White Rock Peak, Snow Benchmark, Snow Canyon Rim Loop in Snow Canyon State Park, UT

Hike White Rock Peak, Snow Benchmark, Snow Canyon Rim Loop Snow Canyon State Park, UT

Class 3 14.6 miles 3800 gain 7-10 hrs Loop Oct 3, 2017
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

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Snow Canyon State Park can easily be overlooked because of its proximity to Zion National Park, but it's a great little pocket of sandstone glory near Saint George UT. There is a popular scenic drive running through the canyon, as well as a web of marked trails. While this hike utilizes sections these trails to form a loop, its majority is an off-trail outing that wraps around much of Snow Canyon's perimeter, tacking on a couple of summits and some fun scrambling. The highlight of this hike is the slickrock wonderland located a mile or so south of Snow Benchmark, and if you're looking to just reach that section you are likely better off starting at the Red Mountain Trailhead to the north of Snow Canyon and using that maintained trail and thereby cutting off significant effort, but we were interested in seeing as much of the rim as we could. We hiked this loop counter-clockwise, but I'd highly recommend doing it in the opposite direction for a couple of reasons. First, our descent ridge is the most difficult part of the hike and probably should be done first rather than at the end of the day, and second, it would be much more fun scrambling as an ascent. Below describes the route how we did it, though. I'll also note that the photos below toggle between the two times I did this hike, the first with Mike in 2017, and the second with Amanda in 2023 where I snapped more photos to make the trip report more cohesive.

After paying the entrance fee to enter Snow Canyon State Park, you could start at one of many trailheads along the scenic drive since this loop passes a handful of them. We chose the Upper Galoot Trailhead because there's a pit toilet. We thought we were being sneaky by parking at one of the pull-offs along UT-18 in order to skip paying, but there are signs saying a fee is required everywhere. Happy to have a Snow Canyon State Park official map brochure with us because of the complex and segmented trails, we left our trailhead and took the Petrified Dunes Trail to the Butterfly Trail. This continued to the Lava Flow and then Whiterocks Trails. Along the way the views toward the rim we'd be on later in the day are really gorgeous. The red and orange sandstone cliffs tower above and the slickrock that has been lovingly named "petrified dunes" serve as a nice foreground. Ancient lava flows mix into the landscape, its black color serving as a neat contrast.

The sandy trail system led us up to the Whiterocks Amphitheater, a whitewashed natual slickrock bowl. The official trail ended here, so we scrambled north up a sandy slope to a short Class 3 set of moves to gain higher ground. It's a pretty straightforward slope with multiple route options. A few hundred feet of Class 2/3 on chunky sandstone led to a false summit, and a short walk along a pretty ridge led to our first minor summit, White Rock Peak. Heading north, we continued along the rim and its various minor obstacles to unnamed Peak 5024. While still beautiful, the terrain was a bit brushy and there was a fair amount of cryptobiotic soil we had to avoid stepping on as we continued north from Peak 5024. The lumpy landscape left the rim for a short time, so we hurried though this less-interesting section. Along the way we passed a spectacular gash in the side of Snow Canyon that drops abruptly, a really fantastic thing to stumble upon. Shortly after, we found a horse trail that led us casually north and up to a junction with the Red Mountain Trail.

On my attached map you can see two purple lines, short sections of the Red Mountain Trail that makes the hike easier. On my first time doing this loop, we kept to the rim using animal trails and light bushwhacking and th views were outstanding. On a second visit, we stayed on the trail as much as possible. The experience along the rim was definitely superior. In either case, if you're looking to summit Snow Benchmark, at a certain point leaving the trail is necessary for a short time. A short detour led up an unremarkable shrubby slope to the summit. It's not a memorable peak, but the views into Snow Canyon in the distance are nice. We backtracked to the Red Mountain Trail, following it only briefly since it actually leads away from the most amazing scenery of the hike. Seemed like a pretty poor oversight to us.

Leaving the Red Mountain Trail, we headed south through sandy terrain with a mixture of slickrock until reaching the west rim of Snow Canyon. Holy moly, were we surprised. I recommend following the rim as closely as you can at this point, enjoying the bright slickrock and incredible sheer face of the west rim. We spent some time frolicking, including to a wonderful overlook on a protruding section of the rim. Continuing south, the slickrock faded away. You might want to head west and pick up the Red Mountain Trail for a bit, but we decided to just rough it through sandy and lumpy terrain with obstacles like small sand dunes and minor drainages. We were happy with the slightly annoyances when we ultimately reached more slickrock and gorgeous views.

