Location: West of Tech Ridge Drive in St. George, Utah
Difficulty: Easy with no strenuous sections. Much of the trail is rocky, watch your step.
Average Hiking Time: One to 1 ½ hours at a leisurely pace with many stops.
Elevations: Approximately 2,860 feet trailhead elevation with less than a 100 feet elevation change from the trailhead to the highest point. The trail is mostly flat.
Family Friendly: Yes, this is an easy hike.
Finding the Trailhead: Starting in St. George go west on St. George Boulevard (aka State Route 34) until the street ends at the intersection with Bluff Street (aka State Route 18). At the intersection continue west crossing Bluff Street onto Tech Ridge Drive which heads south and steadily uphill. About .4 mile from the St. George Boulevard–Bluff Street intersection turn right (west) onto 265 South Street, the first right hand turn on Tech Ridge Drive. After less than 100 yards on 265 South Street turn left (south) onto Donlee Drive. After a very short distance on Donlee Drive, turn right (west) into the paved trailhead parking area marked with a trailhead sign and a ten feet tall sandstone arch. The address is 312 South Donlee Drive. There are no restrooms at the trailhead.
Did you know there is an history steeped, easy, short hike with good views surrounded by urban St. George? There is, Temple Quarry Trail. It is a perfect mid-winter hike—in the sun and only 2.4 miles long round trip, not long enough to freeze even if it is a bit cold.
The trail leads to a lava rock quarry used by early pioneers (followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons) who moved large blocks of lava rock from the quarry to the St. George Temple. The quarry was in operation from 1871 to 1874. It was chosen because of the abundance of large chunks of lava rock that could be quarried and used as a foundation that would not dissolve in the alkali soil of St. George. The cut stones averaged about ten feet long, weighed around 5,500 pounds each, and were carried by horse and wagon to the temple site. Quite a feat for the 1870s.
My wife, Deb, and I began our expedition to Temple Quarry Trail on a cold Thursday morning in mid-January. We parked about 10:00 am with the temperature in the mid-40s under an overcast Utah sky. The trailhead elevation is 2,860 feet with very little elevation change (less than 100 feet) from the trailhead to the highest point. The trail is mostly flat with much of it being rocky, lava rocks embedded into the dirt and strewn about on both sides of the trail. Watch your step.
The beginning of the easy to follow trail is marked by a ten feet tall sandstone arch. We walked through the arch and began our hike. The trail mostly is cut into the eastern and southern slopes of Black Hill (aka Black Ridge). Initially we headed west following a cut into a hillside that went down and then back up the slope of Black Hill. At the end of this first section are a series of steps to make the uphill slope a bit easier to traverse. After that point, about .2 mile into the hike, the trail is generally flat and turns left and heads south. This portion of the trail has rather steep drop-offs on the left.
Along the way are some benches to rest from the arduous (not) hike and take in the views. There are also a couple of plaques on the trail telling part of the Temple Quarry Trail history. At certain locations are good views of the Pine Valley Mountains to the north and the Snow Canyon mountains to the northwest. Large green fields dominated the southern view. Urban areas border the entire perimeter of Black Hill.
About one mile from the trailhead, the trail began curving around the tip of Black Hill going west for a short distance and then quickly north. We soon reached the Temple Quarry site at 1.2 miles from the trailhead. It looked like much of the rest of the trail but had a plaque embedded in a rock saying we had reached the quarry. We explored a bit and noted that there was a picnic table at the site.
The trail does continue about ½ mile to the northwest toward the Valley View Drive neighborhood, but is the same territory as the way we came with similar views. No good reason to continue, so we headed back to the trailhead.
Being a mid-winter Thursday and cold, we saw only three other hikers on the trail. If you want an easy short hike in urban St. George with some decent views, consider visiting Temple Quarry Trail.
