I discovered Pictograph Canyon more than a year ago while exploring some of the lesser-known hikes and canyoneering routes around St. George. The route looked fascinating, so I put it on my list and planned a date with Alicia and a couple of friends. And then it rained.

Being that you really shouldn’t venture through slot canyons when rain is in the forecast, I tucked Pictograph Canyon away in the back of my mind. A day turned into a week, that turned into a month, that turned into a year. And so on and so forth until New Year’s Eve 2024.

About Snow Canyon State Park

• Park created in 1959, and named after Mormon pioneers Lorenzo and Erastus Snow
• 7,400 acres of sandstone cliffs and ancient lava flows
• Sits adjacent to a cinder cone volcano that erupted 1.4 million years ago
• Located at the intersection of the Mojave Desert, The Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau
• Snow Canyon State Park averages 7.5 inches of rain per year.
• Site of several well-known movies, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Jeremiah Johnson

We packed up our canyoneering gear – including our brand new 220’ 5mm pull cord – and told the kids we’d be back in a few hours. Nothing but blue skies and comfortable temperatures. And Padre Canyon.

I have a love-hate relationship with Padre Canyon. It’s the canyon directly north of the famous Tuacahn Theater in Ivins, UT. That’s where High School Musical was filmed. Don’t get me wrong: the scenery is spectacular. The red cliffs really pop against the bright blue sky. It’s really something to behold. But Padre Canyon? Well, I think it’s a mental thing for me. It’s seemingly uphill both ways. Every time I’ve attempted it, it kicks my butt. And New Year’s Eve was no exception.

The approach to Pictograph Canyon

There are really two ways to get to the head of Pictograph Canyon. One is to enter Snow Canyon State Park and enter the canyon from the east. You can park at the Sand Dunes parking lot, head northward on the Whiptail Trail, and then proceed up the second canyon on your left. Look for a saddle in the cliff walls and follow the trail to what’s called the Tuacahn Chimney (RopeWiki has some more detailed instructions in you’re interested).

The other way – and the way we chose – is via the Padre Canyon trail which starts at the Tuacahn parking lot. We left one car at the Sand Dunes in Snow Canyon (entry fee required) and then drove back to the trailhead in another car so we didn’t have to make the long hike around the mountain when we finished the canyoneering route. Trust me when I say you don’t want to hike around the mountain. Just. Don’t.

Finding Padre Canyon was the easy part. Finding the offshoot to the top of the canyon was another. If memory serves me correctly, we took a right at the second huge boulder on the west side of the trail and followed a small and somewhat faint social trail up the steep face. The trail takes you to a set of fins. You’ll want to take the middle fin to the top. You’ll know you’re on the right path when you see a few pieces of rebar drilled into the fin. After tackling the fin, you scramble up a bunch of boulders and keep heading northeast until you can’t go any higher. The view is spectacular, no question, but this ascent is one of the hardest I’ve ever encountered.

The Descent Into Pictograph Canyon

Once on top, head in a northerly direction, keeping Snow Canyon to your right. You’ll eventually hit Pictograph Canyon where you’ll veer slightly left so it remains on your right. The first rappel is in the direction of the black rocks and seemingly about halfway down the Tuacahn Chimney. You’ll see it as you carefully make your way down a somewhat narrow shelf.

The first rappel is about 100 ft. It’s not too technical. You just have to make sure you have enough rope to get to the bottom.  The next six rappels vary from 12 to 70 ft. The third and fourth rappels are short, and some canyoners do them together. We tried that, and let me tell you—I don’t recommend it! Our rope got stuck around the corner, and we spent more time getting it unstuck than if we’d run the two rappels separately.

It hadn’t rained in quite some time, so all the landing zones were perfectly dry except for rappel six. This fun, free-hanging rap had some ankle-deep stinky water at the bottom. We creatively made our way around the water though, and we escaped without a drop on our shoes! This was one of the most entertaining raps of the day.

The Grand Finale

Once you finish rappel seven, you have a choice to make. You can head south (right) and head over the saddle that leads you down a drainage to the Whiptail Trail in Snow Canyon, or you can head back up the mountain and go down the other side to end at Tuacahn. We chose option number three: go left (eastward) to the final 140-foot rappel into Snow Canyon. This is the route I recommend. After all – why miss such a glorious descent into one of the most beautiful canyons in the desert Southwest!?

Rappel 8 was awesome. The approach was simple. The cliff face didn’t have any scary surprises. It was just a peaceful slide down a 8.5mm static rope to the bottom of the canyon.

All in all, the route took us a little more than 5 hours to complete – which is about average for this canyon. We had a little trouble finding the offshoot from Padre Canyon. And we wandered for a few minutes before discovering the first rappel, but that’s to be expected when doing a route you’ve never done before. I’d definitely do this canyon again – even if I have to navigate Padre Canyon (ugh)!

The Pros:

• The views from the top of the route are spectacular. Snow Canyon State Park is definitely underrated.
• Pictograph Canyon is a physical challenge –one of the more challenging canyons in the area.
• Rappels are pretty straightforward and fun – especially numbers 6 and 8.
• Pictograph isn’t a highly trafficked route. We didn’t see a single soul that day. Nor did we see a lot of wear and tear along the route.
• The anchors were all in great shape.

The Cons:

• For some reason I always struggle ascending Padre Canyon. That place has my number. It’s not easy.
• After navigating the fin up the Padre Canyon side, we encountered a boulder that was really tricky to navigate. I’m not a climber, so pulling myself up this huge boulder was kind of eerie.

The gear:

We took two ropes and pull cord. A 220’ static 8.5mm, and a single 60-ft. 9mm dynamic rope. The pull cord was 220’ and 5mm. Better to be a little long than a little short!

Alicia and I like our Critr3 descender. We also carry a Figure 8 just in case. The eights came in handy a couple of times to use as blocks on the anchors.

If you do this canyon in the summer, be sure to start really early, as temperatures can soar into the 100+range by mid-morning. Stay well hydrated and bring more water than you think you’ll need.

Photos of Pictograph Canyon