Lava Tubes Trail |
| Rita stands inside Large Lava Tube |
Sandy Canyon Wash
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| Lava Flow Results |
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| Road Runner |
As Rita, Tim, David and I headed toward the southeastern part of Utah in Old Abe (2007 Lincoln MDX with AWD), we stopped at the Snow Canyon State Park just outside of St. George. It was a hot and smokey day but it didn't bother us too much. We entered on the north end of the parkway and stopped at the Lava Tubes Trailhead for a short hike down through the lava tubes and into the sandy wash below. The trails in Snow Canyon were very well marked and there were several hikers out and about. We stopped at each of the tube sites and inspected the darkness for as long as the entering daylight would allow ... which wasn't very far. David was especially interested in getting a few photos of the darkness but, again, very difficult to hold the camera and the flashlight at the same time!
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| Small Lava Tube |
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| David tries Spelunking |
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| Snow Canyon |
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| Fab Four at Overlook |
Between the second and third tube site, we climbed up on the red rock and took in a view of the canyon below. Here is where we took our first group photo of the trip. Afterward, we climbed down into the largest lava tube and got a few better photos. Not finished stretching our legs, we continued down the trail and enjoyed the up canyon views of the park dropping all the way down into the sandy wash below. We made our own loop with the given trails by connecting two of the trails with a hike down the wash.
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| Down Canyon Overlook |
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| Scrambling into Large Lava Tube |
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| Tim looks for a Light |
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| Sandy Canyon Wash |
We hiked back up through a lot of sand which we later poured out of our shoes passing each of the tube sites and back to the car. Snow Canyon Lava Tubes Trail is a nice short family destination with a few points of interest then we drove down the parkway to find a picnic area for our lunch.
Stats: 3 miles; 500' gain; 2.5 hours
Johnson Canyon Arch
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| Trail to Johnson Canyon |
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| Trail alongside a Wash |
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| Johnson Canyon Arch |
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| Johnson Canyon Arch |
We found the trailhead for Johnson Canyon and started out the trail across the road. The trail took us out to and around a red rock ridge. Next, the trail continued into Johnson Canyon up to the north. Before long, we looked up to the right to see a monstrously fat arch. Johnson Canyon Arch is quite substantial in mass. Further into the canyon, we came to the boxed ending to take our group photo. It turns out that Johnson Canyon is the only place in the park where water flows year round. Since it was very warm, we didn't stay long and returned to the car. We liked the arch!
Stats: <2 miles; 300' gain
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| Johnson Box Canyon |
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| Fab Four in Johnson Canyon |
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| Lava Bed in Sandy Wash |
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