The road is open and in decent shape--we only needed 4WD in one spot, and some well-placed rocks would have alleviated the need I still wouldn't go in a Subaru since there were several spots where clearance might be an issue, but traction wasn't a problem when the road was dry It took a bit over an hour from pavement to the campsite at a decent pace--good modern suspension combined with a high tolerance for jostling could probably get an aggressive driver there in 45 minutes given current road conditionsWe did a pa...

A classic canyon that is often overlooked, Water Canyon makes a great beginner technical canyoneering adventure or even just a hikers day out For beginning canyoneers, the many rappels all generally have good anchors and easy starts The canyon is outside of Zion National Park, so no permit is needed The canyon can have 10+ rappels or much fewer depending on what you choose to rappel and when you choose to leave the drainage Note: The canyon has a few short slot sections, but is mostly quite open with many areas of ...

We heard about Bear Clan Petroglyphs and the story is that they were secret and hard to find. We did some research and found them just west of the Redman Petroglyph. Turned out they were northwest on the cliff edge at the following coordinates. 37° 1'17.01"N 113°27'22.55"WTo get there you leave St George on Warner Valley Road. You will need a high clearance vehicle ultimately as there is deep sand and some good rocks to negotiate. You follow this road about 3.25 miles when you come to a corr...

Another great roadside ruin on Cedar Mesa Over Under Ruin is a very short hike to moderately well preserved ruins This is, in my opinion, is not as well preserved or as interesting as Tower Ruin, but is close enough to Tower Ruin that you can visit both in an afternoon There is pretty good primitive camping both in Cottonwood Wash, and near the trailhead

Tucked between the coast to the west and wine country to the east, Armstrong Redwoods is a beautiful preserve The preserve was the idea of Colonel James Armstrong in the 1870's when he became aware of the vast scale of redwood logging that was occurring His vision was continued by his family with Sonoma County purchasing the land to set aside for preservation in 1917 The state now owns and manages the preserve The preserve contains trees as old as 1400 years and as tall as 310' It is a stunning place to visit with ...

“Idle time is the devil's play” as the old saying goes The Devil’s Playground is, then, a good place to have some idle time! The area is a unique geologic feature in north west Utah where granite is exposed and has eroded into large fins, domes, spires, and boulders The Utah Geological Survey has an excellent page on the technical details The rock is quite grainy and exfoliating It is not good for rock climbing, but weathers into interesting shapes The playground does not have any formal trails Roads provide easy a...

While camping in Upper Joe’s Valley, we saw a forest service sign with a map of the area that had points of interest marked on it Rock Creek Falls was one of those points Having not heard of Rock Creek Falls, it piqued my interested and it proved irresistible We visited on a stormy Saturday in the summer When we pulled up to the Rock Creek Falls pullout, I will admit to being disappointed! The small falls were indeed a waterfall, but not much taller than I am! Fortunately, motivated prevailed, and we hiked up Rock ...

On a rainy summer day, we were looking for a short hike in case the clearing in the sky turned out to be short-lived, which it did Academy Mill Reservoir turned out to be an absolute gem of a hike! Easy hiking along an old road through idyllic meadows to a crystal clear reservoir What’s not to love This makes an excellent short hike to a scenic reservoir The easy terrain worked great for our 5-year-old, and I enjoyed the scenery along the way as well Petes Hole Reservoir, where the hike begins, has several small pr...

NOTE: Both Danger and Jukebox Caves are gated and locked You can visit the outside of them, and look in through the gate, but can't go inside without being on a tour The site is owned and managed by Utah State Parks as a monument, and tours are by arrangement with a third-party I can't speak highly enough for the guided tour! It was incredibly informative and by far the best way to visit and learn about the caves As of 2024, you can find information on future caves tours here: https://metcalfarchaeologycom/danger-c...

Lower Harris Wash used to be quite popular The lower section of the canyon has an idyllic small stream meandering down to the Escalante river, cutting deep overhangs along the way The overhangs are reminiscent of the very popular Coyote Gulch, but maybe not quite as dramatic The canyon used to be one that ranchers ran cows in until the early 1990s when grazing was stopped Today, then canyon doesn't seem very popular It is quite overgrown and the easiest path is generally to hike in the stream bed proper A use trail...