by Tom Garrison
Location: Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, Utah
Difficulty: A moderately strenuous hike due to mostly slogging through loose sand.
Average Hiking Time: About 2 ½ hours at a leisurely pace with many photo stops for the 4.6 mile round trip hike.
Elevations: 3,058 feet trailhead elevation with an approximately 570 feet elevation gain from the trailhead to the highest point.
Family Friendly: Much of the trail is loose sand and fairly steep. Can your kids and dogs do it?
Finding the Trailhead: Drive north on Main Street in Washington City and cross under Interstate 15. Immediately after crossing under the Interstate is a four way stop with Buena Vista Boulevard being the cross street. Continue north on Main Street and at ½ mile from the intersection is another intersection with Washington Parkway. Turn left (west) onto the Parkway and very quickly, within about 100 yards, turn right (north) onto a major dirt road marked with a large sign reading “Alternative Trail Access Mill Creek & Dino Cliffs.” Stay on the main track (heading north), alongside a string of power poles in a north-south orientation, for .8 mile on this mostly good dirt road, the first section is rocky with some large dips, to the Mill Creek Trailhead which is also the Sand Hill Trailhead. The trailhead is designated by a fence with a stepover and a closed gate. The Mill Creek Trail sign is just beyond the gate. There is ample parking for several cars.
If you like slogging through loose sand for a good workout, Sand Hill Trail is for you. Along with the workout are some spectacular views to the north of canyons, sandstone cliffs, red rock formations, and the more distant Pine Valley Mountains. All this with the added bonus of being free and no permits are necessary.
Sand Hill Trail is in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. The Reserve was established in 1996 to protect a large and diverse habitat capable of sustaining wildlife populations threatened by development and habitat loss. It comprises 62,000 acres and has more than 130 miles of shared use trails for hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Three ecosystems—the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert, and the Colorado Plateau—merge in southwestern Utah and the Reserve reflects the biological diversity of this unique region.
We, my wife Deb and I, began our adventure on a Saturday morning in early September and arrived at the trailhead about 8:00 am. The Mill Creek Trailhead has an elevation of 3,058 feet. The hike is about 4.6 miles round trip with an approximately 570 feet elevation change from the trailhead to the highest point. The out and back hike took us about 2 ½ hours at a leisurely pace with many photo stops. The temperature was in the low-70s with a hazy overcast sky for our late summer hike.
We followed Mill Creek Trail north about .3 mile to the signed Bone Wash Trail junction and took the trail (actually a fairly wide dirt road) to the right (northeast).
After about .3 mile from the junction (.6 mile from the trailhead) we reached the junction with signed Sand Hill Trail on the right (east). The trail is well marked and we walked toward a high sand hill. Imagine that on Sand Hill Trail.
Lucky for us the sand was still somewhat wet from a heavy monsoon rain two days before. If the sand were bone dry as is typically the case, this would not have been a fun hike. For about 3/4 mile we trudged up the hill, sandy all the way. The views to the north were worth the effort—spectacular views to the north of canyons, sandstone cliffs, red rock formations, and the more distant Pine Valley Mountains.
Sand Hill coming from the west is deceptive. At least a few times while looking up slope we thought we were close to the summit. But nooo. Once we reached that point, there was another summit lurking in the distance. Then another.
On the right side, about half way up the western slope of Sand Hill, is a large deep ravine running southwest. Looking down the ravine we saw a large section of the Green Springs area and a small portion of the Brio development where we live in Washington City. We imagined we could see our house several miles away.
We finally reached the real summit, 3,632 feet elevation and began the downward hike to Grapevine Trail. The eastern side of Sand Hill is different from the western side. The eastern slope is not nearly as steep and includes some fairly long stretches of level trail. There were almost no level sections on the western side.
After about 1.7 miles on Sand Hill Trail (2.3 miles from the Mill Creek Trailhead) we reached the junction with Grapevine Trail, had a look around, and headed back to the trailhead.
Not surprisingly, we did not see another soul on the trail. If you want a good workout with magnificent views, give Sand Hill Trail a try.