4 Must-Do Hikes In Snow Canyon State Park + 1 Bonus Trail

Anytime I visit St George Utah, I try to find time to go hiking in Snow Canyon State Park. Snow Canyon is filled with amazing geographic features including multi-colored sandstone cliffs, extinct volcanoes, lava fields, and petrified sand dunes. And the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful! While there are 19 different hiking trails in Snow Canyon State Park for you to choose from, I do have my favorites. Here’s a look at my must-do hikes in Snow Canyon that will provide you with the full spectrum of everything this great southern Utah state park has to offer.

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Visiting Snow Canyon

But first, let me start with a few facts that will be useful for your visit to Snow Canyon.

Snow Canyon State Park is located about 11 miles northwest of St George, Utah. It is open from 6am – 10pm every day. The park has two main entrances. The south entrance is near the town of Ivins. The north entrance is off Highway 18 on the way to Dammeron Valley and Veyo. In between the two entrance gates, a single road winds its way through the main part of the Park.

You’ll find a booth and gate at each entrance, but nowadays you pay your entry fee using self-pay. It currently costs $15 for Utah residents to enter Snow Canyon State Park. It costs $20 for non-residents. You can either pay this fee via an on-site payment envelope or online with a QR code.

Two of these featured hikes in Snow Canyon are outside the Park’s main gates. But you will still be expected to pay the entry fee. Signage at the parking areas will give you the QR code, and you will enter your license plate number as part of the payment process.

I’ve personally never struggled to find a parking spot when hiking in Snow Canyon. All of these great hikes in Snow Canyon have a dedicated parking lot. Some of these hikes are more popular than others though, and roadside parking is not allowed. So it is possible that you may have to wait a bit for a spot to open up at the Petrified Dunes or Lava Flow parking lots on busy weekends.

And finally, when you hike in Snow Canyon, you will want to take plenty of water and sunscreen. You won’t find any shade in the Park. And no vending machines either. You also won’t find any snow in the Park. Snow Canyon is named after two Mormon pioneers who helped settle the area…not the white stuff.

The Petrified Dunes Trail

I’m going to start with my favorite hike of the bunch. If you only have time for one of these hikes in Snow Canyon, then this is the one to take. The Petrified Dunes Trail is located in the center of the Park and takes you across a dense collection of petrified sand dunes. The hike is 1.2 miles round trip and AllTrails rates it as Easy (though this rating is questionable as I will explain below).

These amazing variegated rock formations were once large dunes of sand that petrified into sandstone over the millennia. It’s quite the experience to hike up and down these ancient dunes. Plus the surrounding views of Snow Canyon are some of the Park’s best.

As you hike this trail, you’ll see markers from time to time, helping to guide you. But it’s easy to stray while scampering over all the cool rock formations. However, since the trail is in the center of the canyon, you won’t get lost. And if there is ever any question, just look for the directional arrows affixed to the dunes.

While hiking across the dunes, you should also watch for Snow Canyon’s famous Moqui Marbles. These are small balls of sandstone coated by an iron ore. This geologic phenomenon is most commonly found in Utah, Arizona, and Mars. Yes, the Red Planet! Though the Martian version is formed exclusively from iron ore.

The name Moqui is a Native American term from the Hopi Tribe. They believed their dead ancestors would come down from the heavens at night and play games with the marbles. They would then leave the marbles behind as a sign that all was well in the afterlife. Hikers in Snow Canyon also need to leave them behind – it’s illegal to remove Moqui Marbles from the Park. But seeing them helps make this one of the best hikes in Snow Canyon.

If you want to extend this hike by another quarter mile, I would recommend finishing at the Hidden Pinyon Overlook. The end of the Petrified Dunes Trail joins up with the Hidden Pinyon Trail, and takes you to the top of a small volcanic hill. This hill offers spectacular 360 degree views of Snow Canyon. The Petrified Dunes themselves are in the center right of the photo below.

A final note about this hike. I do not agree with the Alltrails easy rating. I would rate this hike as moderate (and the Park’s trail guide rates it as moderate, too). As you can see in the photos above, the sandstone hills are quite steep at times, and the surface of the sandstone is very irregular. Sure-footedness is a necessity and I think hikers with mobility issues would struggle.

