St George and Zion NP

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Well it took us some time, but we finally made it to Saint George Utah. Our original plan coming out of Colorado in late September was to spend 5 days in Goblin Valley State Park then take a few days to make our way to Sand Hollow State Park just outside of Saint George. We had even reserved 13 nights at one of their full hookup sites. We hoped to spend a couple more weeks at either a private campground or the Elks Lodge in town. We knew there was a lot to see in the area and we thought we could easily spend 4 weeks. Then we found ourselves on a mission to buy a new car and get it setup to flat tow behind the motorhome and caused us to head north to Salt Lake City instead of south and shifted our timeline by nearly 4 weeks. But now we were back on track and heading south to hopefully warmer weather.

The drive from our spot in Nephi Utah to St George was about 212 miles - longer than we typically like but it was all on Interstate-15 so it was a fairly easy drive. We had obviously canceled our reservation at the state park but by the time we were sure of our timing after getting the car configured for towing, we found there were no sites available at the state park other than for a night or two. The Elks Lodge in town has 14 sites with electric and they do have a fresh water fill and dump station but we went with another option - a fairly new private campground just on the northern side of town. Their daily rate wasn’t great at nearly $60 per night but the weekly rate was more reasonable. We found they had one site available for the week we wanted and booked it a day before heading there.

While we were trying to make our plans for the next couple of months, we discovered that the Elks Lodge in Boulder City Nevada actually now allows sites to be reserved. Their online booking system wasn’t working very well, but we managed to score a month long site starting in the middle of November. This would leave us one more week to cover between St George and Boulder City, but we were confident we would figure something out. We arrived at Southern Utah RV Resort and it was definitely quite new since most of our GPS maps didn’t even have the road to the campground yet. We had booked one of the standard sites which are nice enough but we are just 200 feet from the northbound lanes of I-15, so its not the most peaceful place we have been at.

On our first full day, we decide to head over to Zion National Park. The main (south entrance) in Springdale is only a 45 minute drive from camp. When we had visited Zion back in May of 2017, we had stayed east of the park in Kanab and had come into the park through the slightly less busy east entrance. The road between those two entrances is about 11.5 miles long and includes some wonderful scenery with switchbacks and a long tunnel. Off this main road is the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. It’s just over a six mile drive from the main road to the end point. This scenic drive is no longer accessible by private vehicles for nearly all of the year and can only be explored by the shuttle bus system.

These two entrances and the shuttle bus is what most people visiting Zion know. I’ll admit, that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge about the park. Besides the beauty of the park, one of the other things I remember was how crowded the park was. Even now at the beginning of November, we are hearing from others that we should plan on getting there early if we want to find a parking spot to access the shuttle. If that doesn’t work, there are numerous parking lots in the town of Springdale which has a different shuttle system to get visitors to the park. For first time visitors, this central area is the place to see, but it turns out there is a lot more to this national park worth exploring.

In the northwest corner of Zion is an area called Kolob Canyons. It has its own entrance right off of I-15 about 28 miles north of where we are camped.  There is a small visitor center and 6 mile scenic drive. Given how convenient this place is to visit, it is definitely worth a look even if only to stop at the overlooks along the drive. We had bigger plans for our visit. Of the numerous hikes in this part of Zion, the Middle Fork Taylor Creek Trail sounded like the prettiest that was of a reasonable length. This trail will follow the middle fork of Taylor Creek up a canyon. It is about 5 miles round trip with early 600 feet of elevation gain. We show our pass at the visitor center then drive to the trailhead just 2 miles up the scenic drive.

Entrance to Kolob Canyons

Taylor Creek Trailhead

We had a pretty nice morning even if it was a little brisk. Starting at 9 AM and being at 5500 feet likely had something to do with the temperature. There were several other cars already here but there is room for at least 20 vehicles so I don’t expect to have a crowded hike. For the first mile of the hike, the trail follows the creek but it isn’t quite in the canyon yet. The water levels were not very high so the crossings were not much of an issue. We could see some of the canyon walls where we were heading and it looked pretty nice.

Looking into Canyon

Trail Along Creek

At the junction between the north fork and middle forks of the creek is Larson Cabin, circa 1930. It’s in reasonable shape given it’s over 90 years old. The trail now heads into the canyon. This section is by no means a slot canyon but given the sides tower above the creek by six or seven hundred feet it has a narrow feel to it.

