Jeep - Offroading, Travel Blog

Penguin Rides Shotgun: BOF Adventures in the Hurricane

After Las Vegas, continued northeast up I-15 to the Hurricane and St. George area ultimately for another Escapees Jeepers BOF event. What we did not know is that we would be spending two weeks right next door to some other full-timing RV friends from Florida who have made the area their new domicile. We enjoyed the famous Sand Hollow area for the first time, with our growing group of off-roading friends. (April 2025)

The locals pronounce Hurricane as “Her-ih-kun”

St. George / Hurricane KOA

Using the RPI (Resort Parks International) feature of our Thousand Trails Adventure membership, we stayed at the St. George / Hurricane KOA Journey for 14 nights at $10 per night (+$4 per night resort fee). We actually stayed an extra night on our own dime because we arrived a day earlier to beat the wind forecasted for the area the next day.  RPI is just another network of properties owned by Equity Lifestyles Properties, Inc., the parent company of Thousand Trails. As part of the Adventure level membership the RPI perks get access to an additional set of in network properties for around $10/night on average. In this case, that added a discount on our bill of over $600 for the 14 nights!

Our basecamp for two weeks was the St. George / Hurricane KOA Journey, right across the interstate state from the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. There was a little road noise, but not as much as we expected. It was a perfect launch point for trails.

Like many campgrounds in the Southwest, they are positioned on the foothills of the rock ledges above them. This particular park does have very level individual sites, even given the overall slope through the entire campground is pretty steep from bottom to top. The staff were extremely nice and handled the numerous packages we received here from Amazon, which also included perishable medications from Amazon’s pharmacy.

This campground is directly across from the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. We did some surveying of the primitive campground and hope to return here for a weekend with the tent for some quiet overnights behind the very scenic rocks.

Sand Hollow State Park

Plenty of red rock and sand everywhere, and offroad rigs climbing out of gulch below. One by one, each of our drivers lined up to climb to the top of the series of ledges while passengers popped out to help guide or video record the event. Even the Bronco was able to make it up to the top! 😉

Sand Hollow State Park has been made “famous” by the YouTube channel Matt’s Off Road Recovery based out of Hurricane.  It is known for its amazing sand dunes, but also very rugged terrain.  Most of the Escapees Jeepers Birds of a Feather (BOF) group stayed in the park, we were at the KOA for the extended stay and drove the 20-30 minutes down with our friends daily to the state park.

Delicate hollowed pockets in the sandstone are a classic example of honeycomb weathering, caused by a combination of wind erosion, salt deposits, and moisture over time. We saw various forms of these throughout the Sand Hollow park.
Any true friend of Barb knows penguins are her spirit animal. On the harder days, when the desert heat or trail jostle is just too much, the “big big penguin” takes over the right seat beside Jason. This was one of those tough days for Barb, having to stay back in the RV nursing the pain while outside life goes on. So the penguin rode shotgun, reminding our friends she is there in spirit on these dark days.
Jeep Notes: Escapees Jeepers BOF
The Escapees Jeepers BOF (Birds of a Feather) is a community within the Escapees RV Club for RVers who love to explore off-road. The group organizes meetups across the country, with Moab being one of the highlights of the year. Events are built around camaraderie, shared trail rides, and helping each other tackle everything from trail spotting to trail repairs. Whether you are a new Jeeper (of any brand of off-highway vehicle) or a seasoned rock crawler, the BOF makes every ride a shared adventure.
Three point spotters guide us over this waterfall, but Rubi took it with ease. This section demanded attention and more than a little throttle finesse to bump up.
Even the best built rigs have their moments. While the lake glistened below, this one called for wrenches and some troubleshooting. The lore goes that if you gather enough offroaders in one spot, you could probably build a new Jeep from all the spare parts lying around in their rigs. These unplanned stops spark the best trail side conversations. This is how the long-term friendships get sealed on the road.

Optional Area Rides

After the event we completed a couple more trails in the area, outside the Sand Hollow State Park area with our off-roading friends before breaking up. This will be the last time this year we will see these friends, and we look forward to our time in this area again in 2026!

Starvation Point

High above the river valley, this dusty ridge gave us a perfect view of the river valley below. It was a quiet post-event day, one last chance to explore with some of our closest off-roading friends. We cannot call them all “Jeeping” friends anymore, because one of our favorite couples made the switch to a Bronco!

Toquerville Falls

The views can change so dramatically in this area with just a few minutes drive. Northwest of Hurricane, Utah, back in the valley working our way toward Toquerville Falls. The road was pretty rocky, and there were some Jeep worthy shelves along the road. However, a sedan would be able to also navigate back into here with some skill. The reward of this trail are the falls.
At the end of the very dusty trail is a hidden oasis. Just a slow trickle because it had not rained for a few days. Rubi got her feet wet crossing over the top of Toquerville Falls.
Right alongside this dusty trail, spring was popping everywhere in April. These cactus blooms burst out a bright pink over the subdued beige-and-red landscape.

 

 

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