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Confluence Trail in Confluence Park

Trail: Confluence Trail Location: Confluence Park in Hurricane and La Verkin Difficulty: Easy Average Hiking Time: Less than two hours at a leisurely pace for the 3.6-mile round trip hike. Family Friendly: Yes. It is an easy and almost flat hike on a crushed red rock road.

Getting There: To reach the trailhead from St. George, proceed east to Hurricane along State Route 9 (aka State Street). Stay on State Route 9 as it jogs north, crosses the Virgin River, and enters La Verkin. At 500 North Street in La Verkin, State Route 9 turns east toward Zion National Park. Do not turn, continue north on the now named State Route 17 (or State Street). About 1/2 mile past the State Route 9 turnoff, turn left (west) on 900 North Street into a subdivision named Riverwood. Stay on 900 North and in .1 mile it becomes a good dirt road. Follow the dirt road about ½ mile to Confluence Park. There is a big “Confluence Park” sign at the entrance to the large parking area with an information kiosk and pit toilets but no water. This is the trailhead and main entrance to the park.

There are three other trailheads for this hike, but all three have a steep entrance into the drainage and small parking areas.

A new year, a new hike. Works for me. My wife, Deb, and I traditionally do a hike on New Years’ Day. We have explored all over the Southwest—scores of hikes in Utah. Somehow, we missed Confluence Trail in Confluence Park stretching between Hurricane and La Verkin. This is a close-by easy less than four-mile round trip hike steeped in history. Let’s go.

The 334-acre Confluence Park is managed by Washington County through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. Most of the park is at the bottom of large basalt cliffs, providing visitors some isolation from the cities (Hurricane and La Verkin) above. Oddly enough, Confluence Park is named for the confluence of Ash Creek and La Verkin Creek into the Virgin River.

The confluence area is also home to a variety of wildlife. Foxes, falcons, rattlesnakes, deer, porcupine, beaver, raccoons, and more thrive in the rich vegetation of a riparian environment uncommon to a typical desert region.

The park includes a network of ten trails. Along the longest, Confluence Trail can be found evidence of previous human habitation. The Confluence Park area has been inhabited for thousands of years. First by the Anasazi, then by Southern Paiutes, later by European explorers, and finally by fur trappers and Mormon pioneers. Among the structures and artifacts still existing are an Anasazi cave-dwelling, a nearly intact granary used for a former turkey farm, a dairy barn and corral, and an abandoned hydroelectric plant.

We parked and began our New Years’ Day hike along Confluence Trail about 10:00 am under blue Utah sky with the temperature in the low 40s. The trailhead elevation is 2,955 feet with less than a 100 feet elevation change during the hike.

The trailhead, also an access trail to La Verkin Creek Trail, is located at the western part of the parking area. There is a step-over and we were on the trail heading south. Saying trail conjures up the mental image of a rock-strewn dirt path. Not this trail. All the way to the endpoint, an abandoned hydroelectric plant, the “trail” is a crushed red rock road.

The first 1/4 mile runs along La Verkin Creek. The creek, and later on the Virgin River, are to the west (right) and massive cliffs that soon turn to basalt rock on the east (left) of the trail.

Soon the trail veered away from the creek and continued south. About ¾ mile into the hike we came across an old dairy barn and concrete corral on our right (west). At its heyday in the 1950s, the dairy had a herd of about 40 to 50 cattle.

At 1.1 miles from the trailhead, we came to a junction with Cactus Cliffs Trail. Here, at the bottom of the cliffs on our left (east), we saw the Anasazi cave dwelling. Scrambling up to it via a short user trail reveals a fire-blackened roof where, hundreds of years ago, Anasazi sought shelter and warmth from the elements.

A short walk from the junction the trail skirted the Virgin River and an open beach area with two picnic tables. A great place to stop and admire the views.

About 1.5 miles into the hike a tall abandoned grain storage building for a long-ago turkey farm appeared on our left (northeast) beneath massive basalt cliffs. Listen closely and you can hear the turkeys gobbling for some grain. We followed a user’s trail to explore the building and surrounding cliffs.

There is another red crushed rock road near the granary heading south. It roughly parallels and later joins the Confluence Trail.

The end of the hike for us, 1.8 miles in, was the abandoned Dixie Power hydroelectric plant on the north bank of the Virgin River. Becoming operational in 1929 and closed in 1983, the ruined structure still houses the turbine and machinery once used to generate electricity. According to published reports, the generator was extremely noisy when in operation. Nice and quiet while we were there.

Being so close to civilization, I imagine this trail usually has many users. However, on a fairly cold New Years’ Day we only saw two other hikers. We did come across many birds including a covey of quail.

This 3.6-mile round trip easy hike is perfect for folks wanting to “get away from it all” for a couple of hours. It is close by with easy access and features interesting historical structures—all in a riparian environment in the middle of the desert.

