Johnson Canyon Trail

Johnson Canyon Trail is one of Snow Canyon State Park's most geologically diverse hikes, winding 3.5 miles round-trip through a striking landscape where red Navajo Sandstone canyon walls give way to dark basaltic lava flows that poured across the landscape in comparatively recent geological time. The contrast between the ancient, warm-colored sandstone and the stark black lava creates a dramatically patterned terrain found in few other places in the American Southwest.

The canyon narrows in places into slot-like passages where the lava constricted the watercourse, and the smooth, sculpted walls display the characteristic swirling patterns of water-carved sandstone. Lava tube entrances are visible along the trail, remnants of the volcanic activity that shaped this corner of southwestern Utah. The canyon supports a ribbon of riparian vegetation nourished by seasonal water flow, providing habitat contrast with the arid surrounding landscape. Desert tortoise habitat exists throughout Snow Canyon, and sightings are possible though uncommon. Summer temperatures in the canyon can be extreme, so early-morning starts are strongly recommended from May through September. Leashed dogs are permitted. The $15 per vehicle entrance fee applies at the park's staffed entrance station.