To the northwest of St. George, UT, I saw a trail labeled Hellhole Canyon on my trail map, so of course I had to check it out. It’s sometimes known as Kayenta Canyon as well, and skirts along the base of Red Mountain. The canyon itself is not visible from the road. There are 2 routes to get to the canyon, either following along the bottom of the wash with a lot of sand and rock, or along the upper rim of the wash, which is a bit easier on knees and ankles. I walked up the wash itself to get to the canyon and returned to my car via the rim.

Getting closer to the canyon, I knew I had picked a perfect trail to explore. I only saw 3 other people on this trail, exactly the way I like to spend time outdoors. The canyon itself veers off to the left, so to see into requires hiking along a well-seen trail into the canyon itself. As with most canyons in this area, the further one goes in the narrower it gets. I followed the trail into the canyon as far as I felt comfortable going. If I had continued on it would have required more scrambling, and I was so happy with where I was that I found a lunch spot near the opening of the canyon and spent quite a while simply taking it all in, sipping my tea, and enjoying the sunshine.

While the name might not be appealing, the canyon and surrounding areas certainly are beautiful.

Northeast of St. George, UT, I read about a hike to Yant Flat/Candy Cliffs that looked interesting. It was a long drive on a dirt forest service road from the Silver Reef area, but the road turned out to be very well maintained (definitely not something to be attempted after rain).

From the parking area, the trail is very sandy through scrub juniper and pine, with views of the Pine Valley Mountains behind. It’s the kind of trail that makes you wonder why you bothered driving out there … but it’s well worth it to come out of the scrub forest to the unique cliffs and rock formations that beg to be explored at trail’s end. Like the Fire Wave at Valley of Fire State Park, the color of the rock will be different depending on time of day and season. While it wasn’t as colorful when I was there as I had seen in photos, it was still incredible to spend the day scrambling around on the rock formations that reminded me of a Dr. Seuss book!

There are 2 main sections to explore. Along the rock areas there aren’t really “trails” per se but large areas to wander and scout and wonder at. I spent several hours simply letting my feet take me wherever they wanted to go, with the only rule being “don’t go down what you aren’t certain you can get back up.”

I love quirky, unique geology, and Valley of Fire State Park between St. George, Utah, and Las Vegas, Nevada, definitely falls into that category. Nearby landscape looks deserted and desolate, until driving inside the park to find strange and contorted jumbles of red rocks and geography. It’s beautiful and well worth a visit! Simply driving the Scenic Road from the visitor center, even without getting out to explore on foot, is beautiful.

Fire Wave

The Fire Wave is about as close as you can get to the more famous “The Wave” near the Utah-Arizona border without needing a highly coveted permit. The 1.5 mile out-and-back hike starts through sand and slickrock with views of colorful sandstone and rock formations. Nearing the wave takes you onto beautiful slickrock streaked with multiple colors, and depending on the light, season, and time of day it can look like a river of fire under your feet. The Fire Wave is a rock outcrop where these swirls of color twist up the sides of the formation in a beautiful pattern. Like the rest of the area, the colors will look different depending on time of day and season.

White Domes Loop

At the end of the scenic road is the White Domes Loop, which offers a little bit of everything and is well worth a visit! Parts of this trail are sandy, others are rocky, and some are on slickrock. From the parking area the trail heads downhill through a somewhat rocky section between short canyon walls. At the far end of the loop is a short but beautiful, and non-technical, slot canyon. The return trip is slightly uphill with sand, rock, and slickrock and beautiful rock formations along the way. I love this trail because it offers a wide variety of colors, textures, views, and canyons in one short hike.

This is one of the places where Utah excels – Utah state parks are above and beyond any other state’s public places that I have ever visited. I fell so in love with Snow Canyon that I bought an annual pass, even though I would be there only 5 weeks. I certainly made good use of it. So many trails, textures, colors, areas, canyons, petrified sand dunes, and lava caves to explore here! It’s a combo-platter of all of the best in the area. Snow Canyon offers a paved bike trail, multiple hiking trails, sand dunes, slot canyons, horse trails, a campground, a visitor center, and ample restrooms and parking areas. Let’s take a tour… Snow Canyon State Park is also home to the threatened Mojave desert tortoise and many other species of animals.

