Trail Overview
The Sunshine Trail is a scenic, multi-use route perfect for beginner to intermediate offroaders looking to explore the rugged high-desert country straddling the Utah-Arizona border. Starting near the southern edge of St. George, Utah, and winding south into the Arizona Strip, this trail offers scenic vistas of the surrounding mesas and red rock formations. The route climbs from an elevation of roughly 2,800 feet to nearly 4,500 feet, following a mostly unpaved surface that features a mix of dirt, gravel, and some rocky, rutted sections. Four-wheel-drive vehicles with decent ground clearance, as well as SxSs and dirt bikes, can easily navigate this terrain under dry conditions. Along the way, the path showcases dramatic geologic shifts, highlighting layers of colorful compressed sediment from ancient flooding events that contrast sharply against the desert backdrop.
A key highlight of this excursion is the historic Glitter Mine, where visitors can stop to examine the gypsum selenite crystals that were once mined to add a shimmering effect to the plaster of the St. George LDS Temple. Beyond the mine, the trail continues to ascend through rolling desert hills and mesas, passing near East Mesa before the landscape transitions into a more remote, flat high-desert plateau. Although the southern end of the trail becomes less scenic as the vegetation thins and the terrain levels out, the entire journey offers a rewarding, relatively low-stress drive with minimal technical obstacles. Offroaders should remain mindful of weather conditions, as rain can quickly turn the dry dirt and clay into slick, impassable mud, making high-clearance, four-wheel-drive capability essential for recovery and safe passage.
History
The route provides access to the Glitter Mine, a historical site where gypsum (specifically selenite) was mined. These unique, reflective minerals were ground up and mixed into the plaster coating the St. George LDS Temple to give the building its iconic glittering appearance under the sun.
