Conditions Right Now
Why Go
Most of southern Utah gives you red rock or black lava, and Snow Canyon gives you both stacked on top of each other. Navajo sandstone laid down as dunes more than 183 million years ago sits under basalt that poured through as recently as 27,000 years ago, so lava-capped ridges here were once canyon bottoms. It is a compact park with more than 38 miles of trail, all of it a short drive from St. George. Come early, since shade is scarce in a desert that averages about 7.5 inches of rain a year.
Do this: Hiking, lava-tube exploring, biking the paved trail
Family note: Lava caves + slickrock scrambling = all-timer
Fees and hours: stateparks.utah.gov
Build Your Day
Add to the trip: Hidden Pinyon Overlook (Hike, 0 mi) · Petrified Dunes (Hike, 1 mi) · Red Cliffs Campground (Camping, 13 mi) · Kanarra Falls (Hike, 34 mi)
Quick Answers
- What is there to do at Snow Canyon State Park?
- Hiking, lava-tube exploring, biking the paved trail
- Is Snow Canyon State Park good for kids?
- Lava caves + slickrock scrambling = all-timer
- Why visit Snow Canyon State Park?
- Snow Canyon packs an unusual amount into a small park: more than 38 miles of trail plus a three-mile paved path kids can bike. It sits inside the 62,000-acre Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, and thirteen sensitive species including desert tortoises and Gila monsters are protected here by state or federal law.