The Whiterocks Amphitheater Trail

If you look again at the photo above, you’ll see cliffs of white sandstone in the distance. The next of these must-do hikes in Snow Canyon takes you into the very heart of those white cliffs – into the Whiterocks Amphitheater. This hike is a 1.1 miles round trip, and AllTrails rates it as Moderate (and I agree this time).

The trail starts off flat and will take you across a lava field towards the white sandstone cliffs in the distance. You will see lots of lava while hiking in Snow Canyon. Thousands of years ago, there was volcanic activity in this part of Utah. And this ancient volcanic activity will feature very prominently in the final two hikes I share.

Ultimately you will come to a fork in the trail and the marker will direct you to either the Amphitheater Trail to the right or the Whiterocks Trail to the left. The Whiterocks trail is a much longer trail and will take you down into the center of Snow Canyon. Obviously then, to reach the Whiterocks Amphitheater, head right.

You’ll soon start a gentle ascent, through more lava rock, directly up to the cliffs of white sandstone.

You’ll then see a trail marker directing you up the slope of sandstone itself. This is the most challenging part of the hike. It’s moderately steep, but sandstone provides great footing, and so it’s not particularly difficult unless you have mobility issues.

After a short and scenic climb, you will enter the Whiterocks Amphitheater. This is a natural amphitheater surrounded by all that white sandstone. It’s a very cool spot! And as opposed to the more crowded Petrified Dunes hike, we mostly had this section of Snow Canyon State Park to ourselves. On a late Friday morning in May, we saw only two other hikers and their dog. .

The trail ends at the base of the Amphitheater, but you are free to explore the surrounding walls. I climbed up the back of the Amphitheater (which is where I took the above photo – looking back down). And then at the very top, I found spectacular views down into the red sandstone of Snow Canyon below. I definitely recommend you take that opportunity. It was not very difficult or unsafe to reach this viewpoint.

The Cinder Cone Trail

Now let’s talk a little bit more about all the lava rock in Snow Canyon. The Park sits within what is called the Santa Clara Volcanic Field. Thousands of years ago, the area experienced quite a bit of volcanic activity – as I mentioned in the last section. And two small extinct volcanoes (called cinder cones) sit just north of the Park. It’s estimated that these cinder cones last erupted around 27000 years ago, and are responsible for the black lava rock that you’ll find in Snow Canyon (and throughout the St George area.)

And the next of these great hikes in Snow Canyon will take you to the top of one of these extinct volcanoes. On Google Maps this small volcano is called the Diamond Valley Cinder Cone. And the hike is called the Cinder Cone Trail. This hike is 2.2 miles round trip and AllTrails rates it as Moderate.

The Cinder Cone Trail starts out flat from the parking lot and takes you through some dense lava flow. But it ultimately wraps along the southeastern side of the small volcano, where it starts to ascend.

As you reach the south side of the cinder cone, some spectacular views out across Snow Canyon will start to open up. These views are reason enough to include this as one of the great hikes in Snow Canyon.

The closer you get to the top of the cinder cone, the harder the hike becomes. It does get quite steep for a bit, and this steeper part of the trail is covered in loose gravel. Going up isn’t too bad. But going down can be a challenge. I did end up scooting along on my butt in certain areas. Walking sticks would have been very useful – so if you have them, take them. Given the general difficulty of this section, I would rate the hike in the higher ranges of Moderate. (The Snow Canyon website ranks the Cinder Cone Trail as Difficult – though I think this is the only section that qualifies.)

But it’s worth it! Because when you get to the top, you can actually look down into cinder cone’s crater. And the trail takes you around the crater’s entire circumference. There is even a trail that will take you down to the bottom if you wish. But we didn’t take it – it looked pretty steep.

However, the walk around the crater is a very unique experience. How often do you get to walk around the edge of volcano? And the views are amazing! You should be able to understand why I consider this one of the must-do hikes in Snow Canyon. (You can get even more detail about this hike on my post The Cinder Cone Trail – An Amazing Hike Up A Utah Volcano)

The Lava Flow Trail to the Lava Tubes

The final of these featured hikes in Snow Canyon will allow you to explore another type of unique volcanic geography – the Snow Canyon lava tubes. The Lava Flow Trail is in the main part of the park, down below the Diamond Valley Cinder Cone and not far from the Petrified Dunes Trail. The Lava Flow Trail in its entirety is 2.6 miles round trip. However, the key feature of this hike is its Lava Tubes. And if you only take the trail to the most distant lava tube and back, the hike is 1.4 miles roundtrip. AllTrails rates this hike as Moderate.

