Home Care In Pine Valley, UT

ST. GEORGE — Less than an hour from St. George, tucked against volcanic mountains, Pine Valley Recreation Area offers Southern Utahns a chance to escape the bustling city and find peace in its vanilla-scented air.

In this episode of “Discover the Desert,” presented by Findlay Subaru St. George, host Sydnee Imlay finds tranquillity along the Santa Clara River, surrounded by towering pine trees.

“Pine Valley is, honestly, so beautiful right now,” she said. “We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

Pine Valley Recreation Area is approximately 40 miles from St. George near Central and the town of Pine Valley, according to Google Maps. Southern Utahns will find the Santa Clara River Walk, a paved trail past a reflective reservoir, through uniquely-scented ponderosa pines and along the Santa Clara River.

Visitors can park near or before Pine Valley’s second gate and walk in. The walk can be accessed at various points, such as near the Gardner Peak trailhead, where individuals can follow it through the heart of the recreation area almost to the Canal trailhead.

The river walk is approximately 3 miles long, according to a sign at the trailhead, or 2.6 out-and-back, according to All Trails. The trail features informational signs and is dog-friendly and accessible, with plenty of benches for resting or enjoying the view.

Imlay parked in the Fisherman parking lot and crossed Pine Valley Road to follow the paved path adjacent to Pine Valley Reservoir. Visitors can follow the signs to the Santa Clara River Walk trailhead, like Imaly, or turn right toward the Gardner Peak trail.

Pine Valley Recreation Area

The recreation area is in its “shoulder season,” which typically lasts from around Labor Day to shortly before Memorial Day, with specific dates varying each year, Pine Valley District Ranger Joseph Rechsteiner told St. George News.

Next year, campsites begin opening on Monday, May 6, according to Recreation.gov. Until then, the U.S. Forest Service won’t collect day-use fees.

The entrance station and campgrounds are closed, as is the road past the second gate, Rechsteiner said, adding that some bathrooms remain open.

However, the cold shouldn’t stop Southern Utahns from exploring Pine Valley, as there is still plenty to do, including photography and hiking, he said.

Visitors can access the 50,000-acre Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness from the recreation area, which boasts a network of over 150 miles of trail, ranging from 6,000 to over 10,000 feet in elevation, according to the Forest Service.

Those still hoping to camp can reserve the Pine Valley Guard Station. The one-bedroom cabin is less expensive to rent in the off-season as it has reduced services and no running water throughout the winter. Visitors can access it by walking, skiing or snowshoeing about 1.5 miles.

“We’ve had people that go there in the wintertime, and they’ll drag a little sled behind them with all their provisions because we don’t plow it,” he said. “When you get a nice snow setting back there, it’s a great place to spend some time to kind of get away from it all.”

Ponderous and reflective

Pine Valley Reservoir is a standout feature in the area, with its still waters flanked on three sides by the Pine Valley Mountains and a thick forest. While visitors can fish from the shoreline, it is a limited-use reservoir, and swimming, boating and other similar activities are not allowed, according to Recreation.gov.

The reservoir is stocked with rainbow trout, but Rechsteiner said some people have reported catching wild brook or brown trout. When the water is clear, the fish can be seen swimming or occasionally breaking the surface when food is abundant.

Home to various plant and animal species, the recreation area is great for wildlife viewing, Rechsteiner said. Visitors might catch a glimpse of coyotes, mule deer, squirrels, chipmunks and yellow-bellied marmots. Or one of the many birds that frequent the area, such as turkeys, woodpeckers, turkey vultures, mountain bluebirds, Northern goshawks and broad-tailed hummingbirds, among others.

While mountain lions call Pine Valley home, the elusive cats are a rare sight, Rechsteiner said.

Ponderosa pines cast large shadows over the trails as one of the Southwest’s largest trees, known to grow over 200 feet tall, with trunks 3-4 feet wide, according to the National Park Service. They can live for over 500 years.

It’s named for its “ponderous” or heavy wood, which consists of layer upon layer of jigsawlike bark. The thick plates make the tree resistant to low-intensity fire by popping off as they burn, reads an informational sign on the trail.

