Beyond Zion: Unveiling the Scenic Wonders of Snow Canyon State Park
One of the most renowned destinations in Utah is Zion National Park, and for good reason. With its majestic sandstone cliffs, winding narrow valleys, and array of wildlife, Zion National Park is a scenic slice of Earth’s beauty. However, it’s not the only impressive park in Utah that represents our planet’s grandeur.
Snow Canyon State Park: A Hidden Gem
Snow Canyon State Park is another picturesque destination near Zion National Park. Although it’s not often discussed, Snow Canyon State Park spans 7,400 acres of quiet desert terrain, adorned with massive sandstone cliffs, volcanic rock, diverse plant and animal life, and rock faces carved with pioneers’ names. It’s an ideal spot for walking, camping, biking, or horseback riding on less-traveled trails, offering beautiful and breathtaking experiences similar to Zion, but with fewer crowds.
Our Business Development Manager, Jessica Johnson, recently visited Snow Canyon State Park with her family to enjoy some of its many wonders. While this wasn’t Jessica’s first time at the park, it was her kids’ first visit. Experiencing the terrain with her family gave her a renewed appreciation for the landscape and all it has to offer. Here’s what Jessica shared with our team after her day trip with her husband and kids.
1. Why did you choose to visit Snow Canyon State Park?
This state park is only 15 minutes from where we live, and we were excited to take our kids there for the first time! We wanted to let them run around and explore, so we arrived at about 7:45 am MT to beat the heat—and it turned out that we beat everybody else, too.
What’s really cool about Snow Canyon State Park is that there aren’t many hikes where you need to pack various supplies, like canteens of water and a lunch. There are plenty of awesome spots where you can explore and take as much or as little time as you want on the trails. My kids could run around freely, which was super fun.
2. One of the trails you enjoyed was the Petrified Dunes. What was memorable about it?
We spent the most time on the Petrified Dunes Trail, which is about a mile long. The trail is really cool because it crosses acres of Navajo sandstone that resemble sand dunes frozen in time. My kids loved the Petrified Dunes. It wasn’t a hard trail—they didn’t have to climb big rocks but rather explored the rolling waves of sandstone cascading over the land.
3. You also ventured along the Sand Dunes trail. What stood out to you there?
This trail is so unique because it starts with a narrow path that leads to a barren knoll. Once you go over it, you’re greeted by sand dunes as far as the eye can see. Because we arrived early in the morning, there weren’t any other footprints—just waves of sand shaped by the wind, with massive mountains and brush in the background. The Sand Dunes trail is only about 10 minutes long, making it great and easy for families. While it’s not suitable for strollers, my two-year-old did just fine.
4. What kind of wildlife did you notice in Snow Canyon State Park?
We saw lots of lizards. When we went to the sand dunes, my boys had fun exploring and following tracks. They could tell which ones belonged to lizards because you could see the shape of a tail snaking through the sand. My older son wondered if there were kangaroo mice on the trail as well because some tracks showed hopping patterns too small to be rabbits. We couldn’t figure out exactly what animals left the tracks, but my boys still enjoyed following them and guessing.
5. What stood out to you most about Snow Canyon State Park’s geology?
While walking on the trails, we noticed red sandstone cliffs and pockets of volcanic rock, creating a unique and striking contrast. The volcanic rock was a surprising feature of the landscape—it appears in many places, especially at the beginning of the trails we walked. My kids picked up handfuls of volcanic rocks during our visit, although some were massive boulders that you could only gaze at in awe.
Another interesting aspect of Snow Canyon State Park is that not all of the Navajo sandstone is burnt orange or red; some are a creamy white color. For example, there were spots where vegetation grew around red Navajo knolls, with creamy white Navajo sandstone mountains in the background. The variety in geology and rock colors within this one state park was fascinating to see.
6. What did you learn about the history of Snow Canyon State Park?
There’s a trail called Pioneer Names that’s particularly interesting. As you walk along, you can see red sandstone rock faces with pioneers’ names carved into them. We ran into a volunteer at the park who mentioned how extraordinary it was to see these names etched into the cliffs. We didn’t visit the information center to learn more, but it was still a special feature that highlighted the area’s history.
7. What trails would you recommend for visitors at Snow Canyon State Park?
The Petrified Dunes and Sand Dunes trails are great for families with young kids. The Johnson Canyon Trail is also intriguing and scenic, but there are many different trails at Snow Canyon State Park. There’s also so much to do in the canyon. Many people bike through the park, and some were even rock climbing near the pioneer names carved into the rock faces.
8. If you could gather data in Snow Canyon State Park for a project in Surfer or Grapher, what would you do?
It would be so awesome to gather data to pinpoint where the volcanic eruptions happened and how the lava spread to understand why volcanic rock is located in specific areas of the canyon. The volcanic rock isn’t scattered everywhere but is found in pockets throughout the landscape. It would be interesting to map where the volcanoes were and how the lava flowed, creating these various pockets. You could visualize and tell that story in Surfer if you had the necessary data.
A Little-Known But Worthy Attraction
Snow Canyon State Park may not be as well-known as Zion National Park, but its fascinating geology, historical features, and family-friendly trails make it a must-visit natural wonder. If you get the chance to check it out, let us know on social media or via email what you enjoyed most.
In the meantime, have you gathered data at a state or national park that you’d like to visualize in an immersive 2D or 3D model? Download a free trial of Surfer to create meaningful maps with unparalleled speed.
