Red Hills Parkway
The Red Hills Parkway trail is part of the St. George City trail system and lies entirely within or on the south border of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve above the heart of the city. The trail starts at the junction of the Red Hills Parkway with State Route 18 and runs east about 3 miles to near its junction with 900 East in St. George. The trail is paved throughout its length and is suitable for hikers, joggers, bikers, and in-line skaters. Elevation gain for the first 1 1/2 miles is about 175 feet with about a 230 foot loss from there to the trail’s east end. The trail has logical connections with the city’s SR-18 trail and other trails inside the Reserve including City Creek, Rusty Cliffs, Pioneer Hills, Pioneer Rim, T-Bone, and Owen’s Loop. To facilitate visitor access to each of these trails, the city has constructed Parkway underpasses at a quarter mile, a mile-and-a-half, and two-and-a-quarter miles from the start to provide connections to the City Creek/Rusty Cliffs trails, the Pioneer Hills trailhead parking area, and the city’s popular Pioneer Park facility. Stepover gates are provided immediately adjacent to the trail at mileage points 0.4 and 1.6 to allow entrance to the north and south ends of the City Creek trail, respectively. A total of four pullout parking areas are provided along the route to allow visitors to park their vehicles on the eastbound side for views into St. George proper from on high and to start their hikes or rides from various points along the trail. Visitors are also invited to use the stairs to climb to the top of the city’s large water tank located adjacent to the trail near its east end and enjoy views of St. George City and learn about water management for this growing area. A good four-mile hike is created by parking at the Pioneer Hills trailhead on the westbound side and taking the nearby underpass (100 yards to the northwest) to reach the paved trail and coming back east to the City Creek stepover. Then take the easy to moderate three-mile City Creek dirt trail to its northern end, exiting at the north stepover and following the paved trail back to the start of the hike. Check out the City Creek trail description to see if this hike is right for you.
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- This area map shows the Red Hills Parkway trail in relation to linkages with seven other trails immediately north of St. George.
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- Visitors to the trail may park at the popular Chuckwalla trailhead 1/4 mile north of the west end of Red Hills Parkway.
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- The Red Hills Parkway trail runs 3 miles from the west end parallel to a beautifully landscaped vehicle parkway.
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- From the west end, visitors will first climb and then begin dropping down in elevation just east of the City Creek stepover.
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- Safety fences are provided next to steep drop-offs at multiple places along the trail.
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- Underpasses at 3 points along the trail allow visitors to access trails or facilities on the north side of the parkway.
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- Visitors may wish to park at the Pioneer Hills trailhead parking area partway up the trail to access up to 6 different trails.
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- Shortly after the 2nd underpass, visitors may access this stepover that leads to the City Creek trail with a linkage to Owen’s Loop.
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- Direct access to the Owen’s Loop trail is now provided at this point along the Parkway trail just north of the Skyline Drive intersection.
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- After the Skyline Drive intersection, visitors will drop down to a 3rd underpass to access the west entrance of Pioneer Park.
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- From the west side, visitors may leave the park’s western parking lot to access the Parkway trail on the south side.
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- Visitors will enjoy views of the superb red rock formations in Pioneer Park on the north side of the Parkway.
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- Plenty of parking is available in four pullouts located along the Parkway trail.
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- From portions of the trail, visitors may enjoy excellent views of the Pine Valley Mountains.
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- The city leaders provided visitor access to the top of this massive water tank with a safety railing near the eastern end of the trail.
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- From the top of the tank and the eastern half of the trail, visitors may look over the historic portions of St. George City and view distant mountains into Arizona.
