looking for kid friendly hikes near st george (St. George, Santa Clara: condo, how much)

[fleeNY]

My family and I will be out there this weekend checking out the area. Can you guys recommend some kid friendly hikes near by?

We've never been out there and my son is 4. I have a kid carrier... looking for a trail I can hit for a few hours

Any info would be appreciated!

[markg91359]

1. Pick any of the hikes in Snow Canyon State Park. You can go to a place where pioneers wrote on the wall. You can go to something called Johnson's Arch. Or you can just walk along the west side of the canyon on a paved trail that goes for miles. You decide how far you want to go.

2. Indian Petroglyphs on Highway 91, northwest of Santa Clara (suburb of St. George). The Bureau of Land Management maintains a site where you can walk about a mile up a trail and find Indian petroglyphs in rocks above the Santa Clara River Valley. If you can't find the Petroglyphs than ask. They are along the side of the cliff. I think you could take a young child there if you were careful. Its called the Tempi Po Op Trail.

http://www.allzion.com/history_museu...etroglyphs.php

3. Desert trails along the condo complexes along Tuacahn Drive and the road out to Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins (another suburb) These trails are marked with signs. If you get lucky you may see a desert tortoise.

If you have any more questions, send me a private message.

[fleeNY]

Originally Posted by markg91359

1. Pick any of the hikes in Snow Canyon State Park. You can go to a place where pioneers wrote on the wall. You can go to something called Johnson's Arch. Or you can just walk along the west side of the canyon on a paved trail that goes for miles. You decide how far you want to go.

2. Indian Petroglyphs on Highway 91, northwest of Santa Clara (suburb of St. George). The Bureau of Land Management maintains a site where you can walk about a mile up a trail and find Indian petroglyphs in rocks above the Santa Clara River Valley. If you can't find the Petroglyphs than ask. They are along the side of the cliff. I think you could take a young child there if you were careful. Its called the Tempi Po Op Trail.

Ivins, Utah Petroglyphs - AllTrips

3. Desert trails along the condo complexes along Tuacahn Drive and the road out to Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins (another suburb) These trails are marked with signs. If you get lucky you may see a desert tortoise.

If you have any more questions, send me a private message.

exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the info!

[Chickrae]

The Red Cliffs hike is amazing! It's about 10 miles north of St. George off I-15. We had family visiting and took them there Sunday (82 degrees) before this rain came. It's fun with a swimming hole at the end of it.

[fleeNY]

Originally Posted by Chickrae

The Red Cliffs hike is amazing! It's about 10 miles north of St. George off I-15. We had family visiting and took them there Sunday (82 degrees) before this rain came. It's fun with a swimming hole at the end of it.

Thanks Chickrae! can't wait to get out there and see some awesomeness

[GoOutsideAndPlay]

Not sure how much time you have for hiking so here's a wide variety of suggestions. We typically hike every Sunday afternoon as a family and there are many diverse hikes within a short drive of St. George. For more "open" landscape type hikes, you can't go wrong with the suggestions for Snow Canyon. Very family friendly (except Cinder Cone) and very pretty. For more open hiking, I also liked Yellow Knolls Trail north of St. George. It funnels down between lava flows and checkerboard sandstone for a unique contrasting hike - flowers should be blooming (2 hours).
Yellow Knolls Trail

Since you've haven't been out here, Zion is quite amazing. But, it will take up most of the day. It takes an hour to get there and will be pretty busy. The busses are running, so while nice, takes more time. I recommend Emerald Pools or Riverside Walk with a little guy. Enjoy Springdale - lunch at Oscars is quite good. Neat little town.

We also love Red Cliffs. It's a really neat area with hikes going into the canyons. More trees and plants than in Snow Canyon. Red Reef trail has a small stream with waterfalls etc. and is pretty short if you stop at the rope feature (less than 1 hour). It's a little tricky to find, but is marked. After the pay station, park at the lot right BEFORE the shallow stream crossing. The trail head is about 30 yards before the crossing on the left.
Red Cliffs Recreation Area

For a more "wooded" hike, take a short drive north on I-15 to exit 40 and hit the Kolob section of Zion. It get's way fewer tourists and is worth the 30 minute drive. Elevation is higher (5,500), so the temps will be about 10 degess cooler (low 70's). Try Middle Taylor Creek (it's 5 miles round trip to the arch, but you can stop and turn around at any point). You cross over the creek a number of times, which is neat. You can rock hop across if you don't want to get your feet wet. Might take trekking poles for balance. http://www.citrusmilo.com/zionguide/taylorcreek.cfm Or, try the shorter Timber Creek at the end of Kolob Canyon Rd.

If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, Wariner Valley Dinosaur Track Site might interst your 4 year old. It's a very short walk from the parking area and nice views. You can easily see the bigger tracks. It's just southeast of St. George, but on dirt roads so it takes 30 minutes to get there. There is also a sand dune that stretches for several hundred yards that's pretty deep and IMO you need a 4 wheel drive to get through.

If you have an hour one evening and just want a fun little rock-climbing playground, try Pioneer Park up on the cliff overlooking St. George.

[fleeNY]

Originally Posted by GoOutsideAndPlay

Not sure how much time you have for hiking so here's a wide variety of suggestions. We typically hike every Sunday afternoon as a family and there are many diverse hikes within a short drive of St. George. For more "open" landscape type hikes, you can't go wrong with the suggestions for Snow Canyon. Very family friendly (except Cinder Cone) and very pretty. For more open hiking, I also liked Yellow Knolls Trail north of St. George. It funnels down between lava flows and checkerboard sandstone for a unique contrasting hike - flowers should be blooming (2 hours).
Yellow Knolls Trail

Since you've haven't been out here, Zion is quite amazing. But, it will take up most of the day. It takes an hour to get there and will be pretty busy. The busses are running, so while nice, takes more time. I recommend Emerald Pools or Riverside Walk with a little guy. Enjoy Springdale - lunch at Oscars is quite good. Neat little town.

We also love Red Cliffs. It's a really neat area with hikes going into the canyons. More trees and plants than in Snow Canyon. Red Reef trail has a small stream with waterfalls etc. and is pretty short if you stop at the rope feature (less than 1 hour). It's a little tricky to find, but is marked. After the pay station, park at the lot right BEFORE the shallow stream crossing. The trail head is about 30 yards before the crossing on the left.
Red Cliffs Recreation Area

For a more "wooded" hike, take a short drive north on I-15 to exit 40 and hit the Kolob section of Zion. It get's way fewer tourists and is worth the 30 minute drive. Elevation is higher (5,500), so the temps will be about 10 degess cooler (low 70's). Try Middle Taylor Creek (it's 5 miles round trip to the arch, but you can stop and turn around at any point). You cross over the creek a number of times, which is neat. You can rock hop across if you don't want to get your feet wet. Might take trekking poles for balance. http://www.citrusmilo.com/zionguide/taylorcreek.cfm Or, try the shorter Timber Creek at the end of Kolob Canyon Rd.

If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, Wariner Valley Dinosaur Track Site might interst your 4 year old. It's a very short walk from the parking area and nice views. You can easily see the bigger tracks. It's just southeast of St. George, but on dirt roads so it takes 30 minutes to get there. There is also a sand dune that stretches for several hundred yards that's pretty deep and IMO you need a 4 wheel drive to get through.

If you have an hour one evening and just want a fun little rock-climbing playground, try Pioneer Park up on the cliff overlooking St. George.

I know as far as hiking goes the options are endless... this is a huge help!

[Jhonen's #1 fanboy]

Theres one in zion, but I forget the name. Its like Riverside Walk or something.