St. George and Snow Canyon by motorcycle
St. George is the first Utah town you reach on I-15 from Las Vegas, and the biggest town near Zion. Ride north out of town and you are in red and white sandstone and old lava flows within minutes, then up into pine forest at Pine Valley. It makes a good warm-up day before Zion, or a winter ride when the high country is closed.
Snow Canyon State Park
- Where: about a 15-minute ride northwest of St. George on SR-18, and a little over an hour from Zion's South Entrance (UDOT Zion area).
- The park road: a paved two-lane road (once SR-300) comes in from Ivins on the south, climbs the canyon's east side and joins SR-18 on the bench above the canyon (Wikipedia). Ride it as a loop: St. George, Ivins, up the canyon, back down SR-18.
- What you ride past: red and white Navajo sandstone, sand dunes, lava flows and lava tubes from the extinct Santa Clara Volcano, and two cinder cones just across SR-18 (Wikipedia).
- Short stops off the bike: the Snow Canyon Scenic Overlook on SR-18; Pioneer Names (0.5 mile round trip, easy, names written in axle grease by early settlers); Petrified Dunes (1.2 miles round trip); the Cinder Cone trail, one mile north of the Snow Canyon Drive and SR-18 junction (Utah State Parks trail guide, 2026).
- Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. year-round (Utah State Parks trail guide, 2026).
- Fee: charged per vehicle. From July 1, 2025 it went up to $20 for non-residents and $15 for Utah residents (St. George News, July 2025). No separate motorcycle rate is published there; check at the entrance station.
- Busy days: it is the second most visited state park in southwestern Utah and can get as busy as Zion (UDOT Zion area). Go early.
- Watch the road: the park warns that hundreds of animals, desert tortoises among them, are hit on the park road each year, and parking is only in marked areas (Utah State Parks trail guide, 2026).
SR-18 north: Veyo and Pine Valley
- SR-18 runs 51 miles from I-15 in St. George to Beryl Junction. North of Snow Canyon it climbs through Wide Canyon to Dammeron Valley, passes Veyo Volcano, goes through the middle of Veyo, then heads on through Dixie National Forest to Enterprise (Wikipedia SR-18).
- Veyo is about 8 miles north of the state park, a small town with a few family restaurants and the last fuel and supplies for a while (Visit Utah).
- Pine Valley is a forest town at 6,542 ft, about 45 minutes north of St. George (Wikipedia). Its 1868 chapel was designed by Ebenezer Bryce, of Bryce Canyon, like an upside-down boat (Wikipedia).
- Gunlock: from Veyo's crossroads, a road heads west to Gunlock and its reservoir (Visit Utah). Gunlock State Park is known for waterfalls that only run in spring in wet years (UDOT Zion area).
Ways to ride it
- Half day: St. George, Ivins, up through Snow Canyon, back down SR-18 (estimate: 2 to 3 hours with stops).
- Full day to the pines: Snow Canyon, SR-18 to Veyo, on to Pine Valley for lunch, back the same way (estimate).
- On to Zion: from St. George it is I-15 north to exit 16 and UT-9 east through Hurricane to Springdale; the details are in our Las Vegas to Zion guide and the Zion page.
- North to the high country: I-15 to Cedar City and Scenic Byway 14 up to Cedar Breaks (open in summer).
Before you ride
- Heat: St. George sits low in the desert. In summer, ride the red rock early and save the afternoon for Pine Valley's shade.
- Fuel in St. George or Veyo.
- Rules for visiting riders (helmets, eye protection, lane filtering): Riding in Utah.
Rent a bike
Booking opens soon. Until then, use the ride guides to plan your trip.