So what is a lava tube? It’s an underground channel formed by flowing lava. Once the lava is done flowing and comes to the surface, empty tunnels and caves remain. You’ll discover three lava tubes while hiking the Lava Flow Trail, and two of these are explorable. I think this unique opportunity firmly places the Lava Flow Trail as one of the great hikes in Snow Canyon.

The trail itself can be a little tricky. You will be hiking through a lava field. And while the hike to the lava tubes is relatively flat, it can be challenging in spots. Lava rock often protrudes in the middle of the trail. So through certain sections (like the one below), you will want to watch every step. A stumble here would be painful.

Each of the explorable lava tubes has signage and they are located just off the trail. The first of these is pictured below. You’ll approach it after hiking about a half mile.

If you choose to enter these lava tubes, you’ll want to come prepared. The lava tubes are very dark inside and you will need a light source. We used headlamps. I would not recommend using the light on your phone. Sometimes, you will need both hands to navigate your way around the interior of the tubes. It would be very easy to drop and damage your phone on the irregular lava surface. (Also, the lava scratched up the surface of Mrs. TT’s Apple Watch. So put your watch in a pocket!)

But if you come prepared, exploring these lava tubes is well worth it. This first lava tube is tighter on the inside than the second. Mrs. TT was able to work her way in further than I could.

The second explorable lava tube isn’t much further along the trail – about another 0.2 miles beyond. It’s much larger and easier to access. In fact, it’s more like a cave than a tube, with several chambers. And it has two different entrances. I entered into the east side and was able to work my way about 70 feet into the depth of the tube. Again it was very dark inside, and the surfaces were very irregular. It would be very easy to lose your footing and fall to the ground without proper lighting. Bring a headlamp! They are inexpensive on Amazon!

From this final lava tube, the Lava Flow Trail the will take you further into the Snow Canyon valley for another half mile or so – if you want to keep going. But I think the Lava Tubes are the highlight of this hike.

(You should also note that a trail called the Butterfly Trail connects the Petrified Dunes Trail parking lot to the Lava Tube trail. Both explorable lava tubes sit directly on either side of the T-junction. So if you want to park in only one parking lot and see the key features of two of these great hikes in Snow Canyon, then using the Butterfly Trail is a good option.)

A Bonus Jaunt – Jenny’s Canyon Trail

I debated whether or not to include Jenny’s Canyon Trail as one of the must-do hikes in Snow Canyon. It’s so short (0.4 miles round trip) that I find it hard to really categorize as a hike. It’s more like a quick jaunt. But this quick jaunt will take you into a slot canyon, so it’s definitely worth your time. You’ll want to know that because this trail is so short and easy, Jenny’s Canyon is very popular. Therefore, you can expect to be sharing that slot canyon with plenty of other Snow Canyon visitors.

Jenny’s Canyon Trail does have its own parking lot, and from the parking lot you can see the slit in the canyon walls close by (it’s straight up from the trail in the photo below.)

The hike is mostly flat, except for a very easy climb near the mouth of Jenny’s Canyon. My 83 year old Mom accompanied me on this hike, and did fine. And the canyon is indeed worth the stop!

Southern Utah’s slot canyons are always very fascinating. If you would like to learn about a larger slot canyon that we’ve explored in Southern Utah then check out my post on Peek-A-Boo Canyon near Kanab.

Final Thoughts

It should now be clear why visiting Snow Canyon is one of the very best things to do in St George Utah. And these must-do hikes in Snow Canyon State Park will give you a great taste of everything this amazing Park has to offer. Each hike is unique and none of them require a lot of time to complete.

If you are ambitious, you could hike all 5 trails in a single day. Or you could easily hit all 5 trails over the course of a weekend visit. Or if you are Utahn like me, and visit the St George area often, you can hike 1 or 2 every time you are in the area. But regardless of how you see them, definitely try to check out each of these must-do hikes in Snow Canyon at some point.

If previously written a post with more detail about our experience hiking the Petrified Dunes & exploring the Lava Tubes. So check it out if you want to learn more: Exploring the Petrified Dunes & Lava Tubes of Snow Canyon

If want to read about more great hikes in Southern Utah, then be sure to check out my post on The Two Best Hikes In Bryce Canyon National Park