Students of Dixie State University are discovering the many activities St. George has to offer by going off campus and into nature.
Many students not only enjoy watching sports in the fall but also playing them. Apart from the typical volleyball and football trend this time of year, there are a few other sports that tend to get overlooked in St. George.
The big hype among students right now is water activities, especially skimboarding.
“Skimboarding, ultimate frisbee and a good hike with maybe some pools of water to swim in [is what I like best],” said Logan Merrill, a junior business administration major from Show Low, Ariz.
Skimboarding is similar to surfing, but you start on the edge of the water and skim across the surface of the water. Many students like to skimboard down in the local rivers.
“For fall activities, I like to skimboard because it’s free, and it’s a rush,” said Taylor Timothy, a junior business major from Brigham City. “A board is about $180, but it lasts you forever.”
Timothy said one of his favorite places to board is on the east side of the Virgin River. He said skimboarding is relaxing.
“[Down by the Virgin River] kind of reminds me of a little Hawaii,” Timothy said. “It’s our place to go to chill and ride.”
Along with skimboarding, another activity is rock climbing with the warm fall weather in St. George. Some students enjoy scoping out the cracks of the red rocks as well as the scenery of Zion National Park.
“Hiking is fun in Zion, and if you haven’t been there, you should go,” Timothy said. “I go to Observation Point. Angels Landing is about 6-miles long, and Observation Point is about 8-miles. Observation Point is more strenuous, but you get a better look out.”
Merrill said he and his friends enjoy hiking, but he said climbing up scenic trails of southern Utah is better than hiking.
He said places such as Black Rock, Chuckwalla Trail, Crawdad Canyon and Moe’s Valley are among the prime places to rock climb.
If there isn’t enough to do on land, students can also hit the water. The infamous Sand Hollow has more to do than just swim.
“I also usually go out on my friend’s boat to Sand Hollow,” Timothy said. “At Sand Hollow, you can also go skimboarding on the south end.”
On the north end of Sand Hollow, there are cliffs around 30, feet high where you can go cliff jumping.
Cliff jumping is a popular activity at Sand Hollow, but for the jumper’s safety, it is illegal to jump off a cliff that is taller than 25 feet.
