White Dome Nature Preserve

The White Dome Nature Preserve is located a short ways south of St. George, Utah and just a few minutes north of the Arizona boarder. This 800 acre preserve is home to a special plant - the dwarf bear poppy (named so because of its paw-shaped leaf). This plant grows nowhere other than here in Washington County. Unfortunately this poppy only blooms from late April to mid May. If you miss the bloom season the White Dome Nature Preserve isn’t all that exciting, but it is still worth a stop if you are in the area.

This area used to be unprotected and used by ATVs and OHVs. You can still see some of the lasting tracks on some of the hills, but the area is slowly returning to its natural state. This is important since this is literally the only place in the world the dwarf bear poppy grows (the plant hasn’t even been able to be grown in laboratories or protected gardens). The preserve is also home to biologic soil crust, soil that is actually alive with living organisms.

The preserve is open year round, dawn to dusk, and can be explored by hiking some of the 5 miles of trails found here. Be sure to stay on trail to help protect the biological crust, and be sure to bring water and sunscreen (especially if hiking in the summer) as the area is barren and exposed.