Saint George, Utah

 

 We just got home from Saint George, Utah! It was a fantastic family trip with lots of outdoor time and pool time! One thing we've been loving lately is doing the Junior Ranger program-both National and State (and even some BLM- Bureau of Land Management). I've loved some of the blogs I've found about this, but I also wanted to share my experience for anyone out there also looking for some guidance. For us, we're not necessarily planning a ton of time at each park, especially if we're not getting in the water at the reservoirs. We more plan an hour or so to complete the booklet and explore around a bit. If we have more time, I'd love to bring or rent paddleboards or just let the kids play in the water (if available).

For this trip, we went during Spring Break, April 6-9. We started out in Zion National Park and completed that JR program on day 1. The second day we went to Snow Canyon State Park(my favorite), and did that Jr. Ranger program. Day 3 we went back to Zion. Day 4 we drove home an stopped for an hour or so at Quail Creek State Park.

There are so many parks and sights to see in this area of Utah, I thought I'd create a small 'itinerary' for anyone interested. This of course depends on how many days you're around the area and what you want to see!!

Saint George:

Zion National Park*: Let's just say this round we didn't get in as many hikes as we wanted. Our 3.5 yr old made our first hike take forever 😆. Our first day we did the Riverwalk Trail at stop 9. Our second day we hiked to all 3 Emerald Pools (with the toddler in the backpack). This only took about a 1/2 day each.

Snow Canyon State Park*:You only need 1 day. Stop at the visitors center first to grab your Junior Ranger books. The hikes best for kiddos are Jenny's Canyon (a super short in and back with a fun slot canyon-only 1/2 mile). The Sand Dunes-a must to play around in. We loved the Petrified Dunes (1.2 miles). They also suggested the Pioneer Names but we didn't make it there yet. I would love to rent bikes sometime and go along all the paved trails! They had a cute new wood star badge as well!

Snow Canyon and Quail Creek State Park Junior Ranger Badges

Quail Creek State Park: Go to the fee booth to ask for the Junior Ranger books. The lady there said they didn't have any, but I confirmed via FB message before I came so I asked her to ask someone else. She reached out to the Ranger and he came around in his truck and handed them to the boys. He was fantastic! We only spent an hour there because it was soooo windy and the water was freezing. I'd love to go back some day and bring our paddle boards and enjoy the park more! They had a basic Utah State Park badge, but the boys enjoyed it!

Bureau of Land Management Field Office: We also stopped at the BLM St. George office and got Jr. Ranger booklets for the Vermillion Cliffs and the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monuments. I'm not positive if you can get the books elsewhere.  For the Parashant Monument, it seems really hard to access unless you plan out a big expedition. Vermillion Cliffs we plan to do next year when we go closer to Kanab so I figured they would have the books completed mostly before we go! I'm not sure what the badges will look like but I'll do an updated post whe
n we get them.

 

 

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There are others in the area still so we're going to have to hit them up next time! Here's my idea for next year:

Gunlock State Park: This is a little further out from Snow Canyon. I'm still confirming that they are still offering the program.

Sand Hollow State Park*: TBD

Cedar Breaks National Monument: You can download their booklet on the NPS site.

Frontier

Homestead State Park: TBD

Bryce Canyon: We already did this one last year but you could add this to the line up!

 *These 4 parks are part of the Junior Desert Ranger Program. You HAVE to visit all 4 to receive this patch. Zion isn't currently offering the booklet, so make sure to contact the other parks ahead of time to ask to have it mailed to you or which one you can pick it up at. Coral Pink Sand Dunes confirmed they had it and are willing to mail it to me!