Larson Cabin

View Inside Cabin

Sunlit Cliffs

Fall Colors

About another half mile up the canyon is a second cabin. The Fife Cabin was built around the same time as the first one. Given this one is still standing, I guess this creek never floods on a grand scale. As we work our way further up the canyon, it starts to narrow a bit. The wall of the canyon on the north side now towers above us by almost 1500 feet and is nearly a vertical cliff. The early morning light makes the reddish rock really glow.

Heading Into the Canyon

The Fife Cabin (Barney Fife?)

A Tree Grows on Side of Cliff

Our final destination is about 2.5 miles out for something called the Double Arch Alcove. We saw the sign for this on the south side of the trail and was really impressed with the size of the alcove in the side of the rock. We explored around for a bit but we’re unsure why it had the name double arch. It wasn’t until we stepped out of the alcove far enough that we were able to get a glimpse of the arch that is forming well above the lower alcove. From here the canyon continues on but the trail itself seems to peter out. I guess this alcove is the only thing worth seeing this far up the canyon.

Large Alcove

Step Back to See Arch Above

We turn around and head back down the canyon. It was still early and we seemed to have more energy left so when we got in the vicinity of the Larson Cabin, we sought out the trail to the north fork. Initially we weren’t really finding the trail but the water flowing along this one gave us an idea of where we needed to go. We eventually found the footpath and started heading up this canyon. It’s only half a mile or so north of the other canyon and had a different feel to it since this isn’t really a published trail so it is much less traveled and overgrown. We actually ran into a guy running on this trail. He had passed us earlier on the middle fork and I suspect he was just as surprised to see us here as we were him. We asked how far this trail went and he told us we were close to where there is a dry wash with a challenging rock scramble. It sounded like he had done it once but didn’t find anything of interest worth the effort. We made it to the spot we believed he told us about ten minutes later and we decided to heed his advice. We did find a nice secluded spot in the sun to enjoy lunch on our way back to the car. This was a nice hike. We likely added an additional 2 miles or so to the original hike by exploring the north fork but it was worth it.

Another Tall Cliff View

There are several pullouts along the rest of the scenic drive and we stop to take advantage of them. This road gains another 700 feet along the way before ending at Kolob Canyons Viewpoint. There is a fairly large parking area up top with great views of the surrounding area. If you are up for a 1.2 mile hike with 250 feet of elevation gain, the Timber Creek Overlook Trail is definitely worth the extra effort. It was beautiful although very windy this afternoon. There are some points near the end where the drop off is quite severe, but Chris managed to stay well away from the edge and didn’t have issues with the heights. It was late late afternoon by the time we made it back to the car and had quite a full day here. Kolob Canyons is definitely worth a visit. It doesn’t replace the main area of Zion but it does have some great views.

View Along Scenic Drive

View from Overlook Hike

View to the South from Overlook

Another Stop Along Scenic Drive

The next day, we had rain forecast after lunch so we needed to keep our outing short and nearby. This would be okay since we had tired legs from the hike in Zion. Chris had read about Red Hills Desert Garden on the north side of St George. It is a fairly new garden that opened in 2015. There are lots of plants on the nearly 5 acre grounds. Since it was just a few days after Halloween, there were still lots of decorations up although the work crews were in the process of removing them as we wandered around.

Red Hills Desert Gardens

Halloween Scarecrows

The Agave Section

It was somewhat surprising to see a fair number of the plants in bloom. We enjoy this type of garden since practically everything is labeled so we can reacquaint ourselves with the names of some of the desert plants we have forgotten over the years since being out west.

Yucca Blooms

Astronaut

Halloween Murder Scene

Flowing Water

Pretty Bloom and Berries

There is a stream running through the middle of the gardens supposedly with native fish although we didn’t spot any. There is even a replica slot canyon built into the gardens with plants growing out of the pockets and crevices in the “rock”. We managed to spend nearly 90 minutes wandering around and taking it all in. We drove over to the Elks Lodge since it was nearby. We wanted to check out the camping area and get a feel for how full they were. We were impressed and hope to use this place to fill in for the extra week we have before we head to Boulder City Nevada.

