest elevation hikes in Zion so typically have no snow and are alternates just in case the other areas are snowy or icy.

[trackrunner]

The most scenic part of Coalpits is in the upper end, but it takes an overnighter to get there. The other sections closer to the road aren't bad though and have some pretty sections.

No it doesn't. I've got beta that shortens this hike considerably, and it's legal. I need to go try it while it's still cool enough.

[Scott P]

I've got beta that shortens this hike considerably, and it's legal.

Crater Hill I presume? If so we only tried that route once in Feb and the road was too muddy to drive, but if it is dry it would be a great route in. I had forgotten about that route, so thanks for mentioning.

If you do go in winter, save time to hike up to the head of Jennings Wash. There is (or at least has been when we were there in winter) a HUGE and impressive frozen waterfall where the drainage spills off the cliff.

[Win]

Sand Bench is a good bet for this time of year. You'll hardly see anyone and the views are great. Some of my pictures:

http://winpics.fototime.com/Zion%20N.P.%20-%20Sand%20Bench%20Trail

I'll bet it'll be muddy up to Crater Hill with all this weeks rain/snow. We have this on the agenda for the weekend. This is not very visually exciting hike, though. IMO

Win

[Bo_Beck]

Mark...you might consider the Red Mountain Trail. I have hiked a lot up there and it never ceases to keep me interested. The first 2.5 to 3 miles is pretty un-eventful if starting on Rt. 18 between Dammeron Valley and Diamond valley, but at the northern edge of Snow Canyon the scenery begins to unfold. I went up there last weekend on a stormy day and was mostly able to avoid the clay mud during the rain and snow. If you come to the viewpoint looking down into west canyon...please don't stop....continue another mile to the drainage that will lead you to the gorgeous slickrock plateau on the northwestern edge of Snow Canyon. It is one of my favorite places on this planet.

[moab mark]

Thanks guys I'll show my wife her options.
Mark

[Deathcricket]

Mark...you might consider the Red Mountain Trail. I have hiked a lot up there and it never ceases to keep me interested. The first 2.5 to 3 miles is pretty un-eventful if starting on Rt. 18 between Dammeron Valley and Diamond valley, but at the northern edge of Snow Canyon the scenery begins to unfold. I went up there last weekend on a stormy day and was mostly able to avoid the clay mud during the rain and snow. If you come to the viewpoint looking down into west canyon...please don't stop....continue another mile to the drainage that will lead you to the gorgeous slickrock plateau on the northwestern edge of Snow Canyon. It is one of my favorite places on this planet.


OHHHH.... I had not even heard of this place. Thanks Bo! I'll have to check it out. I totally love that area too.