Snow Canyon State Park

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Snow Canyon State Park
Designation	State park
Location	Utah USA
Nearest Cities	Ivins, Utah, Santa Clara, Utah, St. George, Utah
Coordinates	37°12′11″N, 113°38′29″W
Elevation	960 meters (3150 feet) to 1531 meters (5024 feet)
Area	5,738 acres (23.2 km²)
Date of Establishment	1959
Governing Body	Utah State Parks

Snow Canyon State Park is a State Park in Washington County, southwestern Utah, United States. Within the state park boundaries lies a canyon carved from the red and white Navajo sandstone the Red Mountains near Ivins, Utah. Other geological features of the state park include extinct cinder cones, lava tubes, lava flows, and sand dunes.

Contents 1 About 2 Facilities 3 Climate 4 History 5 Flora and fauna 6 Trails 7 External links

[edit] About

Snow Canyon is named after early Mormon settlers, Lorenzo and Erastus Snow. It was designated as a Utah State Park in 1959.

Two canyons, West Canyon and Snow Canyon, begin side-by-side at the north gouging deeply into the sandstone of the Red Mountains, each canyon then running southward, slowly converging then finally meeting in the middle of the park. From there Snow Canyon continues south-by-southeastward as a single, larger canyon. Near the park's southern entrance, the canyon ends, its mouth opening out onto the Santa Clara bench near Ivins, Utah.

Immediately west of the park's southern entrance, in Padre Canyon, a smaller canyon paralleling Snow Canyon, is the Tuacahn Amphitheater, home of the Tuacahn Summer Festival of Theater.

A paved two-lane road enters the park from Ivins on the south, winds up the canyon a ways, then climbs up the eastern edge to the bench above Snow Canyon, where the road joins Utah State Route 18. Ancient lava flows spill over the eastern edges of Snow Canyon from above, where the road climbs out of the canyon.

The park boundaries extend northeastward, across Utah State Route 18, to encompass two cinder cones along the western edge of Diamond Valley.

The highest point in the park, according to a U.S. Geological Survey topgraphical map, is a peak 1531 meters in elevation (5024 feet) nearly due west of the southern cinder cone, standing above the eastern edge of the east fork of Snow Canyon.

[edit] Facilities

Park Open - All Year Reservations Accepted - All Year Stay Limit - 5 days Total Units - 35 RV Trailer Sites - 17 Maximum RV Length - 35 ft. Tent Sites - 34 Utility Hookups - 14 Group Camping - $75/$3 Camping Fee with hookups $17 Camping Fee with out hookups $14

Day-use Fee - $5 Picnicking Group Pavilion - $50/$3 Drinking Water available Modern Rest Rooms available Vault Toilets Showers Waste Disposal Hiking Biking Watchable Wildlife

[edit] Climate

[edit] History

[edit] Flora and fauna

Wildlife in Snow Canyon includes the gila monster, desert tortoise, giant desert hairy scorpion, Mojave sidewinder, red-spotted toad, Utah banded gecko, and the side-blotched lizard, among many others.

[edit] Trails

Whiptail Trail - 6 miles. Easy. Level with some slopes. Accessible to physically challenged. Tucked along the canyon bottom, this sinuous paved trail is suitable for hiking, jogging, biking and rollerblading.

Johnson Canyon - (Open November 15 to March 1 only) - 2 miles. Easy. Level with some rocky slopes and steps. Boasting the only riparian area in the park, this trail winds through lava flows and red rock to an arch spanning 200 feet.

Jenny's Canyon - (Closed March 31 to June 1) -One-half mile. Easy, level with few slopes and steps. Trail leads to a narrow, sculpted canyon.

Sand Dunes - One-half mile. Easy. Deep sand with some slopes. Trail leads to a large expanse of red sand that is an excellent play area for children of all ages.

West Canyon Road - 7 miles. Easy. Gravel and sand surface. Fairly level. Trail follows a maintenance road winding past washes and towering cliffs to the mouth of present-day Snow Canyon.

Pioneer Names - One-half mile. Easy. Fairly level with some steps and slopes. This crescent-shaped trail passes pioneer names written in axle grease, dating back to 1883.

Hidden Pinyon - 1.5 miles. Moderate. Rocky slopes. Drop-offs. This self-guided nature trail introduces geological features and native plants of the park.

Three Ponds - 3.5 miles. Moderate. Some rocky slopes. Deep sand. Trail winds through sandy washes to mouth of a 400-foot canyon. Potholes eroded in sandstone catch seasonal rain, giving the trail its name.

Petrified Dunes Trail - 1 mile. Moderate. Some steep slopes, uneven surfaces. This trail crosses massive sandstone outcrops where you may explore sand dunes frozen in time.

Butterfly Trail - 2 miles. Moderate. Some steep slopes, steps and uneven surfaces. Winding along the west side of Petrified Dunes, this trail leads to West Canyon Overlook and lava tubes.

White Rocks Trail/Lava Flow Overlook - 4 miles. Moderate. Some rocky slopes, uneven surfaces. Passing through lava flows, juniper stands and breathtaking views of West Canyon, trail leads to a natural amphitheater set in white sandstone. Or reach the amphitheater on a 1-mile trail located one-half mile north of State Route 18 junction.

[edit] External links

• Official Snow Canyon State Park Site

v • d • e Parks of Utah
National Parks	Arches National Park • Bryce Canyon National Park • Canyonlands National Park • Capitol Reef National Park • Zion National Park
National Monuments	Cedar Breaks National Monument • Dinosaur National Monument • Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument • Hovenweep National Monument • Natural Bridges National Monument • Rainbow Bridge National Monument • Timpanogos Cave National Monument
State Parks Northern Region	Antelope Island State Park • Bear Lake • Camp Floyd State Park • Deer Creek State Park • East Canyon State Park • Great Salt Lake State Park • Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail • Jordanelle State Park • Hyrum Lake State Park • Red Fleet State Park • Rockport State Park • Starvation State Park • Steinaker State Park • Utah Lake • Wasatch Mountain • Willard Bay State Park
State Parks Central Region	Fremont Indian State Park • Goblin Valley State Park • Green River State Park • Huntington State Park • Millsite State Park • Palisade State Park • Scofield State Park • Territorial Statehouse • Yuba Lake State Park
State Parks Southern Region	Anasazi Indian State Park • Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park • Dead Horse Point State Park • Edge Of the Cedars State Park • Escalante State Park • Goosenecks State Park • Gunlock State Park  • Iron Mission State Park • Kodachrome Basin State Park • Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument • Otter Creek State Park • Piute State Park • Quail Creek State Park • Sand Hollow State Park • Snow Canyon State Park
Municipal parks	Ft. Buenaventura • Lost Creek Reservoir • Jordan River Parkway • Minersville Reservoir • Veterans Memorial Park • This Is The Place Heritage Park