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Quail Creek Reservoir Overlook Trail From The South Shore, Quail Creek State Park

– By Tom Garrison –

Location: In and just south of Quail Creek State Park near Hurricane, Utah. Difficulty: Easy with several up and down sections. Average Hiking Time: A little over two hours at a leisurely pace with many stops, including about 20 minutes looking for petroglyphs (a futile attempt on our part). Elevations: 2,775 feet trailhead elevation with an approximately 250 feet elevation change from the trailhead to the highest point. There are several not-too-steep up and down sections. Family Friendly: Yes, although the several up and down sections may be a bit much for young children.

Getting There: Heading north on Interstate 15 take Exit 16 onto State Route 9 toward Hurricane. Stay on State Route 9 for 2.5 miles and then turn left (north) onto State Route 318/5300 West. After .3 mile on State Route 318 turn right (south) onto an unsigned dirt road 4275 West. At the turn is a large “Zion Base Camp” sign on a chain link fence. For most of the .7 mile to the trailhead, 4275 West follows the chain link fence (on your left as you drive to the trailhead) surrounding the Quail Creek Water Treatment Plant. All along the fence are many “No Trespassing” signs. After about .2 mile on 4275 West the road makes a 90 degree left turn and continues following the fence. This section goes approximately .3 mile and then makes a 90 degree right turn. After almost .2 mile on this fenceless section of the road, to your left you’ll see a large parking area and wooden stairs embedded in the dirt on the first part of a steep slope. This is the trailhead. Park and climb the slope to reach the beginning of the trail with a large trailhead sign.

I’ve lived in the St. George area for 15 years and never did more than a quick drive by at Quail Creek State Park. My loss. Deb, my wife, occasionally goes kayaking with friends at Quail Creek Reservoir. We decided to explore the southern section of the reservoir by hiking Quail Creek Overlook Trail on the south shore of the park. A good decision for the hike featured great views of surrounding mountains and hills, colorful rugged terrain, massive dams, and a tranquil artificial lake.

Quail Creek Reservoir was completed in 1985 to provide irrigation and culinary water to the St. George area and opened to the public as a state park in 1986. The reservoir’s surface area covers about 600 acres. Most of the water in the reservoir does not come from Quail Creek but is diverted from the Virgin River and transported through a buried pipeline.

Two dams form the reservoir. The main dam is an earth-fill embankment dam. The south dam is a roller-compacted concrete dam constructed to replace the original earth-fill dam that failed in the early hours of New Year’s Day 1989.

Quail Creek’s maximum depth can reach 120 feet, so it is cold enough to sustain the stocked rainbow trout, bullhead catfish, and crappie. Largemouth bass and bluegill thrive in the reservoir’s warmer upper layers.

Remember, Quail Creek State Park is a sensitive area, so stay on the trails and minimize your impact—walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.

My wife Deb and I began our adventure on a Thursday morning in mid-April. At about 9 a.m., the temperature was in the mid-60s, and we began our hike under an awesome blue Utah sky.

The trailhead elevation is 2,775 feet, with an approximately 250-foot elevation change from the highest to the lowest part of the trail. At about 9 a.m., the temperature was in the mid-60s as we began our hike under an awesome blue Utah sky.

The trail started out heading northeast, mostly uphill, along the side of a reddish-colored ridge. Within .4 mile we reached the southeastern edge of the southernmost concrete dam. Damn, that thing is large.

Soon, we were walking along the reservoir’s southern shore, admiring the red-hued mountains surrounding it and the Pine Valley Mountains in the distance to the north. It is a bit odd to walk along the shore of a massive, deep blue man-made lake in the middle of the desert.

At about .9 mile from the trailhead, we stopped to admire the views at the Quail Creek Overlook. Pretty nice.

We soon reached the second dam, an earth-filled monstrosity, after .3 mile from the overlook (about 1.2 miles from the trailhead). We walked across the dam and at its eastern end made a sharp right (south) turn and headed down a steep slope southwest down the backside of the dam. Then made another sharp turn to the left and headed downhill toward the east on another steep slope. This took us to the base of a long ridge covered in rocks—the petroglyph site.

Deb and I have explored dozens of petroglyph sites in our 35+ years of desert hiking. This is the first time we have found zero petroglyphs. We spent 20 minutes examining the side of the ridge facing us and the backside and came up empty-handed. Oh well.

We trudged up the slopes and began the trip back to the trailhead. Along with great views, this hike also brought us several lizards and various species of birds, including a flock of ducks in the reservoir.

This is an easy hike of about 3.8 miles with several up-and-down sections that took us a little more than two hours. We saw a few other hikers, but the trail was not crowded.

