Butterfly Trail – 2 miles. Moderate. Some steep slopes, steps and uneven surfaces. Winding along the west side of Petrified Dunes, this trail leads to West Canyon Overlook and lava tubes.
The Butterfly Trail located in Snow Canyon State Park is one of my favorite trails in the park. We had only been hiking for about 10 minutes when we spotted our first adventure. Petrified dunes! This geological formation occurs when sand dunes harden into stone over a very long period of time. On this particular dune there were trees and bushes growing up through cracks in the rock and small caves to crawl inside. After we had had our fun exploring the side of this dune we climbed to the very top where we could look out and see for miles of the canyon. It was gorgeous! Our next adventure took us to a large underground cave that we found almost by accident. The entrance was marked with a sign “Enter If You Dare!” Creepy! Well, we dared. It was a bit of a climb to get down into it but once we were inside and using our cell phones to light the way we realized that it wasn’t a very large cave at all but it was definitely a fun experience. Another small cave branched off of the larger one and we crawled into that one as well. On the way back i stepped on a cactus and a prick went through the very thin sole of my shoe! So don’t forget to wear good shoes while you hike through Snow Canyon! I loved the hike so much that i went back the next day and the park ranger suggested that i do the Hidden Pinyon trail. It was also very beautiful. I loved hiking through small sections of canyon walls that go straight up over your head. I can’t wait to go back and do more of the hikes in this beautiful canyon.
Lex