Another hallmark of the species is its smell, emanating hints of vanilla or butterscotch.

While ponderosa pines grab much of the attention, the forest is also lush with Engleman spruce, Douglas fir, gamble oak, sagebrush, ferns and many other plants.

A pimple on Earth’s face

The Pine Valley Mountains are the remnants of one the world’s largest exposed laccoliths. It formed approximately 21 million years ago as molten rock moved upward from deep within the earth, creating a dome “like a volcano that did not quite make it to the surface,” the Forest Service states.

“Think of a laccolith as a boil beneath one’s skin — a zit on the surface of the earth,” writes the Silver Reef Foundation in Leeds.

Magma spread out beneath the surface and crystallized. Over time, the laccolith was uplifted, where the earth slowly rises due to geological processes — and eroded, exposing the granite-like stone called porphyry.

This name indicates “that it contains large crystals set in a finer-grained matrix, sort of like plums in a pudding,” according to the foundation. Unlike true granite, the magma in Pine Valley’s laccolith cooled quickly near the surface, creating these finer grains.

Safety first

In the quiet shoulder season, visitors may be mostly or entirely on their own and cellphone service is inconsistent. Rechsteiner suggests individuals share their itinerary — where they’re going and when they expect to return.

At 6,900 feet, Pine Valley is much colder than St. George, so Southern Utahns should pack warm winter clothes. Layers are preferable so hikers can remove clothing if they become overheated, Rechsteinder said. Pack plenty of food, water and sun protection, including sunglasses, hats and sunscreen.

For the latest conditions, closures, potential hazards and other essential information, Rechsteiner said visitors should contact the Public Lands Information Center before heading out by calling 435-688-3200 or visiting 345 East Riverside Drive in St. George.

And there’s no better way to end a great hike than with a scoop of Handel’s delicious homemade ice cream. Want free ice cream? Leave a comment on social media and tell the Canyon Media crew where we should hike next for your chance to win.

Photo Gallery

This map shows various trails and other facilities available at the Pine Valley Recreation Area | Image courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service, St. George News | Click to enlarge

Discover the Desert host Sydnee Imlay takes in the fall weather at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

A bridge allows visitors to cross over the Santa Clara River at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

A sign guides visitors to the Santa Clara River Walk trailhead at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

The paved Santa Clara River Walk trail winds through dense vegetation in the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

A bridge allows visitors to cross over the Santa Clara River at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Fall leaves float in the Santa Clara River at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Discover the Desert host Sydnee Imlay takes in the fall weather at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Discover the Desert host Sydnee Imlay takes in the fall weather at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Discover the Desert host Sydnee Imlay takes in the fall weather at the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Utah, Oct. 19, 2023 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Written by Nick Yamashita Sept 10, 2023

0 seconds of 41 secondsVolume 0%

ST. GEORGE — Washington County Search and Rescue members discovered more hikers in need of help while responding to another emergency call to rescue a separate hiker in Pine Valley on Saturday.

Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Paul said rescue teams were dispatched to an initial call due to a teenage boy with knee injury hiking on the Forsyth Trail in Pine Valley at about 9:30 a.m.

He said it was a “possible knee dislocation,” and as such the teenager had to be loaded on a Wheeled Stokes Basket, then pushed off of the trail for close to 4 miles.

“The Search and Rescue guys got about 2/3 of the way up the trail to the patient when it got too treacherous for the Wheeled Stokes,” Paul said. “So I made the decision to call DPS Star 7 (helicopter).”

Star 7’s pilot located the patient and hoisted him back to Incident Command, where he was transported to St. George Regional Hospital.

However, Paul added, their day was not over. As rescue teams were finishing the hoist work, the Search and Rescue crew stumbled upon another hiker showing signs of heat exhaustion. The hiker was a male in his 40s who had an elevated heart rate that had turned around, while two kids who were with him continued on the trail.

