One Day in Cathedral Gorge State Park Ultimate Guide – Panaca, Nevada

Cathedral Gorge State Park is one of the best hidden gems in Nevada! This beautiful state park featuring soft bentonite clay spires formed by volcanic eruptions is a must-see on a Southwestern USA road trip. The spires rise above the desert floor, creating an out-of-this-world landscape that’s perfect for photography and Instagram! It’s less than 2 hours away from St. George, Utah, so it can easily be combined with a road trip to Bryce Canyon National Park. Keep reading this guide to get all the details for your short, one-day visit to Cathedral Gorge State Park in Panaca, Nevada.

Best time to visit Cathedral Gorge State Park

This is a desert park, so the best time to visit Cathedral Gorge State Park in Nevada would be in the winter, spring and late fall. We visited in summer – on July 4th, to be exact – so we were met with extreme heat, which really limited our experience. Despite it being far too hot to do any major hiking, it’s a beautiful park and I’m glad I had the chance to visit.

Cathedral Gorge State Park – Details

Location:

111 Cathedral Gorge State Park Road
Panaca, Nevada 89042

This address will lead you to the visitor center and parking lot for the trails. The visitor center is typically open from 9-4:30pm, however we visited on a holiday and it was closed.

Cost:

$5 for day use. The park is open 24/7 and payment is on the honor system. This park also accepts the Nevada State Park annual pass, which is $75.

Time Commitment

Allow yourself a few hours to explore the park. We stuck to the areas near the parking lot and still spent about an hour and a half here, without doing any real hiking.

Gear needed

You’ll want to bring your standard hiking gear – hiking boots, sunscreen, water, and a hat. With the exception of the slot canyons, there is no shade on the hiking trails. Additionally, Cathedral Gorge State Park can turn into a mud pit after a rainstorm (yes, it rains in the desert!) so you’ll want to make sure you have extra towels to wipe off all the muck.

Things to do in Cathedral Gorge State Park

Cathedral Gorge State Park offers several things to do, including several hiking trails throughout the park. Here are a few highlights of the best ones.

Moon Caves and Cathedral Caves

These trails are very short and located right in the parking lot. Because of the heat, this was the only area that we explored. These trails lead you through the spires and you can get some fantastic photographs while walking through them. They’re not really “caves” though – it’s more like hiking through a slot canyon. They’re also shaded so you will get a break from the heat.

Miller Point Trail

The Miller Point trail is the most popular trail in the park – if you only have time to do one hike in this park, do this one! The Miller Point trail is 2 miles, out and back. I wanted to do this during our visit, but even a 2 mile out-and-back hike would’ve been too much on a 100-degree day.

Juniper Draw trail

The Juniper Draw trail loop is the park’s longest trail at 4 miles round trip. This trail will take you through varied landscapes of the park. This hike would be my second choice of trails, if I were to visit again.

Civilian Conservation Corps Water Tower

This interesting stone tower was built by the CCC during the Great Depression. It’s located right in the parking lot so no hiking necessary.

Camping

Cathedral Gorge State Park has 22 campsites, open year round. Sites are first-come/first serve. Facilities include electric hookups, restrooms with flush toilets, and showers and cost $15, with an additonal $10/night if you want hook ups.

Other nearby attractions:

Bryce Canyon National Park (~2 hours)
Great Basin National Park (~2 hours)
Zion National Park (~2.5 hours)
Extra-Terrestrial Highway entrance – Hiko, Nevada (2.5 hours)
Old Irontown Ghost Town, Utah (1 hr, 10 min)
Echo Canyon State Park (30 minutes)

Additional tips:

Because Cathedral Gorge State Park is out in the middle of nowhere, you’ll want to make sure you top off your gas tank as soon as you see a station. There is a Shell gas station in the nearby town of Panaca. Also make sure you have plenty of water.

For photography, the park is beautiful at sunrise and sunset – perfect if you’re camping. For my sister and I, we arrived mid-day en route to California, so we had to take what we could get. There is a small hotel in Panaca where you could stay, but that’s about all there is for nearby lodging that isn’t camping.

Finally, keep an eye on the weather forecast – recent rain turns the park into a muddy mess, and flash floods during monsoon season are always a hazard in the desert and could wash out roads.

Cathedral Gorge State Park – Final Thoughts

Pros:
Really interesting rock formations
Great spot for photography

Cons:
Extremely hot in the summer. We couldn’t do any hiking
Can get extremely muddy after a storm
Out in the middle of nowhere!

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