A Skeleton Crew

Delicate Dragonfly Wings

Cactus Section

Ribbit

Slot Canyon Area of Gardens

The rain did arrive and the weather turned cold and yucky so we got another full day off from exploring. Once the front moved through, we had gotten back to some nice weather again so we headed out for a hike. This time in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area just a few miles north of camp. Our goal was to tackle the Elephant Arch Trail. It’s about a 4 mile out and back hike to what sounded like an interesting place given the name. There was a bit of bumpy dirt road to reach the parking area but it wasn’t too bad. The trail starts out following a continuation of the same dirt road we drove up on with the exception that this road is blocked off to traffic so was actually in great shape. It looks like the front that came thru did drop off a slight dusting of snow on the nearby mountains.

Start of Elephant Arch Trail

Frosted with Snow

As the trail turns off the road to the northeast, it become more like a real trail and eventually works it’s way down into a sandy wash. It is a pretty hike with some very elaborate niches eroded into the sandstone walls. At the 1.4 mile mark, the wash splits with one slot canyon to the left but a sign pointing us to the right for Elephant Arch.

Heading into Wash

Intricate Niches in Stone

This part of the trail does have some elevation gain but at least we aren’t trudging in the loose sand anymore. We had one younger couple pass us around this point and by the time we got to the end of our trail on the AllTrails app, we started to look around for the arch in question. The other couple made it easy since they had actually managed to somehow climb up to the arch and were exploring underneath it. The views of the surrounding landscape was equally impressive. From this vantage point, I guess it does look like an elephant and it’s trunk.

Initial View of Elephant Arch from Below

View Around Elephant Arch

I suppose I should thank that couple since I likely wouldn’t have bothered to see if there was a way up to the arch if they hadn’t been there. Initially I wasn’t finding any safe way up but as they made their way down, I realized the correct approach. There was one climb that Chris was unable to manage with her short legs so I headed up solo. I’m glad I made the climb because the arch looks even more like a elephant from this side. There is a very small window opening which make the “eye” and the shadow from a chunk of missing rock looks remarkably like an “ear”. Plus the views from up here were good of the area.

Elephant Arch with Ear, Eye and Trunk

It took me a bit longer to make my way back down the tricky spot than it had to climb up but I made it back to Chris and we started the journey back to the car. There was a geocache hidden about a quarter mile up the side slot canyon we had seen earlier but we decided we didn’t have the energy to go for it so I only went in far enough to get a sense for how narrow the passageway was. It was a fun hike with something unique to see.

The Slot Canyon Not Taken

The following day we wanted to head back into Zion for another hike. In keeping with our contrarian theme of our last hike here, we sought out another region that isn’t part of the congested area along Zion Canyon. Our goal was in the Kolob Terrace portion of the park. This area sits midway between the main area and Kolob Canyons. The road to this part of the park heads north out of the town of Virgin. It cuts in and out of the national park a couple times.

Entering Another Remote Area in Zion

Our destination is the Wildcat Canyon Trail. This was going to be a bit of a challenging hike for us. If we did it like AllTrails has it listed, it’s 11.3 mile out and back hike with about 1300 feet of elevation gain all in the 7000 to 7500 foot range. There are several other trails that start from this parking area and some of them head into the main canyon to the east. Our trail would take us generally to the north to a spot below Lava Point Overlook. Our plan was to hike the trail until our bodies told us we were at the halfway point and then turn around - presumably well before the listed turnaround point. We got to the parking area and there were a handful of other cars. One group of four was just starting out a few minutes before we made our way out. We hadn’t considered that at this elevation the storm from the other day likely had dropped some snow but it didn’t look like it was an extreme amount so we headed out.

Pretty Start to Hike at Wildcat Canyon

Tree Arch

The temperature was in the upper 30’s when we started but only partly cloudy so the sun was warming things up a bit. The trail conditions varied all over, from dry and firm, to snow covered to icy. Some areas were quite muddy but it started out as frozen mud, so it was okay. After a mile or so, the trail had gotten us over to the side of a canyon and the views became very nice. There was also a lot less tree cover so the snow had gotten a bit deeper and the sun was starting to melt it and the frozen mud was thawing out pretty quickly. We came across the group of hikers that had started just before us. They stopped us to ask where this trail went. We gave them our info but by this point there was no cell coverage so they couldn’t get maps for themselves. There were lots of areas where the trail was turning into a sloppy mess. At about the 3 mile point, we had reached the first peak and we starting our way down. This turned out to be a challenge with the muddy conditions but we pushed on since the views and weather were so nice.