As we neared the southern part of our route and would need to start searching for our descent ridge, the terrain became a bit more tricky. We hiked around sand dunes and up red slickrock slopes, then wrapped around the west side of a large and obvious lump at around 5000'. We looked down into a minor slickrock bowl and followed a minor ridge until we located a short, Class 2 slope to descend into it. Various small cliffs formed by chasms in the sandstone meant a bit of route-finding to navigate through the beautiful bright slickrock. Our chosen descent ridge didn't seem obvious until we were basically directly next to it since it blends into the surrounding steep terrain. The slickrock bowl cliffs out shortly, so we traversed over to the descent ridge and scrambled up to it. Once along the ridge, we just followed its crest all the way down. A few easy Class 3 moves along the way were the only tricky obstacles, but the vast majority of it included some variety of Class 2. It's a pretty incredible descent, even considering the sheer drops we had been seeing all day. Definitely be careful here, since many of the large sandstone chunks pop off easily. I was reminded that any scrambling is no joke when I stepped on a human-sized rock that rolled me in front of it and had me sliding down the ridge before I got out of its way just in time. Seriously terrifying.

After we reached the bottom of the ridge, we picked up the sandy wash that led southeast, the Red Sands Trail. We took the Red Sands Trail to the Petrified Dunes Trail to get back to the car.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
White Rock Peak
4887 ft
247 rise
2
Peak 5024
5024 ft
n/a rise
3
Snow Benchmark
5570 ft
850 rise

