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Red Cliffs Recreation Area is a desert park located in southwest Utah northeast of St. George.
Introduction to Red Cliffs Recreation Area
Red Cliffs Recreation Area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It’s a small section of the much larger Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, which covers an area of 44,724 acres (180.99 square kilometers).
The park protects the habitats of the Mojave Desert tortoise and endangered native fish of the Virgin River system as well as native and migratory birds and other species. There are several miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding as well as a small campground and picnic area. Check the official website for more info.
Planning Your Trip to Red Cliffs Recreation Area
Before getting into some of the trails and highlights of the park, here’s some essential information to help you plan your trip:
Entrance Fees to Red Cliffs Recreation Area
The entrance fee is US$5 per vehicle (as of September 2025), and free for holders of any interagency pass.
Camping
The Red Cliffs Campground has 11 tent sites at US$15 a night (as of September 2025). Reservations are required.
Dinosaur Tracks Trail
After a quick lunch in the picnic area, we hiked the short Dinosaur Tracks Trail, which features 17 dinosaur tracks dating back to the Jurassic period. They were discovered in 1998 and reexamined in 2012.
Interpretive panels profile the dinosaurs that made them. You’ll see tracks from a dilophosaurus, megapnosaurus, and an unknown dinosaur.
Anasazi Trail
Next, we took the Anasazi Trail. It’s an easy ½-mile one-way trail that begins on the east side of the campground. You make it a 1-mile loop by taking short sections of the Metate Trail, the Red Reef East Trail, and the Mano Trail. If you decide to do the loop, you might spot a few more dinosaur tracks.
The Anasazi Trail ends at the Red Cliffs Archaeological Site, which contains the ruins of a small Ancestral Puebloan village used by farmers. The site was occupied intermittently for over 700 years until it was abandoned around 1200.
The site was excavated between 1977 and 1979 by BLM archaeologists. They unearthed several important artifacts, including stone tools and pottery, which are now on display at the museum at Southern Utah University. Interpretive panels at the site point out living quarters, storage rooms, and fire pits, and give visitors a better understanding of how the Ancestral Puebloans lived.
Orson B. Adams House
Finally, on our way out of the park we paid a quick visit to the Orson B. Adams House. The house was built in 1863 by Mormon pioneer Orson B. Adams in the abandoned settlement of Harrisburg.
The Adams family lived there until 1892 when Orson moved to nearby Leeds after the death of his wife. It’s the last remaining house of the Harrisburg settlement and was rehabilitated in 2006. It’s sometimes open to the public depending on volunteer availability. In addition to the house, you’ll enjoy some great views of the desert landscape.
