Fall 2024 Back to the Southwest, 10.19.24 - 11.13.24, Part 11, Snow Canyon State Park, UT
After my photo session early in the morning we packed up and left Springdale. It was only an hour drive from Zion to St George, Utah. We parked the Navibahn at our friends Debbie and Darren’s house. We had stayed with them before back in 2022 and they took us to a great hike in the Candy Cliffs outside of town. Debbie and Darren do a lot of exploring all around the southwest and are a great resource for information about cool places to check out.
I had already been researching Snow Canyon State Park and had told them I wanted to spend a couple of days there to really see the place. It’s not a huge park but packs a lot into the area it encompasses. There are sixteen miles of hiking trails and a great variety of white layered rock, bright orange rock, petrified dunes, lava tubes and more.
We drove up there just after one in the afternoon. It was super gusty that day but not too cold. We first went to the north end of the park to a small pullout for the White Rocks Amphitheater. As the name implies, it is a big rock bowl comprised of white and grey rock. We climbed up into the amphitheater to a gap that looked out to the red rock below. Once we explored that area a bit we got back in the Jeep and drove south through the park just to get a feel for the place. Then we headed up towards the north end but this time we stopped at the Butterfly Trailhead. This was quite close to the area known as the Petrified Dunes so we got out and walked around with no particular destination. The petrified dunes were really cool. They were just giant piles of sand that had turned to brilliant orange rock with tons of lines and layers. Darren and I climbed one of the taller ones. We didn’t spend a ton of time there that first day but had a full day planned for the next day.
White Rocks Amphitheater
White Rocks Amphitheater
White Rocks Amphitheater
Bridgit and Debbie (Bridgit photo)
White Rocks Amphitheater
White Rocks Amphitheater
Debbie and Bridgit
Orange rock in Snow Canyon State Park
Petrified sand dune
Petrified sand dune
It really wasn’t windy at all. Darren was just in a Flock Of Seagulls mood that day.
Climbing the dune (Bridgit photo)
Peaks and dunes
From the top of the dune
I think early morning is probably the best photography light for most of the park but there are ample opportunities on both ends of the day. It was windy and I wasn’t feeling too inspired so after wandering around a bit we headed back to the house. Their daughter Jarelle made a big delicious lasagna and then I played guitar for awhile. That turned into a jam session with Debbie and I playing guitars while Darren played his cajon. Good fun.