Jenny’s Canyon and Johnson Canyon

Both of these are in the southern section of the park, short and easy trails into beautiful slot canyons. On weekends and holidays, both of these can get fairly crowded since there is limited space for people to spread out, but are both well worth seeing.

Whiptail Trail

The Whiptail trail is a paved bike/walking path paralleling the main road for the lower 2/3 of the park. There were many times that I parked my bike at the upper area, drove to the lower section and hiked up, then coasted on my bike back to the car. Perfect! At one point on the Whiptail trail I almost ran over a 4-foot gopher snake sunning in the late November sun. After stopping and watching it for a while, it finally slithered into the trailside plants.

Hiking Trails – Hidden Pinyon, Petrified Dunes, Butterfly, and Lava Flow

My favorite route for hiking was combining 4 trails. I left my bike at the Lava Flow trailhead, drove down to the parking area by Sand Dunes, and pieced together these 4 trails to end up back at my bike, then coasting on 2 wheels back down to my car. Pretty much a *perfect* hiking/biking day.

The Hidden Pinyon Trail  takes you through some wonderful rock formations at the core of Snow Cayon, part rocky, part sandy, all wonderful. The observation point at the junction of Hidden Pinyon and Petrified Dunes was where I liked to spend time just sitting and looking out in 360-degrees across the length and width of the canyon. A perfect lunch spot, very rarely seeing other people up there.

Petrified Dunes trail is just that, massive sand dunes hardened into rock, with the trail literally scrambling up the sides with markers leading the way. It’s an excellent workout, and another spectacular spot to simply sit and take it all in. I preferred hiking these dunes south to north, with the steeper sections going up and less steep going down. In the opposite direction, be prepared for toe-jamming into your shoes. While there is a “trail” marked across the dunes, it’s a wonderful place to simply explore anywhere, roaming around with the changing views.

Butterfly Trail is a shorter connector trail from the lower section near Petrified Dunes toward the Lava Flow trail, where there are a few small lava tubes/caves that can be explored for those wishing to do so. It’s a really beautiful area, one to not skip over just because it’s shorter.

Lava Flow Trail is in the upper, northern section of the park, where the landscape changes from red sand and petrified dunes to fields of dark, sharp lava rock. To the north are white rocks and cliffs. The color palette here is stunning. We went into one of the lava caves, and while considering the other one decided against it since it required some climbing and contortion to enter that we didn’t feel like attempting that day, and it was crowded so we didn’t want to get stuck at a bottleneck there.

White Rocks Trail

Near the northern, upper entrance to the park is a section of stark white rocks, in contrast to the red canyon walls, sand dunes, and the black lava fields. The trail here is very sandy, and an excellent workout even though it’s not steep. So much variety of terrain in one area!

West Canyon Road – Bicycle

The West Canyon Road is closed to motorized traffic, and is very well maintained so it’s perfect for cycling. The road winds through the floor of the canyon, at the heart of the park. From the access point at the southern Sand Dunes area to the end of the road inside West Canyon and the return trip back is almost exactly 8 miles through incredible terrain, with views all around. Unlike many of the hiking trail viewpoints from above, this road covers the lowest portions of the park, inside the canyon walls.

Padre Canyon – Crazy and fun!

I wanted to experience a more remote area of Snow Canyon State Park with a bit more challenging hiking, and Padre Canyon is exactly that. As with other trails, I parked my bike above at the Red Sands/Hidden Pinyon trailhead, and drove back to the southern, lower entry station. From the entry station, the trail skirts cliffs to the west of Snow Canyon through non-park land, passing by Tuacahn Amphitheater. Past the performing arts center, the trail heads up an increasingly narrow, rocky canyon. As the canyon narrows and gets steeper, the trail becomes progressively more challenging with large boulders and trail-finding through rock fields, with some light scrambling required in sections, but nothing technical. The saddle that the trail goes over is always ahead and above.

