Snow Canyon: Three Pools
Categories: Snow Canyon
One of the more isolated “official” trails in Snow Canyon State Park is called the Three Ponds. You won’t see any ponds but there are some small pools at the end of the trail, two of which are water pockets. The trail is a long 3.5 miles because much of it is through loose sand. The nice part of this trail is that you get to see a sort of hidden part of the park in a separate canyon you most likely won’t notice from the road. The hike is not difficult or technical so it’s suitable as a family hike.
The trail starts as an off shoot of the Red Sands Trail. The maps they put on the signposts are disorienting so be sure to double check on your position because there are four 4-way intersections.
Flowers in the desert share resources by taking turns blooming at different times of the year. In spring you might see a lot of white or lavender flowers while in the early fall there will be yellow flowers.
This tree guards the entrance to the hidden canyon. Somehow it’s been able to withstand floods, growing in the middle of the sandy wash.
You will remember this long river of sand as the biggest ordeal of the hike.
The first two pools. By the time I reached the end of the trail I realized i’d been almost there on several other occasions, doing other things.
Scrambling above the first two pools a side canyon continues a short distance to a dry fall.
The final pool. This is probably a cool place to be during a major storm but it is hard to be here at the right time. There’s a big pile of fresh sand back there from the last time the waterfall was flowing.
Watch out for the huge Cholla along the way.
The sky had clouded up on the way back through the “gates” of