The man was examined and escorted back to the trailhead and to be checked out by medical. While at the trailhead, Paul said the man received a text from his children stating that they had run out of water. Search and rescue teams figured they were over four miles from the trailhead at that moment.

“We didn’t really have any contact with them and all of our Search and Rescue guys were pretty exhausted at this point,” Paul said.

Emergency Operations Manager Jason Bradley was requested to assist with a drone.

With the new drone, first responders are able to carry drop water to hikers in need without being present, he said.

Bradley arrived with the drone and starting to search for the kids.

The father then received a notification on a device tracker app on his iPhone that the kids were less than a quarter mile from the trailhead.

Reunited at the trailhead and checked over by medical personnel, the scene was cleared a little before 5 p.m.

Paul said that the big lesson learned here is when going outdoors, hikers need to prepare for the recreational activity, especially bringing enough water.

“It may be cooler in Pine Valley, but you still need water,” he said.

Pine Valley Fire, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Washington Search and Rescue, Enterprise Fire and Rescue, Washington County Emergency Services and Utah Department of Public Safety assisted in the daylong operation.

This report is based on preliminary statements from law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Iron County wants to take billions of gallons of groundwater from Pine Valley, which sits in another county.

| Updated: Jan. 3, 2023, 7:31 a.m.

A simmering water war could be heading toward a boil in Utah’s West Desert, where an Iron County water district is looking to extract billions of gallons of groundwater in a neighboring rural county to sustain urban growth in Cedar City.

Central Iron County Water Conservancy District says safeguards will be in place to ensure its Pine Valley groundwater pumping project won’t harm surface water sources, but Beaver County leaders aren’t buying it.

Beaver has put the state on notice that it intends to file suit if the State Engineer, the bureau that oversees water rights, does not enforce key provisions of a legal settlement with the Iron County district concerning its claimed rights to 26,500 acre-feet of water under Pine and Wah Wah valleys.

In a letter sent Dec. 6 to Attorney General Sean Reyes, Beaver County Attorney Von Christiansen says the water district’s $260 million groundwater pumping and pipeline project, as described in a draft environmental review, has not identified measures that would ensure Pine Valley and adjoining basins aren’t left high and dry.

Meanwhile, new information developed by the U.S. Geological Survey casts doubt on how much water can be safely extracted from under Pine Valley. Its aquifers are fed by an arid region that receives only 6 inches of rain a year and are likely hydrologically connected to basins west into Nevada and as far north as Great Salt Lake, according to Beaver County Commission Chairman Mark Whitney.

“They had to monitor it. They had to manage it. And they had to mitigate their water usage in Iron County, and they’ve never done it. And the State Engineer has never enforced it,” said Whitney, who ranches near Milford.

Allied with Beaver County are Juab and Millard counties in Utah, Nevada’s White Pine County, the Great Basin Water Network and the Indian Peaks Band (IPB) of the Paiute Indian Tribe, which holds federally reserved water rights in Pine Valley. Tribal officials said they were not properly consulted by either the State Engineer or the water district.

“They are stealing our water for their project,” said Tamra Borchardt Slayton, the chairwoman of the Indian Peaks Band, or IPB. “This project is in direct violation of the federal government’s trust obligations to IPB. The state of Utah cannot allow this project to move forward.”

Beaver County officials have been contesting Iron County’s designs on Pine and Wah Wah valley groundwater for years — before the State Engineer and in court. The parties reached a 2019 legal settlement giving the water district the right to withdraw 26,500 acre-feet of water a year while reserving some for use in Beaver County.

This deal requires Iron County to submit a monitoring and mitigation plan, but the Beaver County letter alleges the plan falls short. Consequently, Beaver will sue the state and the water district as early as Jan. 5 unless the State Engineer initiates a public process to review the adequacy of the monitoring plan.

Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune

Behind the dispute is the Iron County district’s reliance on groundwater to meet the needs of fast-growing Cedar City. In past years, the district has been drawing more water from under Cedar Valley than is being replenished, a practice known as groundwater mining. The water deficit is so severe that land is sinking in places. The district’s controversial solution proposes a network of wells and pipelines that would extract water from Pine Valley and move it 66 miles south to Cedar City.