Black Gulch Trail in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

Trail: Black Gulch Trail Location: Red Cliffs Desert Reserve about six miles north of St. George Difficulty: Moderately strenuous with much rock scrambling Average hiking time: About three hours Elevation: The trailhead elevation is 4,170 feet with an approximately 450 feet elevation change from lowest to the highest point in Black Gulch. Family-Friendly: No, unless the kids are grown, in at least okay shape, and have a decent sense of balance.

Getting there: From downtown St. George go north on 1000 East and turn right (east) on Red Hills Parkway. Take the Parkway .7 miles and turn left (north) onto Cottonwood Springs Road (aka 1550 East). Stay on the main road and drive 6.5 miles to the “Black Gulch” signed trailhead on the right (east). (It is about 1.2 miles past the signed Yellow Knolls Trailhead.) The first three miles of Cottonwood Springs Road is paved, the remainder a good dirt road, that poses no problem for a standard sedan.

Or, from Washington go north on 3050 East Street/Green Springs Drive, cross under Interstate 15 (at exit 10), and turn left (west) onto Red Hills Parkway. Continue on Red Hills Parkway for 1.6 miles and turned right (north) onto Cottonwood Springs Road. Follow the above directions from there.

Who doesn’t love living in southwest Utah’s red rock country? Our area is a major tourist destination for a reason. However, don’t you just kinda sometimes need a break from the privileged red rock formations. Perhaps a bit of diversity? Since as a society we seem to demand more than a dollop of diversity, how about some diversity in hiking?

Our hike through Black Gulch in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve is dominated by ancient lava flows and black and greyish rocks and boulders—certainly different from the predominate red rocks in southern Utah.

The Red Cliffs Desert 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.

My wife, Deb, and I began this adventure on a clear late March morning. The trailhead has a large parking area without water or toilets. It is the starting point for three trails, Black Gulch Trail, High Point Trail, and Lange’s Dugway Trail. The trailhead elevation is 4,170 feet, the temperature in the mid-50s, and the cloudless sky a deep blue as we geared up. Since Black Gulch Trail is in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve there are no fees or permits necessary.

Access to Black Gulch Trail is gained by first hiking about ¼ mile on Lange’s Dugway Trail. There is a stepover at the beginning of Lange’s Dugway Trail about 75 yards up (north) Cottonwood Springs Road from the parking area. Following this trail downslope led to the bottom of Black Gulch drainage and we turned left (south) beginning the major part of our hike.

Like almost all canyons, gulches, and ravines, Black Gulch serpentines as we headed downstream (generally south). Also, like many canyons, Black Gulch alternates between open stretches and more cliff-faced closed-in sections. In places, the primeval lava flows upslope along both sides of the canyon seemed ready to topple down—luckily that did not happen.

The bottom and sides of the drainage are strewn with black volcanic boulders. Many places require rock scrambling over or around the larger boulders. There are rocks/boulders from small to very large throughout most of the hike in the gulch. It is imperative to watch your step; a twisted ankle is only the next stride away. (I know, among my many non-hurtful slips was one about halfway down the gulch in which I suffered a pretty painful rolled ankle. But I sucked it up and finished the hike.)

In parts of the canyon, user trails exist on upland benches and can be used to avoid some obstacles. We took advantage of some to circumvent the more precarious boulder jams in the bottom of the canyon.

Because of heavy rain the day prior to our hike, a plethora of small rock tanks, mostly in the middle section of Black Gulch, were filled with water—a boon to the local animal population. Unfortunately, the recent rain added a couple of pounds of mud to our boots and made us even more cautious due to slippery surfaces.

While Black Gulch is difficult to maneuver, it is photogenic and secluded. We did not meet another human in the gulch, although we did scare a family group of four deer who bounded downstream. Although Deb and I are pretty quiet on the trail, we also flushed several coveys of quail as we trod downstream.

After approximately 2.5 miles in the drainage, Black Gulch Trail ends where it intersects Winchester Trail coming in from the left (east). Normally Winchester Trail is a rock-strewn narrow path. However, a line of utility poles roughly paralleling Winchester Trail was being replaced and a road was needed for the huge equipment. The utility company scrapped Winchester Trail free of large rocks and about 15 feet wide—good for us.

We scampered, well actually trudged, up the steep part of Winchester Trail. Once upon the flat plateau, we walked to the intersection with Cottonwood Springs Road, very near Yellow Knolls Trailhead. We were on Winchester Trail for approximately ½ mile. From here it was a quick 1.2-mile walk north along the road back to the Black Gulch Trailhead.

Be aware that Black Gulch is known for an above-average population of rattlesnakes, be careful where you place your next step and hands. We hiked on one of the first days of spring, the temperature in the 50s, and did not see a snake. In warmer weather spotting and avoiding snakes should be a priority.

The hike 4 ½ loop round trip and took a bit more than three hours with many opportunities to stop and take photos. This adventure is for hikers in pretty good shape with a decent sense of balance who prefer to avoid other folks on the trail. If you meet these criteria, this a great hike in a different environment very close to St. George.

Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you!

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