Snow Canyon State Park

Snow Canyon State Park is the best single outdoor destination within easy reach of St. George, just 11 miles northwest of town. The canyon cuts through a landscape of vivid red and white Navajo sandstone, with petrified sand dunes, lava flows, and slot canyons that vary strikingly from one end of the park to the other. The contrast between the pale cream dunes and the brick-red cliffs is particularly good in late afternoon light.

The hiking is excellent and varied. The Lava Flow Trail (1.5 miles) crosses the rugged basalt fields left by eruptions as recently as 10,000 years ago. Jenny's Canyon Trail (half a mile) is a short slot canyon walk that's suitable for all ages. For a longer outing, the Hidden Pinyon Trail (1.5 miles) gives good views across the canyon. Rock climbing is permitted on the sandstone faces, and the park has several recognised sport climbing routes. Open year-round; best visited at dawn or dusk in summer to avoid the worst heat.

things to do sight
A story
Snow Canyon is named not for winter weather but for the Snow family — Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, prominent early Mormon leaders who settled the surrounding area in the 1860s. The canyon sees very little actual snow: it sits below 1,000 metres in the Mojave Desert transition zone and rarely freezes. The red and white sandstone walls were carved by water over millions of years from the ancient dunes of a vast desert that covered this part of the Colorado Plateau.