Enepitsi "Ghost" Trail | St. George - Utah's Adventure Family

There are so many good hikes in southern Utah, but the Enepitsi Trail is one of our favorites because it is really close to St. George. This trail leads through a beautiful, lush canyon with petroglyphs high on the walls. Whether you are visiting for Spring Break, or just enjoying a weekend in the area, this hike is perfect for families.

Directions

Finding the Enepitsi Trail is easy. The turn off is just north of the Jacob Hamblin historic home. Turn left at the Santa Clara City Public Works. There is a large sign, and then follow the dirt road to the Tukupetsi Trailhead. It’s a very short distance to the parking area on the left side of the road. You can use this Address: 3979 Santa Clara Dr, Santa Clara, UT to put into your maps, or “Tukupetsi Trailhead” comes up in Google Maps.

Here is where you turn to get to the trailhead.

Park in the parking area for the Tukupetsi trailhead.

Finding the Enepitsi Trail

Once you get parked at the trailhead, cross the street to the north. There is a trailhead map, but it isn’t very helpful. Pass the map and step through the gate onto the trail. Make sure to close the gate after you pass through. Then, follow these directions closely.

The trail begins behind the trailhead sign.

Make sure to close the gate when you enter the trail.

Less than 100 meters down the trail, there is an unmarked split. The right fork stays up on the ridge, but you don’t want that trail. Instead, turn left onto the narrow trail. Within just a few dozen more steps, you’ll come to the fence on your left. Continue along the fence until you get to a private gate, which is on the opposite side of the fence. There is also a small trail marker so you know you are in the correct spot. This marks the beginning of the Enepitsi Trail and it begins to drop down into the canyon.

The trail begins with a little climb up this hill.

This is the unmarked split. Head left toward the fence.

Walk along the fence and road to the beginning of the Enepitsi Trail.

This is where the trail begins between the gate and the trail marker.

The trail widens out and goes down the hill. Soon, you come to the river, and then it’s easy to follow the trail. As it runs along the east side of the river, the vegetation gets much more lush, and the water is beautiful. Just strolling along by the river would be enough to make this hike great. This trail is beautiful in the fall when the trees are changing colors.

Enepitsi Trail drops down to walk by the river.

The river makes this trail so beautiful.

The tall cliff walls are also spectacular.

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs make the Enepitsi Trail in St. George even better. Watch along the rocks, both down on the base, and high up in the black areas, and there are dozens of petroglyphs. Most of them are really well-preserved, though a few have been damaged by those awful vandals that frequent our natural spots. Please make sure that you are respectful, look without touching and leave no trace that you have visited.

You can see many from the trail, but you get better views if you climb up by the rocks and walk for a bit.

You will notice some graffiti from those who added their own marks. Please leave no trace.

Finishing the Trail

There are a few places where you can walk closer to the river. Be careful of mud, but our boys loved throwing a few rocks into the Santa Clara River. We also spotted some car ruins, and a few old appliances. We weren’t exactly sure why they were there, but it added something interesting along the trail.

There are some interesting rock formations, too.

We followed the Enepitsi trail for around 1.2 miles, making our hike 2.4 miles roundtrip. Eventually, the canyon sort of peters out, and the walls drop away. Then we arrived at another trail marker. It was starting to rain, so we thought this was a good time to turnaround. You could follow the trail a little bit further and see where it ends up. You could even turn around sooner if you’d like to keep this hike short.

This is where we turned around, but the trail continues.

If you are in this area, we also recommend heading to Snow Canyon. This state park is full of beautiful hikes and scenery. Read our full guide on this post.