The top of the saddle offers amazing views in both directions, both Padre Canyon where I came from, and down the other side into Snow Canyon State Park. It’s a perfect spot to find a lunch rock, rest, and take in the views.

After resting, the trail heads down toward Snow Canyon and the Red Sands trail. Cairns mark the trail in some places, and one spot requires skirting rocks to avoid 2 pools. Once the Padre Canyon trail connects with the Red Sands trail into the main area of Snow Canyon, it’s deep sandy walking for quite a while, which is an excellent form of exercise – thank goodness for beautiful views to distract from shoes filling up with sand! At the end of Red Sands I took the Hidden Pinyon Trail back to where my bike was parked, and coasted down the Whiptail Trail back to my car. What an exhausting but gorgeous day!

During my stay in southern Utah in November 2022, I visited Zion National Park 4 times, each time in a different location with different scenery. I’ve been there during the crowded seasons, so visiting in November was like a breath of fresh air without all the crowds and hordes of tourists.

Kolob Canyons

T. and I visited the Kolob Canyons area, which is a separate area from the main Zion canyon. It was a chilly but sunny 28 degrees F when we drove to the end of the scenic drive. It has snowed several days earlier and the trails were extremely icy, so after enjoying the views and scenery we drove down part way to the Taylor Creek trailhead, a beautiful trail that crosses Taylor Creek multiple times but was easily done by rock-hopping (icy, but fine with using hiking poles!). We didn’t go all the way to the end, but the beginning section that we hiked was gorgeous in and of itself. The canyon progressively narrows, and I want to get back there to explore further in another time.

Canyon Overlook trail

T. and I drove to the main canyon of Zion and decided to drive through the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel. At the time it was built, the tunnel was an engineering marvel. Normally Canyon Junction, the turn for the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, is the farthest that private vehicles are allowed to drive inside of the park.

On the eastern side of the tunnel are very limited parking areas, so we weren’t counting on being able to explore there but did manage to find one spot to park, even though it was off-season and during the week. The hike out to Canyon Overlook is short and showcases some beautiful scenery, with the final viewpoint being an expansive view toward the main Zion canyon. The fall colors, red canyon walls, and crystal-blue sky make it seem like a painting. This is a very well-worthwhile place to visit, but be prepared for parking woes, it’s very difficult to find a spot, especially during the busier seasons and on weekends.

Zion Narrows

One of the fun parts about taking the shuttle bus through Zion National Park is not having to pay attention to the road, so you can focus on the towering walls on both sides of the canyon. We took the shuttle bus to the end of the line, Temple of Sinawava, and hiked along the Virgin River trail to the end, where if you want to continue on it involves hiking in the water itself to enter the Narrows.

Being November and very cold, we decided to stay dry. Even without entering the Narrows, the hike from the parking lot to the end of the trail is well worth a visit. The main trail is paved, but we spent as much time as possible along the riverbank on the many trails that braid through the sandy shores (and are much easier on the knees and low back than pavement). The fall foliage was stunning, and as the light shone through the canyon walls the colors popped. So much beauty here!

Angel’s Landing

I was able to get a next-day permit for Angel’s Landing, which I hadn’t planned on at all, but decided to give it a try because why not??  I’ve seen Angel’s Landing many times from the canyon floor below, and have always thought the view from above must be spectacular. Permit in hand, I started up the West Rim Trail to Scout Lookout, which does not require a permit. Unfortunately the entire trail to Scout Lookout is paved, which is so hard on knees, hips, and low back. Even without going to Angel’s Landing itself, this trail is well worth the views. Just before getting to Scout Lookout, the trail follows Walter’s Wiggles, a series of 21 extremely steep, sharp switchbacks carved into the cliff.

At Scout Lookout, rangers were checking for permits and I headed out onto the cables/chains. It’s about 1500 feet straight down to the valley floor, and most definitely not for anyone with a fear of heights or vertigo. I was holding onto the chains with both hands, and concentrating on each foot placement (and not looking down). After the first section, and looking at the steeper section ahead, I decided that where I was would make a perfect lunch spot with excellent views, and I didn’t feel the need to continue on from there. I spent quite a while watching others continue on, wondering if I’d change my mind, and had a lovely lunch on a flat spot overlooking both sides of the valley floor below. Good enough for me! Heading back on the chains, I hiked a bit further up West Rim Trail for spectacular views of Angel’s Landing from above.

