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| Snow Canyon State Park, Utah – Scout Cave hike |
The longest hike that we attempted while on our trip to Snow Canyon State Park was the Scout Cave hike, via Johnson Canyon. This trail was well established and fairly flat, made of sand and rock. The trail head was just outside the southern park entrance on the west side of the road.
We started on the trail later than I would’ve liked, so the sun was hot early on. A half mile into the trail, we took a right turn since a gate closed the trail to the left, leading into the seasonally closed Johnson Canyon. This trail had no shade for the first two thirds, until we descended into a valley with a trickling stream from a natural spring. There, a few cottonwood trees grew tall enough to offer some shade.
Because of hiking in the heat, not bringing snacks, and little g falling asleep on my back, I called it quits three, but most of our group continued on the trail another twenty minutes or so, to explore the interesting cave that gave the trail its name. This last part of the trail was within view of housing developments in St. George, so instead of looking at houses, Big E and I looked at tadpoles in the water and dug in the cool sand, while little g napped in the shade.
It was a good hike for kids, but at approximately three miles it was a little too long for my tots. The kids over eight and the teenagers in our group really enjoyed it, thanks to crossing a rare desert stream and finding cave at the end.
