Red Reef Trail
Categories: Family Friendly, Hiking, Utah
The Red Reef Trail is a very popular hike sometimes called the Red Cliffs Trail. It begins at the Red Reef Campground in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve near Harrisburg, Utah. It’s important to note that these pictures only cover the first part of the hike. Going farther becomes a much more serious hike that could not be considered family friendly. I should also point out that there is a $5 parking fee but parking can also be hard to find, especially close to the trailhead, which is in the back of a busy campground.
The trail follows Quail Creek, which flows a few miles into Quail Creek Reservoir.
There is some up and down over sandy hills with no shade during the first half of the hike.
You will not be alone on this popular hike, as it’s very well known, and located at a campground.
The first pool.
Maree is doing some gutsy climbing to bypass the pool.
The second pool has a narrow steep sided traverse that can act as a bottleneck.
The third pool is deeper. I think the water was murky from swimmers.
On the side some steps have been carved into the rock for assistance.
After we saw the pools it started to rain a little so we sought shelter in a big overhang.
There were some petroglyphs in the ceiling.
It was a nice alcove but it wasn’t long before the rain stopped and we went on our way.