Hiking

Hiking is the main activity. The park publishes more than 38 miles of hiking trails. You must stay on designated, mapped trails except in the named scrambling areas: Galoot Hill, the Petrified Dunes, and the Whiterocks area. Johnson Canyon is closed March 15 through September 14 except ranger-guided hikes. Suits almost every group if the distance matches the people. Start with the hiking page on this site and the official hiking list.

A dark, broken lava flow crossing the canyon floor below red cliffs in Snow Canyon State Park.
A lava flow on the canyon floor, Snow Canyon State Park. Photo: Anna Irene, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Mountain biking

Bikes are allowed, but not on every footpath. The FAQ allows them on Snow Canyon Drive, the paved Whiptail trail, and West Canyon in the main canyon, and on Paradise Canyon trails except the interior portion of the Gila trail. Bikes are not allowed on the Johnson Canyon trail. The 2026 brochure lists West Canyon Road, Whiptail, and Paradise Canyon trails. E-bikes are allowed. Posted speed limits apply. Whiptail does not allow scooters or skateboards. Suits riders who are fine sharing Whiptail with walkers and West Canyon with horses. A cyclist day-use fee is $3 per person on the fees page. Confirm before you go.

ATV and UTV

The park’s published activity list and the 2026 brochure do not offer ATV or UTV trails. Park rules say vehicles are only permitted on designated roads and parking lots, and parking in vegetated shoulders or washes is prohibited. We did not find an OHV permit for Snow Canyon. Do not ride an ATV on hiking or horse trails. If you want that kind of day, look outside this park on land that actually publishes an OHV route, and do not treat this page as that map. Rules: Utah State Parks rules and FAQ and the park’s trail guide brochure (PDF).

Horseback

The park overview says there are over 15 miles of equestrian trails. The brochure says to ask for a map of designated horse trails rather than assuming every hiking path is open to stock. Trail sheets mark some routes for horses, including West Canyon, Berm, Toe, and Scout Cave, plus limited sections of others such as Lava Flow from West Canyon Road to the Whiterocks intersection. Suits riders who already have a horse and will stay on the marked horse routes. We do not rent horses and we are not listing a stable, because we are not going to invent an outfitter.

Guided tours

The park itself offers seasonal ranger programs and ranger-guided hikes into Johnson Canyon during the closure. Those are the park’s events, not ours. A paid guide you might book later through Viator or GetYourGuide is not listed on this site yet. Any future partner link would be a booking on that company’s site. We would not be the operator, and a guide would not cancel the day-use fee or a canyoneering permit.

Official park page

Curving lines of cross-bedded red sandstone slickrock, the petrified sand dunes of Snow Canyon State Park.
Petrified sand dunes: cross-bedded slickrock, Snow Canyon State Park. Photo: joannapoe, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

On your own

Most visitors should plan this way. Pay the fee, pick a trail that fits the clock, carry water, and leave by 10 p.m. The plan page and the loadout are the DIY kit. Climbing and canyoneering have extra rules. Those are on the reservations page, not a walk-up surprise.