Sand Hollow State Park

A 20,000-acre desert playground in Southern Utah where warm turquoise waters meet the massive red sand dunes and technical slickrock trails of Sand Mountain.

Sand Hollow State Park spans over 20,000 acres of Southern Utah desert, where the vivid contrast of warm turquoise water and orange-red sand dunes creates a playground for both water sports and off-road exploration. Established in 2003 near the town of Hurricane, the park centers around the 1,322-acre Sand Hollow Reservoir, a vital basin storing water diverted from the Virgin River. To the south, the landscape rises into the sweeping, red-rock expanse of Sand Mountain, a 15,000-acre open off-highway vehicle (OHV) area managed in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management. The park's unique layout allows visitors to transition directly from carving wakes on the water to climbing steep sandstone ledges, connected by a dedicated tunnel that runs beneath State Route 7.

The reservoir itself is a warm-water haven, with summer temperatures regularly hovering between 81 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Boaters, wakeboarders, and jet skiers launch from the paved ramps on the west side, while paddleboarders and kayakers stick to the calmer inlets near the red rock formations. Beneath the surface, the reservoir holds an unexpected treasure for scuba divers: a sunken Cessna 320 twin-engine airplane, deliberately placed on the lakebed to serve as an underwater destination. Anglers also frequent the shoreline and deep waters, casting lines for largemouth bass, bluegill, green sunfish, and channel catfish. On the shore, fine-grained orange sand, pulverized from the surrounding ancient Navajo Sandstone, forms wide beaches that draw swimmers and sunbathers throughout the hot desert summers.

For off-roaders, Sand Mountain is a premier destination in the American West, offering a mix of rolling dunes and highly technical slickrock trails. Reaching an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet, the mountain provides 360-degree views of the Hurricane Cliffs, the Pine Valley Mountains, and the distant cliffs of Zion. Famous trails like Milt's Mile, The Maze, and the scenic East Rim Trail test the limits of custom rock crawlers and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). The high-traction sandstone allows tires to grip near-vertical walls, leaving black rubber streaks on obstacles like Horseshoe Falls. For those seeking speed, the open dunes provide space to throttle up and kick up massive rooster tails of red sand. After a day on the trails or the water, visitors retreat to campgrounds like Sandpit, which caters specifically to OHV users, or the primitive Beachside Campground, where campfires burn directly on the red sand under the desert stars.