Discover the Desert: A rugged adventure to Southern Utah’s towering giants

ST. GEORGE — At the end of a rugged dirt road between Cedar City and St. George is a historical cabin and a unique tree found nowhere else on this side of the state.

Discover the Desert host Sydnee Imlay hikes to the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

In this episode of Discover the Desert, host Sydnee Imlay takes in sprawling views as she hikes to the Browse Area Guard Station and Southern Utah’s only giant sequoia tree.

“It’s a great place to get away from crowds and find some solitude,” said Dixie National Forest’s Pine Valley District Ranger Joseph Rechsteiner.

The remote site is located at the end of a rugged dirt road off Interstate 15’s Exit 30, approximately an hour from Cedar City and St. George. The road can be rough, particularly after the gate that the Forest Service sometimes closes, depending on conditions, Rechsteiner told St. George News.

Currently, the road is closed to motorized vehicle traffic as Southern Utah is under a fire weather watch, meaning there is an increased wildfire risk.

Visitors can see the historic at the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

But, visitors are welcome to walk, bike or horseback ride about 4-5 miles from the closed gate to the station. The area near the gate overlooks a sprawling valley, rich with colorful stone and lush vegetation. From this vantage point, hikers can see Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park and the Hurricane Cliffs.

“This place is super cool. … and you can see the beautiful red rocks and the white rocks mixed with all the greenery from the trees and the bushes,” Imlay said. “It’s genuinely such a beautiful drive and walk from the gate to the station itself.”

Hikers will follow the meandering, bumpy road through mountain fields, which are full of wildflowers in the spring. They’ll progress through taller and taller trees until they reach a sign that reads, “Browse Area Guard Station.”

A giant sequoia tree grows near the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

The guard station is surrounded by towering ponderosa pines. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934, the building housed researchers studying deer management on the Pine Valley Mountain Range.

Prior to the cabin, in 1921, the area was developed as the 179-acre Mill Creek Browse Experimental Range to study the use of browse vegetation for cattle, with livestock grazing discontinued in 1929, Rechsteiner said.

The Utah State Historic Preservation Office and the U.S. Forest Service agreed the cabin should be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a restoration plan was developed in 1996. Rechsteiner said he’d like to continue restoration work on the cabin and is working to obtain funding and recruit volunteers.

In 2022, volunteers completed some work at the site, securing doors, installing plywood over entrances, capping the chimney to prevent water damage and completing minor structural repairs. They also sanded and prepared the site’s sign to be painted and cleared brush, broken glass and garbage.

Still, while visitors can enjoy the historic site from the outside, they should not attempt to enter as it could be contaminated with hantavirus. The nearby pit toilet is also out of commission and should not be used.

Giant sequoia

Discover the Desert host Sydnee Imlay strikes a “tree” pose near the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Approximately 100 feet north of the cabin stands a 108-140-foot Sequoia tree, which was planted in 1937 by the Deseret Range Experimental Station scientists as part of an experiment to see if the species would grow in Southwest Utah, Rechsteiner said.

“You can actually kind of tell which tree it is on your walk up because it looks fluffier and a little bit more full than the other pine trees around it,” Imlay said. “And then when you come around, you can really tell a difference because the trunk is massive.”

While often mistaken for a redwood tree, the conifer is native to the California mountains. It is reportedly over 11 feet in circumference and more than 80 years old, St. George News reported. Reports of the tree’s height vary because the top dies periodically as it’s out of its native habitat. Rechsteiner said the tree is experiencing such die-off currently, but it is otherwise “doing fine.”

Towering ponderosa pine trees grow at the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Imlay added, “It’s not made to live in Utah, but it’s doing its best — it’s trying its hardest.”

While multiple saplings were planted, only one remains, growing near a large limber pine that was planted at the same time. Additional official and unofficial planting attempts were undertaken, but none succeeded. Rechsteiner said visitors should not plant sequoia trees or other vegetation.

The sequoia isn’t the only large tree growing in the area, which is also home to sky-scraping ponderosa pine trees. Affectionately known as “pondies,” the plants can be identified by their jigsawlike bark and sweet smell, as Imlay learned during her trip to the Pine Valley Recreation Area on the other side of the mountain range. While Browse’s ponderosas smell of butterscotch, she said the sequoia lacks a distinct scent.

Visiting Browse

A butterfly lands on a wildflower near the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

Fed by snowmelt, monsoons and mountain springs, Mill Creek flows through the site before converging with Harmon Creek to form South Ash Creek. Spring wildflowers grow alongside the trail and the stream, attracting butterflies. As Imlay navigated the shoreline, a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered around her ankles.

For those hoping to lunch in the wilderness, benches and picnic tables are available. And, surprisingly, despite the remote location, people may have cell service.

While dispersed camping is allowed, visitors should not build fires and should practice caution as the area contains an abundance of dry fuels, like grasses.

A rugged dirt road leads to the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

“If people get stuck up there during a fire – they just need to be cognizant that (the road is) the only way out,” Rechsteiner said.

There are no facilities, including restrooms, so people may need to create makeshift bathrooms at least 200 feet from nearby creeks.

The Browse Guard Station is also the location of the 10-mile Syler Spring Trail, which leads into the Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness. Adventurous hikers can also use Syler to access the Anderson Valley trail and, eventually, the New Harmony trailhead for a backpacking experience.

Because the trail can become overgrown, and some visitors have made “social trails,” Rechsteiner recommends using GPS to avoid becoming lost. The agency also reminds hikers not to make social trails, as it can harm habitat and cause other visitors to lose their way.

Larges trees grow around the Browse Area Guard Station in Washington County, Utah, June 26, 2024 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

Additionally, visitors are reminded to “Leave no Trace.”

As always, be sure to pack plenty of food and water before venturing into the desert. And there’s no better way to end an adventure than with a scoop of Handel’s delicious homemade ice cream.

Want free ice cream? Leave a comment on social media and tell the Canyon Media crew where we should hike next for your chance to win.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.