St. George Day 2: Crawdad Canyon Rock Climbing

Friday after breakfast we went to Crawdad Canyon (north of St. George on the south edge of Veyo) for some rock climbing.

When we arrived the sign said they open in May, but the website said they open April 1st. So Jeff made some calls and we found they were open, by appointment. The proprietor came, took our money, and let us in.

It's a shallow canyon with black, basalt walls on each side and a tree-lined stream running through it. A rather lovely place.


The temperature dropped 10 degrees from the already unseasonably cool St. George. Jamie was hoping for warmer.


True to it's name, there were lots of crawdads in the stream.


Kade had fun starting up the rock.


Kara started tentatively, but improved with some coaching.


Rachel climbing well.


Myself and Jamie working our way up two different routes.


Jolene climbing (with new shoes that fit).


Me pulling the last moves on a fun 5.9 route.


Me and my buddy Kade. Note the prickly pear above and the colorful lichen.


The girls.


Crawdad was a nice place to climb. The rock is good with a wide variety of routes all close. And the kids kept themselves entertained with the stream, trails, bridges and rock features. But the operation is haphazard with the website not accurate (schedule and cost - he charged us $8 / person instead of $5 as stated on the website). The pool is open in the Summer (for an additional fee).

After climbing we went over to the brother-in-law's house for dinner. We talked while the kids played. Then back to the hotel to sleep.

Next up: hiking in Pioneer Park and Red Cliffs.