Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

The reserve

The Red Cliffs Desert Reserve spans almost 69,000 acres in Washington County at the convergence of three ecosystems — the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau. Very few places in North America sit at such a junction, and the overlap is why the plant and animal life here is unusually mixed.

Why it exists

The Reserve is the product of a Habitat Conservation Plan rather than a scenic designation, and that shapes everything about it. The Mojave desert tortoise is federally listed as threatened, and St. George was growing directly into its habitat. The plan resolved the conflict by setting aside a large contiguous reserve so that development could proceed elsewhere — a negotiated trade rather than a park created for recreation. It is one of the more instructive examples of that mechanism anywhere in the American West.

The tortoise

Desert tortoises spend the great majority of their lives in burrows, emerging in spring and after rain, and they can live for decades. They are also easily killed by well-meaning people: a startled tortoise may void its bladder, losing water it cannot replace outside of a wet season. The rule is to leave them alone and never move one, except off a road in the direction it was already heading.

Recreation

The trail network is open to walking, cycling and horse use, reaching red-rock canyons, desert washes and overlooks. Staying on designated trails is the substance of tortoise protection, not merely etiquette.

The Discovery Center

The Reserve's visitor center occupies the ground floor of the Washington County administration building at 111 E. Tabernacle St. in St. George. It holds live ambassador animals including tortoises, kingsnakes and tarantulas, interpretive displays on local geology and history, and free trip-planning material.

Worth reading alongside this: paved trails around St. George and desert hiking safety.