“They were wanting to mine our water to pipe it to Iron County when they had [other] sources,” Whitney said. “They could have went to Parowan and bought up farmland. … I don’t like to see the family farms go away, but with growth, you have to sacrifice something, like they’ve done in the Salt Lake Valley. If they want to continue to grow, they need to face those consequences basically do the same. Don’t come to your neighbor and steal their water.”

Iron County water officials, however, contend the Pine Valley proposal already features various safeguards to protect the interests of other stakeholders and they will likely get more protective as the project nears approval. Beaver’s objections are “misguided” and “premature,” said the water district’s general manager, Paul Monroe.

“We have to have this [monitoring] plan in place, before water is taken out,” he said. “There’s kind of a double layer of insurance. We have to reduce pumping if it proves that the [water] source is not there.”

And there’s the rub. How much groundwater is available for “safe” withdrawal under Pine Valley is not exactly known. Beaver County and its allies say new data indicate it may be far less than the amount that has been awarded. Accordingly, they insist the State Engineer reevaluate the volume of water Iron County may take.

“Once you start pumping water [from the ground], and once you start draining an aquifer, it’s like a train leaving the station. You don’t stop it,” Whitney said. “The thing is that before you can finally detect the real damage, the damage is already done and it’s irrevocable.”

But Monroe said his district has assembled a monitoring program involving a network of wells, meters to measure surface flows at springs and aerial photography.

Under an ongoing environmental impact statement, the Bureau of Land Management is analyzing this monitoring program along with a related mitigation plan to make sure problems are detected early and addressed before existing water users are affected, according to Monroe.

“And if we do impair or impact somebody, then there is state law, and there are things that we’re committed to doing to make people whole,” he said.

He noted that under Western water law, the right to water does not belong to the counties where it is found, but to whoever puts it to beneficial use first. In this case, he said, Iron County was the first to propose using Pine and Wah Wah valleys’ groundwater.

Beaver County ranchers, and Native Americans before them, however, have long relied on springs that are likely connected to groundwater sources. Officials fear if those springs disappear because of Iron’s project, they may never come back and the remote desert valleys could become uninhabitable for people and wildlife.

“We’ve got to protect that aquifer out there,” Whitney said. “We’re just making them live up to the agreement.”

[email protected]Follow @brianmaffly

Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible

RELATED STORIES

PREMIUM

PREMIUM

ST. GEORGE — The Washington County Commission approved the expansion of two fire districts along state Route 18 on Tuesday by annexing their neighboring fire districts. Commissioners say it is the latest step in a process meant to improve service and safety in the area.

Two years ago, the County Commission proposed to dissolve the special service fire districts that served the communities along and near SR-18 and consolidate them into two new fire districts. At the time, the commissioners voted to move ahead with that process that has since changed.

Commission Chair Adam Snow told St. George News that the commission decided not to dissolve the fire districts as previously planned as they learned that could make the process overly complicated. A factor that played into this decision to preserve the state-issued emergency medical services (ambulance) license held by Dammeron Valley Fire District.

If the Dammeron Valley Fire District were dissolved, the EMS license also would go away and would need to be reapplied for. It would also leave the Fire District’s paid firefighters in limbo while also possibly complicating matters related to the many federal grants the Fire District used for additional funding.

In short, keeping Dammeron Valley together and adding to it kept the EMS license and overall process simpler by comparison.

“Those are some reasons to have continuity moving forward,” Snow said.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Deputy Washington County Attorney Devin Snow said that Dammeron Valley would annex the Brookside, Veyo Gunlock and Diamond Valley special service districts while the Pine Valley Fire Special Service District would annex its neighboring district covering Central and northern areas up to Enterprise.

The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the annexations, or more specifically, initiate the next step. State law requires a public hearing on the matter that will take place sometime in December. The County Commission will go on to make a final decision on the annexations in early 2024.

“This is not the final process of annexation,” Devin Snow said. “This just starts the clock.”

