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Snow Canyon Drive (former Utah State Route 8)

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Snow Canyon Drive is an approximately five-mile road which serves as the main roadway through Snow Canyon State Park.  Snow Canyon Drive begins in Ivins at a roundabout connecting with Center Street and Snow Canyon Parkway.  From Ivins the course of Snow Canyon Drive passes northward through Snow Canyon State Park and terminates at Utah State Route 18. 

Snow Canyon Drive was commissioned as Utah State Route 300 in 1972. The then new State Highway corridor was constructed south from Utah State Route 18 to the southern boundary of Snow Canyon State Park. Utah State Route 300 was renumbered to Utah State Route 8 in 1991 and extended from the southern Snow Canyon State Park boundary through Ivins to Utah State Route 18 in St. George. In 1999 much of Utah State Route 8 was relinquished aside from a small portion located on Sunset Boulevard (former US Route 91).




Part 1; the history of Snow Canyon Drive

Snow Canyon is located in the Red Mountains north of the city of Ivins in Washington County, Utah.  Snow Canyon is one of many sandstone canyons located in the Red Mountains.  Part of the extinct Santa Clara Volcano punctured the Red Mountains via lava tubes.

From approximately the year 200 to 1,250 the area around Snow Canyon was inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans.  Mormon pioneers established Santa Clara south of Snow Canyon in 1854.  Local legend has it that the settlers discovered Snow Canyon in the 1850s while searching for missing cattle. 

Washington County newspapers referenced Snow Canyon (then Johnson Canyon) being used for recreational purposes by 1871.  By the 1880s the canyon had become popular as a local hiking destination for much of Washington County.  

Ivins was settled south of Snow Canyon by Swiss settlers during the 1920s.  The Ivins town plot lined Center Street eastward with the roadway to Snow Canyon.  Ivins would incorporate as a city during 1935.  

Center Street in Ivins can be seen entering Snow Canyon on the 1954 United States Geological Survey map.  The roadway is shown entering Snow Canyon and branching away slightly to the east to a cluster of lava tubes.  



In 1957 Snow Canyon was added as one of the first Utah State Parks.  In 1959 Washington County would donate 296 acres of land to the State Parks Commission which was added to Snow Canyon State Park.  The State Parks Commission would construct facilities including a roadway through Snow Canyon (now known as West Canyon Road) before dedicating it for public use in 1962.  

West Canyon Road was always a dead-end corridor and largely inadequate for facilitating through access through Snow Canyon State Park.  Snow Canyon Drive was commissioned in 1972 as Utah State Route 300 from Utah State Route 18 southward to the park boundary near Ivins.

Utah State Route 300 and Snow Canyon Drive can be seen on the 1980 United States Geological Survey map.


Snow Canyon Drive was absorbed by a then new Utah State Route 8 when it was designated in 1991 and extended through Ivins. Utah State Route 8 was extended through Ivins to St. George via Center Street, 200 East (now Red Mountain Boulevard), Santa Clara Drive and Sunset Boulevard (both former US Route 91).

Utah State Route 8 was later truncated to existing only St. George in 1999. Utah State Route 8 currently begins at Dixie Downs Road and extends east on Sunset Boulevard to Utah State Route 18.



Part 2; a ride on West Canyon Road

This view is from the Snow Canyon Scenic Overlook a short distance west of Utah State Route 18.  Snow Canyon Drive can be seen snaking through the canyon floor below.  


This view is facing south on Snow Canyon Drive a short distance past the Lava Flow Trail parking lot. 


The Lava Flow Trail permits hikers to access some of the best preserved lave tubes in Snow Canyon State Park.







The Lava Flow Trail connects with the Butterfly Trail.  The Butterfly Trail loops back to Snow Canyon Drive at another parking area. 




This view is from Snow Canyon Drive facing north to the Snow Canyon State Park entrance.  


These views face north on Snow Canyon Drive near the Jenny's Canyon Trail parking area. 





Part 3; a drive on modern Utah State Route 8

As noted in Part 1 the current extent of Utah State Route 8 exists only in St. George along Sunset Boulevard from Dixie Downs Road 1.303 miles east to Utah State Route 18.  






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