Beautiful Views in Mustang Pass

A brown trail sign beside a red path leading off into the desert toward distant hills and clouds — Sign for the Mustang Pass Trail on the Mill Creek Trail

I loved hiking the Mustang Pass Trail outside of St. George, Utah. The views were great, especially after a snowfall on the nearby mountains. The trail also ties into many other trails in the Red Cliffs Conservation Area, so we were able to hike from there over to Elephant Arch. And the best news? It wasn’t too terribly hilly!

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 7 miles Trail Type: Loop Elevation Gain: 665ft. Pets: Leashed Fees: None

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Clouds sail above red hills in the distance and shadow the nearby plain — Red hills below afternoon clouds

The only thing I didn’t like about the hike was that it’s been more or less cut off from being hikable due to the building of a subdivision. I followed the AllTrails suggestion (at the time) and parked in the designated parking spaces (all two of them) in the neighborhood. Then I had to walk between two houses (talk about feeling like you’re invading someone’s privacy!) to where the desert suddenly began next to a sign kiosk. I’m really glad the trailhead still exists, and all I can hope is that the neighbors don’t complain to the point where they close it off entirely (because I know of no other 2WD way to get to this area of the preserve). Recent research suggests the trailhead may or may not exist anymore, so use consideration when invading the neighborhood. There is a park half a mile south that might be an alternate place to park if the trail, itself, is still open.

A blacktop sidewalk between white walls and bordered by red gravel — The sidewalk between the houses in the subdivision

Anyway, trailhead tirade aside, let’s get to the views!

Dark clouds over a desert plain and a red trail — Beginning our trek across the desert. The weather did not look promising, and we hoped it wouldn’t snow on us.

0.0 Mustang Pass (Icehouse Trail) Trailhead (3,130ft.). Park only in designated spaces and not along the side of the road, blocking driveways, or any other annoying parking techniques. Take the paved path between two houses to pop out in the desert beside a sign kiosk. Go straight on the Icehouse Trail out into the desert. (37.1614570°, -113.5250810°)

Two brown signs on either side of a rocky trail on a desert plain with distant mountains and clouds in the distance — The Icehouse Trail Junction

0.4 Icehouse Trail Junction (3,193ft.). Continue straight here to head up into Mustang Pass (left is the Icehouse Trail). I know I said the trail was mostly flat, and by mountain standards, it is flat… it’s just not all flat. The grades are fairly moderate, though. The scenery improves as you climb. (37.1667820°, -113.5266410°)

A red trail between desert scrub and clouds in the sky beyond hills — Hiking into Mustang Pass

1.7 Mustang Pass (3,513ft.). Views are excellent all through this area. I also enjoyed some leftover wildflowers in late November. There is also a lot of volcanic rocks, which was interesting to me since the area around it is mostly red dirt and rocks. Continue down the trail (or retrace your steps to the trailhead for a 3.4 mile trek). In the pass, you might pass a trail on the left; ignore it to stay on the main path. (37.1813260°, -113.5306340°)

Rocks and a light trail on a desert hillside with hills in the distance and clouds in a blue sky — Views back toward Mustang Pass

3.2 Mill Creek Trail Junction (3,248ft.). This is a road along the power lines. I turned right since I wanted to get over to Elephant Arch. The views in this section were nice, too, especially back toward the snowy mountains. Pass the Power Line Trail on the right about mile 3.5. (37.1849560°, -113.5189000°)

Clouds hang over mountains with fresh snow above shadow hills and a yellow, grassy plain — The clouds over the mountains lift enough to see fresh snow

4.6 Bone Wash Trail on left (3,108ft.). I turned left here to Elephant Arch, but I won’t detail that here. Instead, I’ll pretend you continued straight past the junction to the Elephant Arch Trailhead. (37.1657500°, -113.5136770°)

Clouds in a blue sky over red hills, a red dirt road, and green desert plaints — The dirt road near the Bone Wash Trail

4.9 (8.1) Elephant Arch Trailhead (Mill Creek Trailhead) (3,118ft.). There is no good way to get back to where you parked from here (at least on foot). I turned right to follow a road to some kind of substation, picked up an ATV trail down to a wash, crossed the wash, and then picked up another trail that took me a little north and then turned west along a trail shown on a map. But the neighbors thought it was closed (is a trail closed if there are no signs or any indication that it might be closed? Maybe it’s wishful thinking). This path went along the back of the subdivision to the sign kiosk where you began your trek. Turn left to pass back between the houses and to where you parked. (37.1616950°, -113.5129130°)

A yellow flower with a yellow center — A desert marigold

6.9 (9.1) Mustang Pass Trailhead (3,130ft.). (37.1615070°, -113.5250920°)

A yellow grassy plain with distant red hills and gray clouds overhead — Red hills across the plain from the Icehouse Trail

Round Trip Trail Length: With my side-trek to Elephant Arch, I went 9.1 miles. Skipping the sidetrek but doing the loop would be about 7 miles, while and out and back to Mustang Pass would be only 3.4 miles from the Icehouse Trailhead.

Elevation Gain: Mustang Pass Loop: 665ft. (3,012ft. to 3,519ft.). With Elephant Arch: 1,191ft. (3,012ft. to 3,519ft.)

