Finding the last waterfall in Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area’s waterfalls are seasonal except for flash floods. Our goal for this day trip was to see the last waterfall of the season before the thunderstorm-induced flash flood season started.

Water levels fell quickly during our visit to Saint George, and I thought our timing was too late to see the last waterfall of the spring season. You can tell by the above photo that we made it before the last waterfall dried up.

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is a significant habitat for threatened desert species. It sustains high densities of the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise and other Mojave Desert species. The red sandstone in these photos is the remnant of dunes turned into rocks that covered most of the southwest of the United States.

The conservation area is north of Saint George, Utah, and includes the Red Mountain Wilderness and the Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness Areas to the north. Further north is the Dixie National Forest.

When we visited in late spring, we probably didn’t find the last waterfall in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. Instead, we focused on a waterfall we knew about up the Red Reef Canyon Trailhead. Campground rumors held that waterfall season was over.

If there were water at the falls, it would make a good photo. We had visited before on our travels. If the falls were dry, we could access more remote parts of Red Reef Canyon upstream without getting seriously wet. In the top photo to the right of the waterfall you can see that someone (perhaps hundreds of years prior) carved toe holds into the rock leading past the waterfall.

In a previous visit, I climbed past this waterfall using the toe holds and found that the canyon narrowed even more, and wading in the creek would be more complicated than getting to this photo location. Either way, for us (water or no water), we knew we would get to hike in a beautiful area. At the trailhead, we already knew the answer. On this hike, we would see a small waterfall because the water was flowing in the creek.

This tiny creek flows southeast-bound from the higher reaches of the Red Reef Canyon and joins Leeds Creek, which feeds Quail Creek Reservoir. We stayed at Quail Creek Reservoir in the fall of 2018 and didn’t like the campground. Even though the water was pretty low during that visit, we thought it was not ideal for kayaking because of the frequent wind storms that blast down the valley, especially in the afternoon.

During our October 2018 visit, our stay at Quail Creek was still warm, unlike locations further to the north, where fall quickly turned to winter. This entire area is hot in the summer. Besides being hot in the summer, all the water in the creek flowing down the Red Reef Canyon can be dangerous due to thunderstorms.

It would only take one small thunderstorm to the north to turn Red Reef Canyon and the tiny waterfall into an unsurvivable torrent.

Most trails in Red Reef Canyon are beside or in the creekbed. A flash flood comes down the canyon every few years, making hiking in the creekbed a terrible idea. Make sure you check the weather for possible thunderstorms. Sometimes, these flash floods happen well after a thunderstorm has passed, making visits to these canyons dangerous.

A photo essay

On our travels, we often visit pretty places. It would not seem right not to visit them, take these pretty pictures, and then share them. Sharing photos is one of our primary motivators.

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is one of about 20 significant locations designated National Conservation Lands by the Bureau of Land Management. These sites are federal properties located in the western United States, complementing the National Parks system in several states.

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is very close to Zion National Park. People traveling east often pass by and overlook Red Cliffs National Conservation Area on their way to Zion National Park. Unlike Zion National Park, although you will still meet people on the trail, the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is very unknown.

As the name implies, Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is entirely red sandstone. These formations were dunes flowing in the wind. Over time, water moved through the dunes and carried away much of the red color, leaving calcium carbonite and turning the dunes into rock.

The easiest way to see Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is to drive along Interstate 15 in southern Utah. Snow Canyon State Park is at the western edge of Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, and Sand Hollow State Park, where we stayed during our visit, is to the south. Sand Hollow State Park and the red sandstone playground for off-road vehicles are south of Sand Hollow and cover an area nearly as large as Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

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As you know, our blog income is zero, which allows us to be independent and tell the truth. We do not get income or commissions. No, we don’t make paid endorsements. We don’t make recommendations; instead, we will tell you what we like (or dislike). The links are only provided as a quick reference to help our readers.

Links

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

National Conservation Lands

Snow Canyon State Park

FoxRVTravel Lakes, Mountains, and Desert (including Quail Creek Reservoir

FoxRVTravel Campsite Review: Quail Creek Campground (not our favorite campground)

FoxRVTravel Camping at Sand Hollow

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