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We followed the Lava Flow Trail until it meets up with the Whiterocks Trail.
We followed the Lava Flow Trail until it meets up with the Whiterocks Trail.
Along the Whiterocks Trail.
Along the Whiterocks Trail.
View back into the park.
View back into the park.
Ascending along the Whiterocks Trail.
Ascending along the Whiterocks Trail.
Heading into the Whiterocks Amphitheater.
Heading into the Whiterocks Amphitheater.
Whiterocks Amphitheater. End of the official trail. We headed up to the false summit seen top right.
Whiterocks Amphitheater. End of the official trail. We headed up to the false summit seen top right.
Scrambling out of the amphitheater.
Scrambling out of the amphitheater.
View back into Whiterocks Amphitheater after scrambling out, on our way up to White Rock Peak.
View back into Whiterocks Amphitheater after scrambling out, on our way up to White Rock Peak.
Class 2/3 scrambling up the slope.
Class 2/3 scrambling up the slope.
Navigating ledges and slopes.
Navigating ledges and slopes.
At the ridge, White Rock Peak seen ahead.
At the ridge, White Rock Peak seen ahead.
Cool formations along the ridge to White Rock Peak.
Cool formations along the ridge to White Rock Peak.
White Rock Peak summit looking back the way we came.
White Rock Peak summit looking back the way we came.
Continuing along the ridge to Peak 5024.
Continuing along the ridge to Peak 5024.
Amazing views along the rim.
Amazing views along the rim.
Looking back toward White Rock Peak.
Looking back toward White Rock Peak.
Image 16 from gallery
Pretty slickrock along the way to Peak 5024.
Pretty slickrock along the way to Peak 5024.
Summit of Peak 5024, White Rock Peak behind Mike.
Summit of Peak 5024, White Rock Peak behind Mike.
Summit of Peak 5024, looking toward the long rim trek ahead.
Summit of Peak 5024, looking toward the long rim trek ahead.
Unnecessary knife-edge next to a really cool chasm.
Unnecessary knife-edge next to a really cool chasm.
Gorgeous chasm, view down into Snow Canyon.
Gorgeous chasm, view down into Snow Canyon.
Mike looking into the hundreds of sheer feet below.
Mike looking into the hundreds of sheer feet below.
Onward north.
Onward north.
More gorgeous rim views.
More gorgeous rim views.
We came upon a horse trail that helped navigate through the brushy terrain.
We came upon a horse trail that helped navigate through the brushy terrain.
Overlook of the east fork of Snow Canyon. You'd miss this view if you take the Red Mountain Trail.
Overlook of the east fork of Snow Canyon. You'd miss this view if you take the Red Mountain Trail.
Image 27 from gallery
Light bushwhacking from the head of the east fork to the head of the west fork.
Light bushwhacking from the head of the east fork to the head of the west fork.
Image 29 from gallery
At the head of the west fork.
At the head of the west fork.
Unnecessary scrambling, but added some great views.
Unnecessary scrambling, but added some great views.
Continuing along the rim toward Snow Benchmark.
Continuing along the rim toward Snow Benchmark.
We reached the Red Mountain Trail and followed it for a short time. Snow Benchmark ahead. We left the trail to reach the summit.
We reached the Red Mountain Trail and followed it for a short time. Snow Benchmark ahead. We left the trail to reach the summit.
Snow Benchmark summit, Snow Canyon in the distance.
Snow Benchmark summit, Snow Canyon in the distance.
Heading back down toward the west rim of Snow Canyon. We left the Red Mountain Trail to enjoy the slickrock wonderland.
Heading back down toward the west rim of Snow Canyon. We left the Red Mountain Trail to enjoy the slickrock wonderland.
Incredible slickrock.
Incredible slickrock.
Image 37 from gallery
View back, Snow Benchmark above Amanda.
View back, Snow Benchmark above Amanda.
Headed out to the point seen ahead.
Headed out to the point seen ahead.
Image 40 from gallery
Why not a cartwheel?
Why not a cartwheel?
View back as we ascend to the point. Snow Benchmark seen top center.
View back as we ascend to the point. Snow Benchmark seen top center.
Nice overlook.
Nice overlook.
A neat puddle on the way south.
A neat puddle on the way south.
The slickrock faded away. We navigated south through lumpy terrain.
The slickrock faded away. We navigated south through lumpy terrain.
And then we stumbled on more beautiful slickrock along the rim.
And then we stumbled on more beautiful slickrock along the rim.
Image 47 from gallery
View back, Snow Benchmark seen distant left.
View back, Snow Benchmark seen distant left.
We stayed pretty close to the rim, then wrapped to the right around the hump seen center.
We stayed pretty close to the rim, then wrapped to the right around the hump seen center.
Another shot back toward the rim and Snow Benchmark.
Another shot back toward the rim and Snow Benchmark.
Wider shot of Snow Canyon.
Wider shot of Snow Canyon.
That minor lump on the right has a ridge descending east, our exit route (Class 2/3).
That minor lump on the right has a ridge descending east, our exit route (Class 2/3).
Looking back after we descended into the bowl.
Looking back after we descended into the bowl.
Navigating a small slickrock bowl. Our aim is the left side of the lump ahead.
Navigating a small slickrock bowl. Our aim is the left side of the lump ahead.
A tricky wall obstacles we worked around.
A tricky wall obstacles we worked around.
Short scramble ascent to gain the descent ridge.
Short scramble ascent to gain the descent ridge.
Gaining the ridge and enjoying the sunset.
Gaining the ridge and enjoying the sunset.
Heading down Class 2/3 ridge.
Heading down Class 2/3 ridge.
View of the full ridge. The sand on the right is the Red Sands Trail, which follows that wash and takes you back to the road.
View of the full ridge. The sand on the right is the Red Sands Trail, which follows that wash and takes you back to the road.
Close-up of the gorgeous ridge.
Close-up of the gorgeous ridge.
This is the photo I was taking when I stepped on a human-sized boulder that started rolling and almost squashed me.
This is the photo I was taking when I stepped on a human-sized boulder that started rolling and almost squashed me.
Image 62 from gallery
Image 63 from gallery
Image 64 from gallery
Approaching the base of the ridge.
Approaching the base of the ridge.
Following the Red Sands Trail.
Following the Red Sands Trail.
Looking back toward the Red Sands Trail from the Petrified Dunes Trail. Take this back to the road, and follow the road to the car.
Looking back toward the Red Sands Trail from the Petrified Dunes Trail. Take this back to the road, and follow the road to the car.
Along the Petrified Dunes Trail to get back to the car.
Along the Petrified Dunes Trail to get back to the car.

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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!