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Snow Canyon State Park

Submitted By: Tony B on Dec 2, 2003
Administrators: Andrew Gram, Perin Blanchard
Latitude: 37.1796  Longitude: -113.6448 
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Joseffa Meir walks in to Snow Canyon for a cold mo...


Description 

Snow Canyon State Park is in the area of the city of Saint George, perhaps an hour from the heart of Zion National Park.

This large state park boasts a little of everything, from short sport clip-ups to mixed multi-pitch routes or even long, infrequently traveled adventure climbs. I have only sampled the area, but am writing it up here to get the ball rolling. The crags are sandstone, some reminiscent of the good stuff at Red Rock, NV, some resembling the softer formations of Zion National Park, and some fit for climbing by only the truest of desert rats.

No matter if you are chasing sun or shade, or wanting crimpers, slopers, pockets, or an occasional crack there are climbs of various flavors facing in any given direction at any given time of day, depending on which crag you are at. The Island In The Sky area sports the Aftershock Wall, Circus Wall, The Doghouse, and other walls with good sport and mixed climbs. The West Canyon area has adventure routes and much adventure potential for those looking for touble and in possession of an emergency bolt kit. The nearby town of Saint George has plenty of services and hotels as well as nearby 'improved camping' at Snow Canyon State Park ($14 in addition to $5 daily entry fee) or free camping just outside town on BLM land.

The following guidebooks contain more details on the area and the park: Rock Climbs of Southwest Utah & The Arizona Strip, Second Edition; Rock Climbing Utah; and an article in Climbing magazine #225 (article by Tim Kemple).


Getting There 

The directions for each individal crag will be more telling, but to reach the state Park entrance, exit I-15 on the Bluff Street (I-15 Exit 6) in Saint George. Go north a few miles to the Snow Canyon Parkway, then left on that for 6 miles to Highway 8, then right (north) on that for ~3 miles into the park. Maps are available for the park at the entry kiosk where they will collect your $5 entry fee.

I kid you not, these directions are listed under the 'season' section of the Goss guidebook.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Snow Canyon State Park:
Leopard Skin   5.7     Trad, Sport, 4 pitches, 260 feet   Sand Dunes
Pygmy Alien   5.7     Trad, Sport, 2 pitches, 230 feet   Circus Wall
Jimmy the Geek   5.9     Sport, 2 pitches, 130 feet   Circus Wall
Roar of the Greasepaint   5.10a     Sport, 2 pitches, 150 feet   Circus Wall
Illegal Alien   5.10b     Sport, 1 pitch, 140 feet   Circus Wall
Living On The Edge   5.10c     Trad, Sport, 4 pitches, 450 feet   Aftershock Wall
Browse More Classics in Snow Canyon State Park

Featured Route For Snow Canyon State Park
Ending pitch 1. Photo Keith Beisner

Roar of the Greasepaint 5.10a  UT : Saint George : ... : Circus Wall
This route might be the best route on the "Circus Wall" section of the Island In the Sky, and at the very least makes a great warm-up for the longer routes on Aftershock Wall. The route is 2 pitches, but is easily lead as a single 50 M pitch. Approach Circus Wall via the Pioneer Names Trail and stop at the slab at the base of the names cave. P1: (30M, 5.10b) "Roar Of the Greasepaint" scrambles up into the Names cave and then moves out it's top l...[more]   Browse More Classics in UT


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By Anonymous Coward
Mar 10, 2004

Two summers ago a couple friends and I grabbed our climbing gear and hiked into snow canyon. We found a sweet rock that had definitely not been climbed before. Climbing sandstone is a lot harder than climbing granite as we soon found out. We still had a great time and we plan on going back this spring (04). If you are only looking for climbing try nearby Zions park, but if you want unbelievable scenery topped with some great day-hikes snow canyon is your spot. The crappy thing is they wont let you backpack in and campout, they want you to stay in the "designated campground" with all the other shmucks. Plus they charge you five dollars admission plus $14 for a tent spot, per night. My advice is go to nearby gunlock reservoir and stay there for free. It isnt a very scenic place to camp, but it gets the job done. Good luck.

TD from Salt Lake City, Utah

By Anonymous Coward
Aug 24, 2004

By all means, let's get the ball rolling!