Welcome to my hiking blog! If you're looking for information on hiking, walking, trails, places to explore, welcome and enjoy the read!...

Snow Canyon State Park While Utah is best known for its national parks, its state parks are just as worth exploring. I’ve previously written about Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park near Kanab, which I revisited in January 2025. On one of our most recent trips to Southern Utah, we explored Snow Canyon State Park, located near St. George in the southwestern corner of the state. The park is part of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, which was created in part to protect the desert tor

Let me tell you... it feels so good to escape the cold, wintry weather of Northern Utah and head down to St. George in the far southwestern corner of the state. On our recent visit (for our son’s mountain bike team’s spring training camp), I had the chance to explore the St. George area a bit more. I always get excited about Southern Utah, partly because of the palm trees, which make it feel almost tropical 😊 During this trip, we explored Snow Canyon State Park (more on that

Annual Pass for U.S. Residents The Resident Annual Pass for U.S. citizens and permanent residents (green card holders) remains unchanged at $80. This pass is valid for one year from the date of purchase. It provides day-use access to thousands of federal recreation areas, including all U.S. national parks. However, camping fees or special permits (for example, Angel's Landing) are not included in the annual park pass. Annual Pass for Non-U.S. Residents As of January 2026, non

A Sea of Pink Sand A wide expanse of soft pink sand rising and falling in waves isn’t exactly what most people picture when they think of Utah. So how did sand dunes end up in a landscape better known for towering cliffs, sagebrush, and juniper trees? The dunes are nestled between the Moquith and Moccasin Mountains. Over thousands of years, wind has eroded Navajo sandstone from these surrounding cliffs. That sandstone (naturally pink in color) breaks down into sand and gets f

Utah summers can be brutally hot, with temperatures often hitting the upper 90s and 100s (35-40 Celsius). Luckily, there’s one area that...

Nature is always close by here in Utah, even if you live in the city. This relatively short but steep hike begins in a quiet neighborhood...

The iconic view through Mesa Arch, the La Sal Mountains on the horizon and Buck Canyon below. If you’ve ever looked into traveling around...

Landscapes along the Colorado River Scenic Byway Summer is here, and that means national parks are going to get busy. To help manage...

By now, you may have heard that the Trump administration has cut budgets affecting many government departments, including the United...

An adventurous hike near Kanab, Utah As I mentioned in the Scout Overlook blog, I hadn’t been to the Southwestern part of Utah in a...

Okay, okay… I promised a hiking blog, but occasionally I’ll have to veer off-topic and off-course, just because. Enter “Belly of the...

The boys (a.k.a. my husband and son) had plans, so my daughter and I decided to go on a little impromptu mother-daughter trip. The...

Until recently, I had only visited Bryce Canyon National Park in summer. So needless to say, when an opportunity for a winter trip came...

It was a cold and windy Sunday afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. I needed to get away, reassemble my thoughts, get ready for a...