18 May 2026 6 min read NP Tour 2025

Snow Canyon State Park | The Big 2025 Parks Tour, Part 9

An unplanned detour that frequently felt like teleporting to Mars. Enjoy a new highlight video, and my fond memories of Snow Canyon State Park.

Watch the new music video / highlight reel from Snow Canyon.

There isn't a philosophical musing about creative energy and mystical pockets of land in this post. I just want to share an extraordinary day hike that left me brimming with wonder.

Snow Canyon State Park was, of course, another unexpected detour.

When I was driving to "Sanctuary" I passed a stretch of striking red and creme colored canyons and knew I had to add it to my growing adventure wishlist. What I didn’t know until I arrived was that Snow Canyon State Park had multiple lava tubes to explore, and petrified sand dunes to wander across!

Before the hike veers right, you get a glimpse of the incredible Petrified Sand Dunes.

My first stop was the “Lava Flow Trail,” which leads you to several lava tube caves. 27,000 years ago, lava erupted from these tubes and flowed all over this area. And a significant part of the trail is either lined with petrified lava rocks, or has you walking across them.

As many of you already know, I'm a sucker for contrast. And this little hike displayed a captivating contrast of black volcanic rock, bright rust-colored sand, and creamy red sandstone cliffs that gripped me in a constant state of wonder.

I tried to worm my way into one of these 27,000-year-old lava tube, but I wasn't feeling 100% and didn’t trust my knee to do the descent that needed to be done. So I went down about halfway and lived vicariously through some brave kiddos who were fearlessly descending into the depths of the cave.

For entertainment value, here’s someone crawling out:

The cave is fully explorable, if you’re not claustrophobic and don’t mind using all 4 limbs to climb about 40 feet down. In a strange way, I'm grateful that I didn't check off this box; it gives me an excuse to go back!

Still, it was wild to walk among these lava tubes, seeing and feeling tens of thousands of years of landscape-altering activity surrounding me.

Without question though, my favorite attraction of Snow Canyon State Park was meandering over and across the expanse of petrified sand dunes.

Here are several photos that can't possibly convey the scope of this area, but I’ll try (don't skip the video up top either):

In some areas of Snow Canyon — especially around Jenny’s Canyon — it felt like I’d somehow wandered off Earth entirely and had been teleported to the surface of Mars.

The landscape shifted into something that looked so alien: twisted red sandstone flowing like frozen waves, honeycombed canyon walls carved by centuries of wind and water, and dark volcanic rock scattered across the desert floor like meteorites from another world.

Everything around me felt ancient and mystical and awe-inspiring.

And that’s my quick take on Snow Canyon State Park. I could have lost myself in there for days wandering across those petrified dunes, watching the light shift across the sandstone, and standing in quiet, sometimes dumbstruck appreciation of the surrounding landscape...

I look forward to going back, because this little unplanned detour is tied for my favorite experience on this trip. What's my favorite one? That's coming up next time!

PREVIOUSLY ON THE 2025 PARKS ROAD TRIP: