Trips and Trails
PADRE CANYON TRAIL, SNOW CANYON STATE PARK
Trailhead locations:
1. Most visitors access the trail from a pull-over just outside the south Tuacahn Center main gate on Tuacahn Drive. From the pull-over, the trail can be reached by proceeding along the fence line through the adjacent wash to the east.
2. A northern access is from the Three Ponds trailhead in the fee area of Snow Canyon State Park in which a permit or annual park pass is required. From this trailhead, it is about 1 1/2 miles to the Three Ponds/Padre Canyon trail junction.
3. A 1 mile extension of the Padre Canyon Trail extends from the Johnson Canyon trailhead parking area on Snow Canyon Drive just before the entrance station into the park. Parking area is on the right as you head north.However, this extension to the Padre Canyon Trail is closed from March 15 to September 14 during the most active tortoise season.
I started my hike at the Johnson Canyon trailhead parking area just south of the Snow Canyon entrance station. The trail follows the fence line for a few hundred feet then winds around the foot of the mountain.
The trail winds underneath these red sandstone cliffs as it approaches the Tuacahn property.
It wasn't hard for me to put a title to this pic, but I won't say what it is. Use your own imagination..
A step-over that leads to private property at the Tuacahn Amptheater. The complex can be seen behind the bushes on the left.
The trail is not well marked by trail signs , but it's not difficult to follow with all the other guides and signs to lead you in the right direction.
At this point hikers enter the Red Mountain Wilderness Area and cross lands managed by BLM. No signs marking the trail exist in the wilderness area, so watch for established trails and rock cairns.
The trail follows a footpath that varies from packed dirt to very rocky with a good deal of boulder hopping, especially as the trail approaches the saddle. Some of the areas to be crossed will require alertness to navigate through bouldery sections with only user-installed rock cairns to guide the way through steep, rocky areas.
A small landslide 3/4 of the way up the canyon eradicated a short portion of the trail and requires some scrambling to get over it and return to the main user trail.
The Tuacahn side of the canyon with the Tuacahn Center in the background. That was a pretty intense climb up to the saddle, but I would do it again just for the hell of it.
Once over the saddle from the Tuacahn side, you will enter a scenic wonderland of remote peaks and cliffs of red and white sandstone and extraordinary rock formations.
From the saddle, the trail descends 3/4 mile via a dirt, rocky, and slickrock path to a wash near the Three Ponds trail junction.
Once past the Three Ponds/Padre Canyon junction, the trail goes through a sandy wash for about 3/4 mile to this paved bike trail that will eventually lead me back to the Johnson Canyon Trail parking area. Overall this was a really nice and challenging hike and I would definetly do it again.