Facilities: None

Fees: None

A trail on a brushy desert plain with rocks with distant views of red hills and clouds above — The trail in Mustang Pass

Trail Notes: You’re required to stay on official trails within the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, so check the map at the sign kiosk to make sure you know which trails are currently official. I can’t blame the neighbors for not liking total strangers walking along their fences, so use extreme courtesy. I hear there is more parking within the community, possibly around Green Spring Park (37.15504619, -113.5267152), which would add about half a mile each way to the hike, all on quiet roads. In the summer, this would be an outrageously hot and dry hike – as it was, the day I visited was frigid, so there was no fear of heatstroke! The beauty of this hike is rugged and hard for me to pin down – I just thought it was so vibrant and beautiful!

Red hills across a desert plain beneath gray and white clouds — Desert hills from Mustang Pass

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

Would I go 100 miles out of my way for this?

Overall Rating:

A yellow flower with five petals and a small yellow center — A whitestem paperflower

GPS Coordinates for Mustang Pass

TH: 37.1614570°, -113.5250810° (37°09.68742′, -113°31.50486′ / 37°09’41.2452″, -113°31’30.2916″) (3,130ft.) (0.0)

Icehouse Trail Junction: 37.1667820°, -113.5266410° (37°10.00692′, -113°31.59846′ / 37°10’00.4152″, -113°31’35.9076″) (3,193ft.) (0.42)

Yellow flowering bushes and black rocks below gray clouds — Rocks and brittlebush in Mustang Pass

Mustang Pass: 37.1813260°, -113.5306340° (37°10.87956′, -113°31.83804′ / 37°10’52.7736″, -113°31’50.2824″) (3,513ft.) (1.70)

Trail on left: 37.1817620°, -113.5309890° (37°10.90572′, -113°31.85934′ / 37°10’54.3432″, -113°31’51.5604″) (3,524ft.) (1.75)

A red dirt path in a yellow meadowed hillside with gray clouds above — Descending out of Mustang Pass

Mill Creek Junction: 37.1849560°, -113.5189000° (37°11.09736′, -113°31.13400′ / 37°11’05.8416″, -113°31’08.0400″) (3,248ft.) (3.20)

Powerline Trail Junction: 37.1801900°, -113.5183620° (37°10.81140′, -113°31.10172′ / 37°10’48.6840″, -113°31’06.1032″) (3,190ft.) (3.56)

Bone Wash Trail Junction: 37.1657500°, -113.5136770° (37°09.94500′, -113°30.82062′ / 37°09’56.7000″, -113°30’49.2372″) (3,108ft.) (4.66)

Prickly bushes frame the trail leading toward a dark hill — Looking back toward Mustang Pass and the volcanic hill beside it

Enter wash: 37.1719180°, -113.5067720° (37°10.31508′, -113°30.40632′ / 37°10’18.9048″, -113°30’24.3792″) (3,120ft.) (5.25)

Elephant Arch Junction: 37.1748750°, -113.4998570° (37°10.49250′, -113°29.99142′ / 37°10’29.5500″, -113°29’59.4852″) (3,190ft.) (5.75)

Elephant Arch: 37.1773180°, -113.4939970° (37°10.63908′, -113°29.63982′ / 37°10’38.3448″, -113°29’38.3892″) (3,190ft.) (6.26)

Sunshine on dark cliffs across a dark desert plain and below dark clouds — Volcanic cliffs

Return to Mill Creek Trail: 37.1657070°, -113.5136530° (37°09.94242′, -113°30.81918′ / 37°09’56.5452″, -113°30’49.1508″) (3,108ft.) (7.82)

Mill Creek TH: 37.1616950°, -113.5129130° (37°09.70170′, -113°30.77478′ / 37°09’42.1020″, -113°30’46.4868″) (3,118ft.)) (8.10)

End: 37.1615070°, -113.5250920° (37°09.69042′, -113°31.50552′ / 37°09’41.4252″, -113°31’30.3312″) (3,130ft.) (9.06)

A red hill near dark hills below a blue sky with white and gray clouds — A red hill

The gpx file for Mustang Pass (and Elephant Arch) can be downloaded – please note that this and the GPS Coordinates are for reference only and should not be used as a sole resource when hiking this trail.

Download GPX File size: 137.7 KB Downloaded 0 times

(Note: I do my best to ensure that all downloads, the webpage, etc. are virus-free and accurate; however, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that might result, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, harm to users, from use of files, information, etc. from this website. Thanks!)

Clouds sail in a blue sky over a dark grassy plain with a red trail — Volcanic rocks while descending to the Mill Creek Trail

Getting to the Mustang Pass Trailhead

To get to where I parked, take Exit 10 toward Grn Sprgs Drive. Take a slight right onto Green Spring Drive. After 2.3 miles, turn right onto Jonathon Drive, then take the first left. After 0.1 miles, the road will take a sharp turn to the right. The trailhead is on the left at the curve in the road.

Clouds billow around a snowy mountain with dark hills in the foreground — Clouds almost lift over the snowy mountains

To get to the Millhouse Trailhead (Elephant Arch Trailhead), you’ll need 4×4 due to sand. From I-15, take Exit 13 toward Washington Parkway. At the end of the exit ramp, turn north (right if coming from I-15E (Hurricane) and left if coming from I-15W (St. George)). Just under a mile later, turn right onto a dirt road; cross over the bike path and drive north until the route is blocked by tanks 0.7 miles later. Turn left here to the next major road after 0.4 miles; turn right 0.4 miles to the small trailhead next to the gate. (Do not block the gate.)

Visual trail map and elevation profile for my trek from where I parked (red arrow) up into Mustang Pass, down to the Mill Creek Trail, out to Elephant Arch, and finally a loop back to where I parked

Did you know there is a guide to the trails around St. George?

It covers many hikes, trails, and routes not too far from St. George, Utah, making it perfect for those who wish to spend time in the local area. Buy your copy here.