Category: Hiking

Snow Canyon State Park, Utah

On November 22, 2022, my wife, son, and I left for Snow Canyon State Park in Southern Utah. We met many of our family members to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. We hoped we were far enough south to find warm weather, but it was a particularly cold Thanksgiving, with lows near freezing and highs in the 50s. One family started in a tent and quickly moved into our trailer for warmth.

While it was cold, the weather was otherwise splendid. Most days were sunny and warm enough to spend time outdoors and participate in activities, with little wind and gorgeous sunsets.

We had four trailers, several vehicles, and 19 family members. We stayed in the group site and enjoyed our five-night stay. The group site has more than enough room for dining and activities, but the parking is limited. It might be possible to squeeze a fifth trailer in, but it would be tight.

We love camping for Thanksgiving. It gets the whole family together in an outdoor setting where it is fun to work together. We cook traditional Thanksgiving food, including turkey, ham, potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pies, and more. We cook these foods in Dutch ovens, outdoor stoves, barbecues, etc. One of my sons brought a smoker this year, and our two main turkeys were cooked in it, delicious!

We also set a traditional table, sit together, and consider our blessings and friendships. One great aspect of a camping Thanksgiving is the dirty dishes (paper) go right in the fire. Cleanup is easier than a traditional stay-at-home Thanksgiving.

In the afternoons and early evenings, we played games, painted pictures, or hiked some of the numerous park trails. There were several very close to camp and easily accomplished by our numerous small grandchildren. The views were quite stunning.

The dry waterfall was awesome, but it made me want to visit during or after a significant rainstorm. Of course, you would want to avoid basins and drainages, but it would be incredible to see significant water flowing over that cliff from a high vantage point.

We enjoyed our stay in Snow Canyon State Park. It is always fun to be with family and work together. The park is small but beautiful. We enjoyed the hikes and the relative solitude of the group site. I don’t think the rest of the camping sites are worth considering. In the future, we’ll likely head further south in pursuit of warmth.

NightsTotal NightsMilesTotal Miles
521555420358

Red Canyon Campground, Utah

On Friday, June 29, 2022, we departed for our first outing of 2022. We headed toward Red Canyon Campground, northwest of Bryce Canyon National Park on Highway 12. We weren’t sure whether the campground was open yet or not, so our backup plan was to boondock just east of the campground. Upon arrival at the campground, we were pleased to find it open and nearly empty. The camp hosts informed us that the campground opens each year on the last weekend of April. The campground costs $21 per night but has running water, pit toilets, flush toilets, showers, and a dump station.

We chose site 29 for our stay. The parking spot was reasonably level and approximately 50′ long. The area is shady in the morning until about 10 am and then sunny for the remainder of the day. The table is nestled in the trees and stays shadier longer into the afternoon. Other sites may be better for the hotter months of the year. We would also consider staying in campsites 22, 9, and 1 in that order.

Campsite 22 is up high against the canyon wall affording excellent views. It is very private from others and has a nearly 70′ long driveway. However, the site doesn’t have very good tent spots. Site 9 is a wide, almost double campsite that is very flat, private, and away from the highway. Site 1 is a lovely, large, flat drive-through spot, but the table and firepit are not very private at the end of the drive-through.

We came south to red rock country to do some hiking and enjoy the outdoors. After arriving on Friday afternoon, we hiked straight up from our site until we reached the Golden Wall Trail. After that, we hiked on the trail to the arrow on the map. It was getting late in the day, so we decided to take the Buckhorn Trail dead-end and then return to camp. It was a great little hike. The Buckhorn trail was the highlight of the day. A few areas of the trail are narrow but nothing too tricky with a bit of care.

On Saturday, we walked along the paved bike path running along Highway 12 to the Red Canyon Visitors Center. Then, we took the Golden Wall Trail up to the intersection of the Golden Wall Trail and the Castle Bridge Trail. We debated over which route we would take and even considered making it a loop, but in the end, we chose to take the Castle Bridge Trail.

Eventually, we rejoined the Golden Wall Trail and hiked back to our campsite. While it was an enjoyable hike, those who don’t want to or are unable to hike 5 miles won’t miss much by just doing what we did on Friday. The views on both hikes were phenomenal, and the April weather was nearly perfect.

It was great to get away for the weekend, relax, and go on great hikes. The Red Canyon Campground is excellent, and even though it is close to Highway 12, the noise isn’t too bad after dusk. We’ll very likely return to enjoy some more hiking, and for sure, we’ll ride bikes on the paved bike trail that goes for at least 8 miles and ends in the Bryce Canyon National Park. Can’t wait for the next outing.

NightsTotal NightsMilesTotal Miles
219944219139
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