Washington County Utah Trip - Homegrown Adventures

We fell in love with Utah for their hiking trails. Why? Because no matter how far we walked there was beauty everywhere. Now I can’t say that about every trail we have walked on. Don’t get me wrong, being out in nature and hiking is a treat but when your mouth drops at every corner you know your somewhere special.

Our daughter Eve has been hiking since day one (she is eight now). We have found that the earlier you expose your children to hiking the easier it is for everyone.

We hear this all of the time, “We will start hiking when our children are older.” WHY? WHY wait? Seriously, kids love nature and the more you expose them to nature the more they are going to make it a priority for themselves to spend time in nature. We hope that when our kids grow up and move out, that on their days off, they will be spending time in nature. There was a time when Peter would walk, Esther was on my husbands back, and I carried Elizabeth. As soon as Esther would want to walk I would give Elizabeth to my husband. Where there is a WILL there is a WAY.

Our children, I’d say, are trained hikers. They can hike for a long time. But if yours aren’t my advice to you is to start NOW : like this weekend.

Start out easy and slow.

Bring snacks and lots of water.

Bring layers of clothes.

Make it fun and sing while you walk.

Designate the slowest person to be the leader to help them get excited about hiking.

Take turns reading the map and figuring out which turn to make next.

Never complain about how hot or tired YOU are because it really doesn’t help or change your situation. Stay positive and excited.

Get to the trailhead early. The earlier you get the less crowded it is. Also on warm days you’ll be finishing up your hike while everyone else is just starting the hike.

Best way to get your teenagers to open up to you is to take them on a hike. You got all of the time to listen to their dreams.

Zion Canyon Overlook Trail in Zion National Park

We visited Zion National Park and this trail was our favorite. This hike leads you to an overlook which is the highlight of the trail but even the journey is full of sights to see. On this hike you are not on top of the canyon and not at the bottom but you are on the side of it. We appreciate all of the safety rails and small bridge that was added to this hike for our safety. Because of all of this we were able to lift our heads and look at the sights of the sides of the canyon walls and much of what is below them. We didn’t even expect for the overlook to look so much better then what we had already seen. We got to the overlook and were no longer looking at a single wall of the canyon but now we were looking at an intersection. It was definitely worth the mile walk and a much longer hike would have also left us satisfied with what we experienced.

We took all of our children with us and we saw young children on the trail as well. There are a few parts that are narrow and there aren’t any rails and during those parts we held Eve’s and Elizabeth’s hand.

Zion National Park : Kolob Canyons

Kolob Canyons Viewpoint and Timber Creek Overlook Trail

Kolob Canyons Viewpoint at Zion National Park is where you’ll be able to view the 2,000 foot tall walls of the Kolob Canyon from a mile away. These canyons are extremely colorful. From tan to red and even orange which is a color palette that is one of the reasons why we love Utah so much. Directly across from you, you’ll be staring at Shuntavi Butte.

You can park next to the Kolob Canyons Viewpoint as well as hike the Timber Creek Overlook Trail. We did both.

This part of the park has less visitors. We were the only ones on the trail. It still had snow and some parts of the path were icy. It is a very easy trail to do and it is only 1 mile round-trip.

Snow Canyon State Parks:

Jenny’s Canyon

Jenny’s Canyon is a place that is pretty awesome. It’s a 0.3 mile hike which takes you to a sweet and short canyon. This canyon slowly gets more narrow until it ends. We had a lot of fun looking at the formation of the canyon and our children enjoyed climbing around the walls. After having fun inside of the canyon we went to the overlook above and got to see the scenery from a greater scope. Here you can see a canyon that is so engaging as a place that is so contained that getting to the overlook gives you a greater picture.

There was also no one here. We had the place all to ourselves.

This hike is kid friendly and so easy to get to.

Cinder Cone

Stone, sand, and vegetation are all around at Cinder Cone Trail in Snow Canyon State Park. When you start there are more sandy areas and some more rocky areas. There is really a lot of contrast. Really anywhere you turn you see something different. Some areas are pretty slippery because of small rocks on the trail. At the top of the cinder cone you see an amazing 360 view of your surroundings. Honestly this sort of view is one of the best you can see especially from a high elevation. We highly recommend that you go down the way you came. If you go the other way you may run into a extremely slippery downhill slope that consist of bare lava rocks which is not pleasant. Some people dislocated their legs going down that way and even my husband got hurt going down that way. The lava rocks are sharp and the trail is steep so going down is extremely hard. Going the way you came is just safer and will give you the better experience of this cinder cone.

This is a 1.5 miles round trip hike. You will be gaining over 500 feet of elevation within 3/4 of a mile.

Santa Clara River Trail System Templ’po’op Trail from Anasazi Valley Trailhead

The Santa Clara River Trail System has an awesome trail which leads to petroglyphs. This trail is known as Templ’po’op Petroglyph Trail and you can reach it from Anasazi Valley Trailhead. The trail is 2.9 miles long and takes you through the desert until you finally arrive to the petroglyphs. There are a lot of petroglyphs here which makes sense because Templ’po’op translates to rock writing. To see many of these petroglyphs you must climb around a bit. Some rocks had plenty of petroglyphs on them while some only had one or two drawings. There is really a lot of stuff to see here. On the way back there are some beautiful views.

This is a very kid friendly hike. Even climbing around the rocks to see the petroglyphs felt safe.

The Inn at Entrada

It really doesn’t get better then staying in a luxury home with the views of the Red Vermilion cliffs. This was one place you’ll have a hard time saying goodbye to.

The home we stayed in had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, three fire places (great things come in threes), a living room, dining room, and kitchen. We had three sitting areas to choose from on our patio. One was in front and two were in the back. Now my husband and I slept in the luxury studio and our children were in the luxury condo with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen. The door opens up from the luxury studio to the luxury condo so it becomes one luxury home.

Both the studio and the condo have a jetted bathtub.

There is a washer and dryer in the studio which is very convenient if your on a road trip.

They also have an outdoor pool and a indoor pool. It was too cold to enjoy the outdoor pool but the indoor pool was a great way to unwind at the end of the day.

You can borrow one of their bikes and cycle around the community.

They have a fitness center that you could use. You can play tennis here as well.

You could even pamper yourself to a spa treatment.

I can’t wait to come back to The Inn at Entrada in the near future.

Located at 2588 West Sinagua Trail Ivins, UT 84770.

Thank you The Inn at Entrada for such a pleasant stay.