While visiting Zion National Park we stayed at Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, UT. This was an absolutely beautiful state park and our campsite was huge with gorgeous views all around!
The Sand Hollow Reservoir was right behind our site.
This campsite was so big that the kids decided to design their own national park in our back yard. They named it Red Sands National Park. They made a map with trail information and junior ranger books for Chris and me to fill out. They used an app on my phone to map how long each trail was and then led us on some trail hikes.
I love to watch their creativity blossom at places like this!
We also visited Snow Canyon State Park in nearby St. George. This was a gorgeous state park with lots of fun hiking trails.
First we hiked a short trail to Jenny Canyon which is a slot canyon.
Then we hiked the Lava Tube trail which was a new experience for us and something the boys really enjoyed. We were able to walk around in the lava tubes which are like underground caves. These lava tubes were formed during a volcano eruption many years ago.
Then we climbed up this slick rock to an amazing view point.
See the black hole in the ground below? That was one of the lava tubes we explored. I’ll admit it’s kind of creepy down there. It’s very dark and we only had our cell phone flashlights which don’t shine very far into the dark.
There is so much to see and do in Utah which is why we keep returning. It was time to move on to more adventures but I sure hated to leave the incredibly spacious campsite at Sand Hollow. Wait until you see the site we moved to next. I’ll give you a hint, it was NOT spacious!
4 Radical Roadschoolers and a Fat Cat 
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I’m glad you had a good time! I’ve been several times alone and with Trent but so far we haven’t gone as a family. I enjoy hearing others talk about it going well for them. It makes me look forward to doing it with our kids someday.
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Wow, my kind of campsite! State Parks have so much to offer, but are much lesser known. I just pinned this campground on my map. Thanks for sharing this, I would have never known about it otherwise. Your kids are so creative, love that they made a national park.
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Thank you! I sent you an email. We’re in CA now and I need your advice. ☺
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Ok, just replied 🙂
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What a great campsite! How fantastic to have a reservoir right behind your site–it really does look like a National Park! Love that your boys created Junior Ranger books–so creative and clever. The hikes you took look fantastic, especially the lava tube one. I love reading about great spots that are off the beaten path like this. It gives me so many ideas for future trips–thank you! I’d definitely like to explore more state parks for camping, especially ones like this. 😀
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