The Hype
A sweet, half-day canyon just north of St George in Snow Canyon State Park. It features a couple nice rappels and a final 200 foot vertical rap. Holds water after rain or snow, but dries out quickly. Closed mid-march to mid-september for raptor nesting.
Permit required.
Referred to as “Arch Canyon” by St George locals.
Getting There
From the Desert Rat in St George, drive 1.8 miles north on Route 18 and turn left on Snow Canyon Parkway. Follow this 4 miles and turn right on Snow Canyon Drive. Eight-tenths of a mile up this is a parking area on the left – spot a car here. The parking area is outside the Park, so an entrance fee does not need to be paid.
Drive back to Route 18 and turn left. Drive up the hill 3.7 miles and turn left on 4200 North, travel 1/4 mile and park at the end. There is not much space for parking here, so try to car pool from the bottom.
Please use the trail as described, to maintain “good neighbor” status with Snow Canyon State Park.
Walk due east between the houses to the north-south running horse path behind the houses. Turn left (south) and walk 1/2 mile to a gate. Go through the gate, then turn sharply right and follow the signed Gila Trail back north and west. Follow the trail about 3/4 mile until it drops into a rugged canyon. This is Johnson Arch Canyon. The Gila Trail crosses the canyon – head downcanyon to DO the canyon.
The Canyon
The first rappel is about 20 minutes downcanyon from where the Gila Trail crosses.
R1: Rap 10 feet or downclimb. There is often a pool at the bottom that may be four or five feet deep.
The second rappel… well, there is an anchor here, ten minutes downcanyon, but it is more fun to step right 20 feet and crawl through a hole in the rock fin, which with a little downclimbing leads to the bottom of the rappel.
A couple short downclimbs … ten minutes downcanyon, the real second rap appears. Access to the anchor is easiest by climbing up left and traversing over to the anchor.
R2: 40 feet into a hole. Crawl under a rock.
R3: 20 feet off the rock to the edge of a pool.
R4: 140 feet to the edge of a pool. May require a swim in some conditions. Careful pulling the rope.
R5: 195 feet to the bottom.
The Exit
Follow the trail 15 minutes out to the parking lot where you spotted a car.
Red Tape
Permits required from Snow Canyon State Park, available on-line. Group size limit is six. Daily quota is 24. Canyon is closed from mid-March to mid-September.
Permits cost 8$ as of March 2013.
http://www.stateparks.utah.gov/park/snow-canyon-state-park/canyoneering-permits/routes
(new link, thanks Tim)
