Utah Hikes: Red Ledges (Mini Moab)

If you have ever been to Southern Utah, one of the main features you notice is the red rock all over.  Unfortunately, we live about 4 hours away from there and so we don't have the chance to enjoy the red rock very often.  I had heard of a hiking trail called Red Ledges, or Mini Moab, about 15 minutes up Spanish Fork Canyon that sounded like fun for the family.  What we didn't know when we got there was that there are multiple paths and some are more difficult than others.  When you get to the trailhead, there are a few paths you can take.

If you go straight, it starts off fairly flat, but quickly turns steep.  We had our two kids with us (3.5 year old and 16 month old) and the older one did alright at first, but my husband had to carry her up a few spots and I had to carry the baby most of the way.  Since it's red rock, it is a little slick and sandy, and doubled with some steep spots, it was fairly difficult to hike with small children.  However, if you are hiking with older kids (age 6+) they could do most of it without help.  When we got to the top, there were a few trails we could choose from to get back down.  We decided not to try and go down the same way we came up and instead took another of the paths that wound around until we made it back down to the road, where we walked back to the parking lot.

There is another little path to the right of the parking lot that takes you up into the red rock.  It is a very small trail, but would be easy for kids 3+ to do without help.  There are some little holes they can climb into and lots of red sand to play with.  It is also nice and shady.

There is one other trail to the left of the main trailhead that we didn't get a chance to explore, but it looked fairly flat and easy.

I had heard that there was a trail you could take to a small arch, similar to the ones they have in Southern Utah, but it must have been on the trail we didn't take.  We are planning on going back and exploring the area more!

The whole area has a few picnic tables, firepits and some charcoal grills, so pack a lunch or go up for a fun family/friend BBQ!

Overall, it was a good hike, although I would wait to take my kids on the same one we did and do one of the others instead.  It was a good opportunity for us to show them different types of nature than we have right around us, such as cacti and lichen, and we also saw some tiny lizards and even a snake crossed our path (not a poisonous one, according to my husband).

Directions: Take I-15 to exit Exit 257B onto US 6 – East. Follow US 6 – East for 10.8 miles. At this point, you will see the turnoff for the ‘Diamond Fork CG’ road on your left. Follow the road for 6.9 miles to your destination, on your left.

Difficulty: Depends on trail (as noted above)
Kid-Friendly: Yes (depends on trail)
Toddler-Friendly: Yes (depends on trail)
Baby-Friendly: Yes (depends on trail)
Stroller-Friendly: No
Fee: None
Restrooms: Yes

Post by Shani Ogden