On the way back to the canyon floor (feeling my knees hurt with each step downhill on pavement, ugh!!!) I stopped for a snack and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a massive bird circling above. It was one of the California Condors that live in the Park. They have a 9+ foot wingspan and are a success story in their recovery from near extinction. In 1987 there were only 27 in the world, and thanks to a captive breeding program now number several hundred. It was such an honor to be able to see this majestic bird flying overhead for several minutes, a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Pa’rus Bike Trail

Normally the main Zion canyon is only accessible via shuttle bus with professional drivers, and many people bike the road through the length of the canyon. I had planned on doing that, only to get there and find out it was the first day of the (very short) season when private vehicles were allowed to drive inside. Knowing how much I myself look around the canyon walls while riding the shuttle bus, I decided to not attempt riding my bike on the road with hundreds of tourists looking up instead of paying attention to driving. The best laid plans….

So, instead I had a lovely morning biking the short, paved Pa’rus trail several times. Just being outside in such a beautiful area, soaking up the sunshine and light, and feeling the magic of the place was worth it. I found a peaceful spot along the river to have lunch, where I spent an hour sitting in the sun, watching, listening, and being in the present moment, taking in all that Mother Earth had to show me. Sometimes plans change without notice, and I’m very thankful that I spent the day the way I did.

Utah pulls me back over and over and over, like a strong magnet. While I adore the PNW mountains and forests, I also find so much beauty in the canyon country and desert of Utah. While each of the 5 National Parks there are like no place else on Earth, there are also some other wonderful gems outside of the Big 5 that are well worth exploring. (Links at the bottom of this post.)

In an attempt to postpone my annual winter spiral into the darkness of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), I spent 5 weeks in the St. George area of Utah in November 2022. Daylight is critical for my health and well-being, especially in winter time. I knew it would be cold, but at least in that area there is SUN and LIGHT and so many opportunities for spending time outside. It’s a gorgeous place in the late fall/early winter, and I will most definitely be spending more time there in future years. I don’t mind bundling up for the cold, as long as I can be outdoors walking (not on pavement!) and hiking and biking daily in sunshine. It’s by far the best mood-booster in the world for me.

Unlike other trips, I stayed in one place for 5 weeks, exploring out from that base like spokes in a wheel. While the weather sometimes was cold (below freezing), there were only THREE non-sunny days in a 5-week period. I am solar powered. I can deal with the cold as long as I can be outside and get light. Success!!!

I went to Zion National Park 4 times, Snow Canyon State Park more times than I could count (what an incredible place to bike and hike – Wow!), Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, and many other areas in the region like Yant Flat and Hellhole Canyon.  Travel virtually with me to some fantastic scenery in the far southwest corner of Utah. Please link to the individual posts by clicking on the names above.

I had such a wonderful trip to Colorado and Utah in September (see HERE).

I feel so fortunate that I was able to get in 3 last good-weather hikes at Tahoma/Mt. Rainier before the rains and autumn weather showed up with a bang. Last year there was no transition, we went straight from summer to BAM winter weather. I’m grateful that this year I was able to say goodnight to my sweet Mountain and get to these places before the roads closed for winter.

Skyscraper Pass out of the Sunrise area is so beautiful, and I very often see mountain goats there. Even with our record snow pack from last winter, it was scary to see how low Frozen Lake was after 4+ months of virtually no rainfall.

Naches Loop trail at Chinook Pass is a must for fall colors. I’ve seen more vibrant colors in previous years, but it was still beautiful, on a glorious sunny fall day.

Finally, I hiked up to the Tolmie Lookout from the Mowich Lake area. At this point there was a lot of wildfire smoke, but I had a small window of clear air and I went for it! So glad I did. I think this is perhaps my favorite view of the Mountain.

Goodnight, my sweet Tahoma – I’ll see you again next summer!