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The Red Cliffs Recreation Area offers many hiking trails that lead you through beautiful red rock formations and desert landscapes. The Red Reef trail is a six mile long trail that leads from the Red Cliffs Recreation Area to the Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness Area. If you’re not up to a six mile hike through southern Utah’s red rock desert no problem. The lower portion of the Red Reef trail meanders its way up Water Canyon providing spectacular views and leads to a slot canyon featuring pools of water and red rock gorges; all within a 1/2 mile or so from the parking lot.
The trail head begins just west of the second day use parking area. The trail starts off leading you up a small red sandy hill and meanders its way through desert washes, surrounded by desert plants such as Cholla Cacti, Yucca, and Old Man Sage. The first unique feature you will discover along the trail is a large old stump sticking out of the ground. We like to call it the Elephant Tree because it’s shaped like the head of an Elephant, trunk and all. As you make your way around this stump you will find it is hollow and a great place to take a few family pictures.
As you continue your way up trail you will be walking directly in the wash and you will eventually come upon the first pool of water. This pool is a very popular location in the summer months to take a swim and we have even seen people jumping from the canyon walls into the pool below; this is at your own risk of course. As you continue up the canyon you will find that the trail is now directly in the wash and this is where you begin to enter the slot canyon. There is one technical part that requires you to hold on to a rope and use carved out footings to continue up the trail.
As the canyon walls begin to close in around you the beauty is just amazing. This is where the hike ended for as we’re presented with a section of the trail that required wading in water to continue. We highly recommend if you choose to go any further that you come prepared with the essential gear to explore these types of canyons.
Also make sure you pay attention to the skies as this canyon was created by water and large flash floods. As you look around you will see remnants of these powerful forces of nature.
The Red Cliffs Recreation Area is inside the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. This area has been set aside to conserve, protect, and enhance ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources. The area is broken up into two zones; the Upland and Lowland zone.
The Upland Zone allows recreation users to have a little more freedom to travel off-trail. Primitive camping and campfires are also allowed, with some limitations.
The Lowland Zone protects sensitive species and their habitat. Travel is restricted to marked trails and camping and campfires to developed campgrounds. The portion of the Red Reef trail described in this article falls within the lowland zone. So please stay on the trail to protect delicate organisms such as cryptobiotic soil.
The Red Cliffs Recreation Area provides many different hiking trails and family activities. So spend a day and enjoy this beautiful desert environment.
How to Get There:
Take southbound Exit 23 off I-15 to the town of Leeds. Drive south through the town until you get to a sign that says Harrisburg and Red Cliffs Recreation Site. Northbound travelers take Exit 22, turn right and follow the road south approximately 2 miles to a sign that points to a road under the freeway (limited access 11' x 11'), 1 mile to the campground.
More Information:
St. George Field Office
PHONE: (435) 688-3200
Nearby City:
Lodging:
St. George Utah Hotels (Affiliate Link)
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