Oh Utah … you are truly magnificent! We left the campsite around 10 and headed to Snow Canyon, right outside of St. George. My mouth stood agape as I saw such beauty everywhere. We have seen so much beauty on this trip but this was different. Every place we have been has not been near a town or populated. However the town of St. George was beautifully built around the canyons. It is well kept, underpasses are beautiful, mountains are gorgeous with well manicured bike paths throughout and nothing is left undone or disheveled.

As we drove into Snow Canyon I knew right where we were going. I had all ready planned our hikes and had decided to bring the rad wagons instead of hiking from trailhead to trailhead. Which let me tell you, is a good thing we did. I am grateful we had the rad bikes as well, as a lot of the bike trails are riding uphill and our children would not have fared well. We decided to first hike the Butterfly trail. This trail leads you to the lava stones as well as two caves you can descend down into. The trail itself has some scrambling but nothing our 5 year old wasn’t able to hike and no drop offs that made me weary. Imagine just a big mound of sand that has petrified into stone – no cliff drop offs just rolling mounds to climb up. Graceful almost.

The lava stones were really a site to see. Some were large and smooth while others were rough and the consistency of dried coral. The caves were about .5 a mile in over rocks, petrified mountains and lots of sand. (So be prepared, you will be walking through deep sand as well.) The first cave we came to was much deeper than the second one. I would recommend bringing a flash light as it is completely dark once you get down inside. Your phone flashlight will not be sufficient for what you want to see and could be easily dropped and lost within the rocks below. (This happened to someone while we were exploring. It was not found.) We turned off our flashlights and just sat in the complete darkness and stillness. The temperature had also dropped as we descended deeper into the cave. All of which was all very interesting to teach the children about. The second cave we chose not to descent in to. The hole was much smaller and seemed less safe for the children.

We hit the road on our rad wagons, unsure of where our next stop would be but knowing it would definitely be to have lunch. We rode past a sign for Jenny’s Canyon, in which we found out was a slot canyon trailhead. We immediately parked the bikes and hit the trail. Found a rock to eat lunch on and enjoy the sun before continuing on. The hike up to the canyon was perfect. Our children were easily able to climb up to it and after a few people left we were able to have it all to ourselves. The walls seemed to touch the sky. I am in such awe at what this world beholds for us. All we have to do is take a chance to explore and you will never be the same.

On our way back to the car we hit the Whiptail Trail – which is perfect for riding bikes up and down. It is a paved trail that essentially takes you from the second trailhead all the way to the sand dunes at the bottom of the road. Jenny’s Canyon is not far beyond the sand dunes on your left. If our children were older I would climb all over these canyons. They are extraordinary and all look fairly easily to scramble up. We came across a campground when we were arriving, it is right inside the canyon and looked beautiful. We will look into staying there next time. https://preview.tinyurl.com/y6huw8bg

We rode into St. George afterwards for groceries and coffee. We did not find a great coffee shop but they do have all the shopping conveniences as home. Target being the most loved. HA! I ended up going to Harmon’s Grocery which I would describe as part Whole Foods part Kroger. I loved it. My daughter and I are having an early night in while the boys are with our friends – remember the amazing ones we met at Wahweap? They are here too for two more nights, and we are so happy about that!

ZION tomorrow!