View Along Wildcat Canyon

Beginnings of Muddy Mess

Starting Downhill Portion

Another Canyon View

Some of the rock formations on the opposite side of the canyon were rather fascinating with the rock layers going every which way. At the 3.5 mile point we stopped for half of our lunch and to take in the view of the valley below. We started to formulate our strategy. Turning back now would give us about a 7 mile hike. The problem with this was we knew we had very muddy conditions and by now more of the mud had thawed out so it would be even worse. We didn’t like the sounds of that long of a mud hike. It was just 2 more miles of unknown trail conditions to get over to Lava Point Road which lead up to the main road that would lead back to the car. We knew that way would be a much longer distance but thought the trail conditions would be dramatically better.

Rock Layers

Our Lunch Stop View

So we pressed on. The trail worked its way down to a creek and then up the other side of the canyon. It turned out that this part of the trail was on much better shape and we barely had any snow or mud to contend with. We were thinking we had made a good call to continue and take roads back to the car.

Looking Across Canyon to Trail We Just Hiked

Old Discarded Farm Implements

Unfortunately Lava Point Road was completely snow covered with a few inches of the white stuff. There were some tire tracks but nothing down to dirt or pavement. Plus it turns out that it was nearly 2.5 miles before we would get to the main road and we had to climb 500 feet. Even worse, the road is on the north side of a knoll, so we were in the shade the full time. Midway through the miserable walk up Lava Point Road, we decide to stop and find a log to sit on at the side of the road and have the other half of our lunch. While sitting there, we begin to hear some sort of mechanical noise coming up the hill we had just hiked up. Around the corner comes a large heavy duty truck with an empty gooseneck trailer that had its rear ramps down. The driver was gunning it up the hill presumably to maintain momentum. Good thing we were well off the trail because I doubt he would have seen us in time to stop if he had needed to. Thirty seconds after he passed us he came to an abrupt stop then started gunning the engine again. We could just barely see him around a curve, but it appeared he had slid off the road and now the passenger side of the truck and trailer were in the ditch along the road.

Just as we were finishing up our sandwiches, we heard yet another noise coming from downhill of us. This noise was even more unusual but sounded like some sort of tracked vehicle. Sure enough around the corner comes a small excavator. Not the type of thing we typically see on a hike. He waved as he went by. It appeared that even it was having trouble with the snow and incline. We started our hike up the hill and stood back as the excavator driver used his bucket to nudge the trailer out of the ditch. Once free the truck continued on with his aggressive driving and the excavator just plodded along. The later was moving just a little bit faster than us so we kept him in sight for quite some time. Near the top of the hill, the truck had stopped and the excavator was driven onto the trailer and they simply took off. We still had more than a half mile to go before getting to the main road. On this stretch of road, the snow had melted but left a very wet and slimy road surface. We caught up with the excavator and truck as they were strapping the unit down. Turns out they were performing some work and thought they had some more decent weather left but this last storm caused issues and an even bigger one was being forecast for a few days out so they figured they should get their equipment out while they still could. 

View to North Before Starting Up Road

Chris Plows Ahead

Excavator Gives Trailer a Push

We made it to the main road that would lead us back to the car. The only problem was it was still another 4.5 miles before we would get there. We were definitely second guessing our decision to not backtrack from our lunch spot. It might have been a muddy mess but at least it would only have been a total of 7 miles. At this point we were looking at nearly a 13 mile hike. As we were walking along the road, we saw another guy walking the opposite direction. It seemed unlikely that he made the same mistake as us but just in the opposite direction. We explained what we had done but he didn't elaborate on why he was walking this remote stretch of road with no apparent homes. Twenty minutes later a car drove up from behind and slowed to a stop. It was the guy we had just talked to wanting to know if we needed a ride to the trailhead. We were at just over the 10.6 mile mark so his offer would save us more than 2 miles so we accept his offer. Turned out he owns some of the land adjacent to the road and was performing some maintenance on his fence before the next big snow storm hits. We got back to the car much faster and were able to head back towards camp.

It was late afternoon by now so the sun was casting a nice warm glow on the mountains along Kolob Terrace pull offs. We decided to stop at a few of them along the way to get some pictures and scope out possible hikes we could attempt before we head further south.

Views Along Kolob Terrace Area in Zion

The next day was a Sunday and we really needed a break after our long hike. So we took it easy and watched some football. Later in the afternoon, we drove over to determine how full the Elks Lodge camping area was. We arrived to find only 3 rigs in spots which left plenty even if one or two came in later that night. At least we knew where we could spend the next seven nights.