Yellow Knolls

Last week, when we hiked Twin Peaks, we were able to look down on an interesting set of hills that are known as Yellow Knolls.  Both of us knew we wanted to add this area to our list of "local" hikes before the heat of summer sets in upon us.  The Knolls are located in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, near St. George, and Kent thought that April (his boss) and Nathan (a coworker) might like to meet us at the trailhead for an early morning hike.  They both responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!" . . .  Nathan even invited along his friend, Olivia, to complete our group of five.  And so, on a beautiful spring morning, we set out for a fun couple of hours to explore this neat area.

Leaving the Yellow Knolls Trailhead around 7:30am

 Yellow Evening Primrose
They open in the evening and, as we observed on our return, are closed by late morning

We had the trail to ourselves as we worked our way toward the Knolls . . .
The first one we will climb is directly in front of us

Kent is working his way up this checkerboard (dinosaur skin) section . . . 
Nathan and Olivia are waiting for him to catch up

Sandstone has many colors, textures, shapes and designs as evidenced by these colorful slabs

It didn't take us long to reach the top of the first knoll . . .
Only about 15 - 20 minutes to make the ascent

Now it's time to meet up with April and her two dogs, as we begin climbing the second knoll . . .
As you can see, the slickrock, which went almost to the top, made this an easy ascent

Mojave Popcorn flower, a fitting name for sure

Once we made the summit, Nathan broke out his drone and began filming us and our route

Here's a bird's eye view of us from the drone
(Click on the picture to enlarge our group photo)

How about a group selfie view from ground level? . . .  Allison, Olivia, Nathan, Kent and April

Nathan used his drone to shoot a flyby of our group on top the northern most knoll.  He then sent it down the ridgeline that we planned to follow as we hiked to the southern most knoll.  We have to say the drone added a whole new perspective to our hike!  Thanks, Nathan!  (Make sure to click on the "play" button above and don't miss viewing it in "full-screen" mode.)

Kent, Nathan, Olivia and Allison continued on down the ridgeline toward the other knolls . . .
April headed back down the slickrock with her dogs 

What amazing views!

Looking back at the ridgeline we just descended 

Spring in the desert!
Colorful Fernleaf Biscuitroot and Phlox surround this Century plant 

Have you ever seen a century plant in bloom?  Interestingly, they can take 8-30 years to reach maturity. Once they mature they grow a central stem that can be up to 20 ft tall.  This stalk is adorned with a unique flower top that can bloom for 3-4 months.  Once this cycle is completed the century plant dies.

Looking back to the north at the first two knolls we climbed
(The first has a green tree on top and its companion knoll, to the right, has the more rounded top)

Here's Kent on top of the third knoll . . . the one furthest to the south 

We decided to make it a four-some and hike up to the top of the last knoll (pictured on the left)

More phlox and fernleaf biscuitroot in bloom

Views from the fourth knoll . . . totally worth it!

Yes, there was a little sand, but not much
(That's the first knoll in front of Kent)

The west side of the fourth knoll had some interesting cross-bedded sandstone

Looking back at three of the knolls as we approach the trailhead and parking area . . .
Even if you don't want to climb up the knolls, it's still a worthwhile hike to an exceptional area of beauty!

What a great half-day hike!  All totaled this ended up being about four-miles (r/t) . . . this included the hike from the trailhead, ascending four knolls, and returning to the trailhead.  For a topo map, along with GPS coordinates, that closely follow the route we took, you can click here for Steven Thompson's Peakbagger.com post.