We've lived in the St. George area for almost 28 years . . . you would think, in that time, we might have made the short hike to Elephant Arch . . . wrong! Since Elephant Arch is just right out our back door, we had no more excuses and decided it was time to go see this natural wonder that is so close to home. So on a nice and warm Sunday afternoon that's exactly what we did.
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| The trail for Elephant arch starts at the Mill Creek Trailhead . . . Mill Creek Trail is basically a utility road that the City uses to access water wells in the Red Cliffs Reserve |
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| We enjoyed the views as we made our way towards the turnoff for Bone Wash |
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| We've arrived at Bone Wash . . . Time to walk up the wash to the turn off for Elephant Arch |
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| We loved the unique shadows this Yucca plant displayed on the sand |
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| The wash had lots of interesting rock formations along it's cliffy walls |
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| We were kind of surprised when the wash narrowed to this small passage |
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| Just past the narrow spot you will come to cairns that signal you're nearing the exit from Bone Wash |
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| If you start up this small slot canyon, then you have gone too far . . . Retrace your footsteps, about 50 yards, and look for a path on your left heading up a sandy hill |
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| There should be a sign at the base of the small sandy hill that directs the way (We met Eddie as we were exploring the slot canyon . . . we hiked together to the arch and enjoyed good conversations on our way back to the trailhead) |
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| As you can see, the arch initially can be a little hard to spot |
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| Now you can see how the arch got it's namesake! |
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| Looking back towards Bone Wash |
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| It was nice of Eddie to take our picture together before we all headed back down |
What a nice Sunday afternoon hike! Altogether it was just about four miles round-trip and took a couple of hours to complete. Be prepared for walking in lots of sand . . . we were fortunate as it had just rained a couple of days earlier, so the sand was somewhat compacted. Regardless, you will have sand in your shoes! Don't let that deter you . . . this easy hike is worth it!
