thank you!! can't wait!

It depends a bit on where you are staying in St. George. There is a good bit of hiking and there is public transportation (SunTrans bus) that will take you very close to trailheads. You can get on SunTran at many different locations around town. They all go to the Transit Center at 957 East 100 South where you can transfer (no additional cost) to another bus to reach your destination. I would recommend getting on the Route 4 Sunset bus and getting off at the 1925 West 1465 North stop - close to Dixie downs Rd. Tell the driver you want to get off close to Dixie Downs and Snow Canyon Parkway as possible. Then walk north on Dixie Downs rd. As it crosses Snow Canyon Parkway it becomes Lakota. Follow Lakota until it runs into a short street that you will follow to the left where it runs into Cascade Canyon Drive. total of about a half-mile of walking. Walk to the left about 50 yards or so until you see a trailhead on the right. There you can view a map of the many trails leading out from there. I would follow them to the right and you will reach the Halfway Wash trail, Turtle Wall trail, Paradise Rim trail and back to the Gap or Gecko trails that will take you back to your starting point.

Yes, but they must be on leash at all times.

Since this area only receives one snowfall a year or so it doesn't get any precipitation from the snow-pack since there is no snow-pack. The river is rather shallow compared to others in the area, and only rises a bit during monsoon season.