Snowshoeing near Wildcat Trailhead, Kolob Terrace

Yvonne

I lava it!!!
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Messages
4,098
In early January Southern Utah received a good amount of snow in the mountains and with temperatures really low for a while the snow stayed for quite a while, even in Zion.
I just moved to St. George a week earlier and was anxious to see some snow nearby and simply get out and explore the area. Even here I kept the old habit and left my snow shoes in my car during the winter. You never know, maybe there are some opportunities to use them.
How right I was. I had business near Hurricane that day and somehow I was totally tempted to get somewhere else. I drove to Virgin and from there I headed up Kolob Terrace Road.
Was it open in winter? Would I find some snow?
I definitely found some snow and it was a lot. Eventually I ended up near the big S curve approximately half a mile before Wildcat TH. The road was inaccessible past that point or maybe you have chains.
I parked next to half a dozen other cars with trailers and snow mobiles and couldn't wait to get started.
The whole area looked so awesome and I went for a nice late afternoon/sunset snow shoe trip .

i-hmJkGSb-L.jpg

view toward Firepit Knoll

i-ht8R5NP-L.jpg


some of the snow drifts were at least two feet deep, maybe more, and I had to find my own way cross country.

i-rgLw8gC-L.jpg

deer tracks

Later I discovered a recently used trail and followed it for quite a while before turning my attention again to a different area. I wanted to find a good spot where I could take some shots of Zion in the distance.

i-p95PdxP-L.jpg

Selfie on the trail. Underneath the trail was still a foot of packed snow

The light was getting better

i-bZZwnjj-L.jpg


i-8wQL5GW-L.jpg


shortly before sunset

i-CwXKNGd-L.jpg


i-Tq5QZbX-L.jpg


and then,finally, a few nice after sunset shots. But with only having my point and shoot camera that wasn't an easy task. I wished I had a tripod.

i-MbcCjck-L.jpg


i-4gw2wzN-L.jpg


i-M2B5mBd-L.jpg

Northgate Peaks

It was a great little trip and I repeated it a few days later.

Featured image for home page:
slide.jpg
 
Very cool, Yvonne! What a great area for snowshoeing. For some reason I thought the road was closed lower than this in the winter.
 
Very cool, Yvonne! What a great area for snowshoeing. For some reason I thought the road was closed lower than this in the winter.

Nick, there was no official road closure, I guess you can head as far as you like. But there was at least a foot of snow on the road beyond Wildcat, nasty slushy stuff in some places.The road was plowed to the turn around point where I parked, but I think with chains you can head up much further.
I was surprised of the amount of snow and seriously expected less snow up there. You can also snow shoe to Northgate Peaks, but I was way too late that day for further explorations.
 
Despite the half a dozen cars parked up there I saw no one else. I guess they all went somewhere else with their snow mobiles.
Nice shots! Amazing what one can do with a "point and shoot". It's good to know I have Southern Utah "neighbors" who get out and do awesome trips.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
Shirt357 Winter hikes/snowshoeing near Fort Collins Trip Planning 8
kwc Adirondack Snowshoeing on a sunny day Winter Sports 0
kwc A Frosty Snowshoeing Adventure in the Southern Adirondacks Winter Sports 0
Outdoor_Fool Snowshoeing to Castner Glacier Ice Cave, Alaska Range Winter Sports 5
kwc Adirondack Snowshoeing Hiking & Camping 2
pstm13 Snowshoeing With Kids: So Much Fun it “Yurts.” Winter Sports 11
kwc Sunday Snowshoeing in the southern Adirondacks Hiking & Camping 3
Miya A First Attempt at Snowshoeing - Now I am Hooked Winter Sports 12
Outdoors24 Snowshoeing Cedar Breaks National Monument Winter Sports 2
Yvonne Snowshoeing Northgate Peaks, Zion NP, December 2018 Winter Sports 10
kwc some Adirondack snowshoeing ... Winter Sports 2
kimbur96 Brainard Lake, CO snowshoeing Everything Else 0
swmalone Perry Canyon Snowshoeing Winter Sports 2
swmalone Looking for Softshell/snowshoeing pant suggestions Gear 6
danger02ward Snowshoeing Lewis Peak and Ben Lomand Peak Winter Sports 4
Lucas Erickson Winter Camping/Snowshoeing in Utah? Trip Planning 6
Howells Outdoors Snowshoeing the Old Sorrel Trail Hiking & Camping 11
IntrepidXJ West Bench Snowshoeing Winter Sports 2
steve Snowshoeing American Fork Canyon - Pine Hollow to Tibble Fork Res Hiking & Camping 10
steve Snowshoeing AF Canyon Winter Sports 15
steve Invite Snowshoeing/Hiking up AF Canyon Sat, 12/14/13 Meet Up (Members Only) 0
Dave Invite January full moon snowshoeing Meet Up (Members Only) 26
pixie1339 Snowshoeing For Dummies Gear 23
IntrepidXJ Black Canyon Snowshoeing Winter Sports 2
Dave Invite Moonlight snowshoeing Meet Up (Members Only) 2
IntrepidXJ Snowshoeing to Water Dog Reservoir Winter Sports 3
IntrepidXJ Christmas Eve Snowshoeing on the Mesa Winter Sports 4
JamesM Snowshoeing Cedar Breaks National Monument Hiking & Camping 0
fossana Found: prescription glasses near the top of the Flipoff Canyon approach General Discussion 5
Rockskipper @Bob or anyone know why they closed down part of the forest near W. Yellowstone? General Discussion 6
Rockskipper You think you found a pithouse, or maybe an Ancestral Puebloan tower near Green River, UT? It's maybe something even more interesting... General Discussion 3
kwc Lightning Strike near Yellowstone General Discussion 8
The Trout Whisperer Dad n daughter trip in the very near future… Hiking & Camping 7
Rockskipper Anyone feel this? 4.2 near Silver Gate General Discussion 4
ghsmith76 Looking for best multi-day Backpacking Trips near Livingston, MT Trip Planning 6
forest dweller Grizzly Bear Kills Backcountry Guide Near Yellowstone, Investigators shot and killed the bear after it charged. General Discussion 13
G Dispersed camping near Zion? Trip Planning 5
Chuck the Mauler Any good day hikes near Breckinridge and Dillion? Trip Planning 5
BackpackingtheSierras Noob near the Sierras Noobs: Introduce yourself! 8
regehr funky salt formations near GSL State Park Trip Planning 1
Stephanie B Fishing (for Trout) and Hunting (for Rock Art) In and Near Capitol Reef National Park Hiking & Camping 7
Rockskipper Wolf spotted near Aspen? General Discussion 17
W Absaroka Beartooth near Yellowstone Trip Planning 3
Perry Any Beta in this Proposed Route Near Coffin Benchmark? Trip Planning 5
Bob Tannerite Fire ---- near Pinedale Trip Planning 7
Rockskipper The bears are definitely out near Ennis, MT General Discussion 3
Chuck the Mauler Trip ideas near or west of Vegas Trip Planning 8
JDWalters Access to Escalante River/Lake Powell near Cathedral in the Desert Trip Planning 7
Mikjik86 Good car camping? Stuff to do near Goblin Valley area Feb 24,25,26? Trip Planning 15
Jackson A Solo Stroll Near Capitol Reef Backpacking 17

Similar threads

Back
Top