What happens when you get 5 toddlers together for a weekend to explore St. George, Utah? Adventure, fun and lots of belly laughs, obviously!
Last month, we met the lovely families behind The American Field Trip (again!) and Zion Adventure Photog in Southern Utah to see just how much trouble our five toddlers could get into – and we were super surprise by just how kid-friendly the greater St. George area was – and we created a bond between them that is equally as special.
To fully explained what the weekend was like, I’ve brought Kid Augustine back to the blog because only a toddler could really tell you why she loved it so much.
Hi There! Kid Augustine here and I went on a trip to the desert. I played in red sand, swam in a lake, kayaked on a big kid kayak, hiked a really tall rock, and met five new friends. We are best friends now. Can they come to my house to play? Ok, bye!
Well, that’s what happens when a toddler has a blog! Let me fill in the gaps for you.
We flew into St. George from LAX on the easiest one hour flight ever. Since we usually drive, it was awesome to quickly get to St. George without having to drive through Las Vegas and up- which depending on traffic can be anywhere from 6 to 8 hours.
After getting our rental car, we drove over to Sand Hollow Resort and watched the sunset over the reservoir. The two-bedroom condo was perfect for our little gang, allowing us to enjoy the heated pool under the stars and plenty of room to spread out.
The next morning we woke up early and met the American Field Trip gang for breakfast before heading over to Snow Canyon State Park to hike and explore. The petrified sand dunes are the perfect hiking spot for toddlers, letting them wander on their own and climb up an easy, smooth, and gradual cliffs. They found wild flowers, somehow surviving in the desert heat, they watched ants carrying food to under a leaf, and they helped each other climb and sit down. Afterwards we all ate Mexican food before driving out to Gunlock State Park.
Gunlock was a new to us state park. St. George, besides being home to Zion National Park, has four amazing state parks and miles and miles of BLM land that is so diverse, even for the same area. Gunlock is an amazing reservoir on the far west side of town, perfect for kiddos and large groups. We had the whole area to ourselves- which made kayaking around the huge rock formations really fun.
After a long day in the sun, we quickly showered before seeing an outdoor musical at Tuacahn. Augustine loved eating popcorn while watching all the singers and dancers. This wasn’t her first musical performance but definitely the biggest production value and she was dancing as we left the theatre that night.
The second morning, we met the gang for a bike ride before ending the day with in swim time in Sand Hollow State Park. Watching the sunset over the water as the full moon rose above the mountains was one of the most beautiful moments. The kids were all splashing in the shallow bank and we could just relax. It was one of those nice moments as parents where your kids are just playing and you can watch them without hovering over them.
Our final day took us on the most beautiful hike I’ve ever done in all of southern Utah. Water Canyon Trail, right near the border, follows a running stream along the canyon rock walls. Through raspberry bushes and over slick rock formations, we made our way to a cool canyon floor. The kids all took their shoes off and splashed around in the freezing water. Then they played princesses and knights as they climbed into their castle (a really tall rock). We stayed in the shadows of the canyon for hours before making the hike back out.
As we sat in bed that night, recounting the dozens of stories of our trip, all three of us said this was our best trip to St. George yet. Now we just have to plan a winter trip back!
