What are the best hikes in Hurricane, Utah?

Hurricane’s hiking is cliffs and reservoirs rather than slickrock. It is different in character from the rest of Washington County, and worth understanding before you go looking for a Snow Canyon equivalent, because there is not one.

What Hurricane has instead is a large connected trail system on the cliffs, and a location that puts you closer to Zion than anywhere else in the county.

The Hurricane Cliffs Trail System

This is the core of it. According to the Bureau of Land Management, the system covers nearly forty miles of beginner and intermediate trails, including the Hurricane Rim, Gould’s Rim and JEM trails.

Gould’s Rim runs between the radio tower Hurricane Rim trailhead on Highway 59 and the upper JEM trailhead — 8.9 miles point to point, starting around 3,600 feet and climbing to roughly 4,350.

JEM runs 6.9 miles from the upper Highway 59 trailhead down to the lower JEM trailhead on Sheep Bridge Road off Highway 9 near Virgin, with about 800 feet of elevation change.

Hurricane Rim is the one most people do for the views, and the rim is the whole point — you are walking along the edge of the cliffs with the valley below.

The honest caveat: this is bike country

I would rather say this plainly than have you discover it.

The Hurricane Cliffs system is best known as a mountain biking area, and on a good weekend you will share it. That is not a problem — the trails are wide enough and the etiquette is generally good — but if you were picturing a quiet solitary walk, pick your timing.

Weekday mornings are a different experience from Saturday afternoons.

Gould’s Wash and the water

There is a trail following Gould’s Wash through the canyon with cascades and small waterfalls in it.

The important qualifier: the stream bed is often dry in hot conditions. If you are driving out specifically to see water, this is a spring proposition, not a July one. Going in August and finding a dry wash is a common disappointment and an avoidable one.

What Hurricane really offers: position

This is the part that matters most, and it is not about any individual trail.

Hurricane sits on the eastern side of Washington County, which means it is the closest town in the county to Zion and to the Sand Hollow area. If your weekends point that direction, you are starting ahead of everyone in St. George.

That geographic advantage is a genuine part of why people choose Hurricane over St. George, alongside the land. For a household whose Saturdays involve a boat, a trailhead or a park pass, the math works differently than it does for someone whose life is centered on town.

Getting to Zion from here

Close enough that Hurricane residents treat Zion as a normal weekend rather than a trip.

That said, the marquee Zion hikes still require planning that has nothing to do with how near you live. Angels Landing needs a permit from a lottery whether you live in Hurricane or Chicago. The Narrows needs a flash flood check regardless of your postcode.

Living close reduces the drive. It does not reduce the paperwork.

Summer here

The Hurricane Cliffs are exposed. There is limited shade, the rock holds heat, and the elevation gain on Gould’s Rim is real work.

From roughly June through September, this is early-morning territory or it is not happening. The general rule for hiking here in summer applies with extra force on an exposed rim trail with a climb in it.

Autumn through spring, it is superb.

What to bring

Water beyond what you think you need. There is no water on these trails.

Sun protection — there is very little shade on the rim.

A map or a downloaded route. It is a connected system with junctions, and it is easier to take a wrong turn here than in a single out-and-back park.

Awareness for bikes, particularly on blind corners and descents.

Who this suits

If you want a big connected system you can explore over months rather than a single famous trail, this is genuinely excellent and underrated.

If you want a short spectacular walk you can do with small children on a whim, Snow Canyon is the better answer and it is worth the drive across the county.

Neither is better. They are different products, and knowing which you actually want is the useful part.

Before you go

Check with the BLM for current trail conditions, closures and access. Dirt access roads in this area can change condition after storms, and drainage in this county moves fast when it rains.

If you are house hunting

For a household whose outdoor life is genuinely central, this is one of the more honest arguments for Hurricane — not the price, the position.

The trade is the one I write about constantly: you are further from the hospital, the airport and the bigger shopping, and closer to the trailheads and the water. Whether that trade works depends entirely on how you actually spend your week.

Getting oriented the first time

This system confuses newcomers more than it should, and it is worth five minutes of orientation before your first visit.

The trails are accessed from two different highways, and which one you use changes the day entirely.

Highway 59 runs south out of Hurricane and gives you the upper trailheads — the radio tower Hurricane Rim access and the upper JEM trailhead. This is the end you want for the rim views and for starting high.

Highway 9 runs east toward Virgin and Zion, and Sheep Bridge Road off it gives you the lower JEM trailhead. This is the end you want if you are heading down-canyon or setting up a shuttle between two cars.

Because several of these are point-to-point rather than loops — Gould’s Rim is 8.9 miles one way, JEM is 6.9 — you either arrange two vehicles, accept an out-and-back, or plan a longer connected loop using the wider system.

Parking is informal at most of these trailheads. Dirt lots, no facilities, no water, and no reliable phone coverage once you drop below the rim. Bring what you need with you and tell someone your route.

Download your map before you leave town. This is the single most useful piece of advice for a first visit — the junctions are frequent and the signage assumes you already know the system.

What to do next

Start with a section of the Hurricane Rim on a weekday morning for the views, and go in the cooler half of the year if you have the choice.

If you are weighing Hurricane against the rest of the county and the outdoors is a real driver, tell me what your Saturdays look like. That answer points at a town more reliably than a budget does, and the city question is the one worth settling first.

Source: Trail distances and elevations from the Bureau of Land Management. Confirm conditions before you go.

— Kelsey Earl, Realtor, Keller Williams South Valley