Among the reasons given for the proposed consolidation of the six fire districts has been a need to share the costs of fire and EMS services more equally while also providing additional resources, Snow said.

An example Snow gave was the Dammeron Valley Fire District, which transitioned from a volunteer firefighting agency to paid professionals. They also held the state-issued EMS license for the area of SR-18 between Baker Dam Road and Diamond Valley and have paid firefighters on call at their fire station ready to respond at any time.

In contrast, neighboring service districts manned by volunteer firefighters may either not have enough crew available or have enough volunteers immediately on hand to respond when an emergency is called in.

In cases like this, Dammeron Valley Fire has responded via its mutual aid agreement with the other fire districts and covered the incident, whether it be fire or medical or both, Snow said.

“Dammeron has been kind of supplementing the other (districts),” Snow said. “Their cost is very high and the other communities around are receiving the benefit without paying the cost.”

Special service districts like Dammeron Valley Fire or Hurricane Valley Fire on the eastern part of the county are creations of the county proper and are run by boards with members who are either elected or appointed by the County Commission. In order to fund and maintain their operations, these districts are able to impose taxes and fees within their boundaries and propose annual rates and budgets that are either accepted or rejected by the commission.

Annexing three other special service districts into Dammeron Valley’s own will provide additional resources and funding for firefighting and emergency needs.

“We’re hoping to have a professional force that is complimented by volunteers,” Snow said.

As far as the various governing boards, Snow said those will be dissolved and replaced with a new board composed of people who live within the expanded fire district.

While the cost of running and maintaining the expanded fire districts will be more dispersed, Snow said there will likely be tax and fee rate increases within those districts due to inflation. The County Commission hopes to keep any proposed increase brought before it as low as possible without sacrificing the safety of the firefighters or the people they serve, he said.

Concerning the potentially expanding Pine Valley Fire District, Snow said it will be working in conjunction with Enterprise Fire and Rescue. Enterprise holds EMS and medical transport licenses that cover that city and run down SR-18 to Baker Dam.

Gold Cross Ambulance holds the state licenses for medical transport from Baker Dam Road south and the EMS service from Diamond Valley south.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

A new fire has started on Gardner Peak in the popular Pine Valley Recreation Area just north of St. George.

No residential areas have yet been evacuated, though the fire is within two miles of the town of Pine Valley so inhabitants of this area should remain alert and ready to leave.

As of Thursday evening, the fire was estimated at 41 acres and had been zero percent contained. For now the Canal, Gardner Peak, Water Canyon and Cemetery trails have been closed.

The fire is thought to have started early Wednesday morning and was first publicized by Utah Fire Info on Thursday evening. According to the Bureau of Land Management's Incident Contact Rachel Carnahan, the fire has been determined to be human-caused. It joins a long list of wildfires that have taken place throughout Utah already this year, 80 percent of which are thought to be human-caused.

"Fire managers would like to remind the public that fire restrictions on the Dixie National Forest are still in place," Carnahan said.

Southern Utah currently has one other active fire, the Cougar Fire, which is now 90 percent contained at 476 acres in Hamlin Valley within Beaver County. Throughout Utah, there are now a total of seven active wildfires burning.

MORE:Cougar Fire growing slowly in Beaver County's Hamlin Valley

The fire behavior was described as "torching, running and spotting." Suppression is being managed via both ground and aerial approaches.

"Conditions are unseasonably hot and dry, leading to extreme fire behavior and fire suppression difficulties," Carnahan said. "Nationally we are at a Preparedness Level of 5, so firefighting resources are limited nation-wide."

At nearly 7,000 feet of elevation, the Pine Valley Recreation Area is a popular destination for Washington County residents seeking to escape triple digit summer temperatures down below.

Situated within the Dixie National Forest, it features several campgrounds, nearby fishing opportunities and an extensive trail network for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.

Joan Meiners is an Environment Reporter for The Spectrum & Daily News through the Report for America initiative by The GroundTruth Project. Follow her on Twitter at @beecycles or email her at [email protected].