The weather had been warm and dry for some time, so we decided to give the Danish Ranch Rd. a go. I wanted to wait until we didn't have the opportunity to get stuck out there because I had spent some time on that road in the last few months and I knew it could be in bad shape. We did our usual of waiting until school was out and then hitting the road. We headed north on I-70 and then took the exit as if we were going to Oak Grove. We drove up that road through Silver Reef for quite some time until instead of heading up toward the Pine Valley Mountains we went on the Danish Ranch Rd.
Jacqueline was immediately not a fan. The road climbed quickly and had a pretty significant drop off to one side. It was also rather busy for some strange reason on a Thursday afternoon. After the initial shock to her system, though, she settled down after the road became a little more manageable. It was still rather crooked and we had to take it slow, but lucky for us, it looked like it had just been graded so was in really good shape. Our goal on this day was the Yant Flat Trailhead to access the Candy Cliffs. When we got to the trailhead there were quite a few cars there.
This was surprising to me considering how far away we were from the main roads. We were able to find parking though and set out on what seemed like an old road that was the trailhead. Jacqueline could find the beauty in anything so she was just excited to see a blooming flower or a darkling beetle wandering across our path. As we slowly started to lose elevation, you could see the cliffs starting to appear below us. I could tell that this was going to be an awesome spot. The trail became more rocky and there were people scattered in various places along the rock.
This hike was not really a destination hike, but more an immersive experience. When we carefully picked our way down to the slickrock formations, it was now up to us, to choose our path. We found a section with no one else around that turned out to be the most fantastic. We both took far too many pictures and wandered around all over. I went out to the edge to look down into Cottonwood Wash while Jacqueline and the kids had a snack, but other than that, the kids were able to do everything and go everywhere that we went. They could climb up little buttes and look out over the whole area.
We spent at least an hour just exploring and everyone had a great time. Eventually, though, it became time to leave. We reluctantly went back up the trail and back to the car. We decided to drive all the way around the Danish Flat Rd. instead of going back the way that we came. This turned out to take a lot longer, but since the road was in good shape, there were no major obstacles. I was happy that the Xterra in its old age was still able to get us places that we wanted to go. It definitely turned out to be an enjoyable afternoon and we all agreed that this was one of our favorite hikes that we had done in the St. George area.
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