Things to do / Travel Guide
From every angle and any direction, visitors to southern Utah will be surrounded by spectacular sites and attractions. Starting from the northernmost and easternmost stretches of the region, looping in the general south-western direction, the following cities and parks are some of the primary places to visit in the southern Utah region.
Spring City, Utah
Spring City is the northernmost town in the southern Utah region. The entire town is listed in the National Registrar of Historic Places, and visitors can expect to experience 19th-century Mormon Utah come alive through the historic buildings and architecture. It is one of many small towns along “Heritage” U.S. Highway 89, but it certainly has the highest concentration of sites exemplifying the essence of those Scandinavian pioneers who were sent by Brigham Young to settle the area. Spring City is also becoming increasingly known as an artist community, and the historic homes are today used as bed and breakfast inns, art studios, and boutiques.
Moab, Utah and Red Rock Country
Surrounded by an extraordinary landscape of red sandstone cliffs, the small town of Moab lies near the Colorado River in a striking green valley. Moab and Red Rock Country are located in the easternmost part of state of Utah, 30 miles south of I-70 near Utah's border with Colorado. The canyons, mesas, and mountains surrounding the town are Moab's biggest draw, making it a hotspot for outdoor recreation and hub for mountain bikers, hikers, climbers, and your general adrenaline junkies and nature enthusiasts.
Canyonlands is the largest National Park in the area, with entrances 30 miles northwest and southwest of Moab. The park contains hundreds of miles of back roads that cut through a colorful landscape of mesas, buttes, balanced rocks, soaring arches, and spectacular gorges.
Arches National Park is practically walking distance from Moab, just five miles northeast, and hosts the world's largest concentration of sandstone arches - more than 2,000 of the incredible formations in all, in addition to tall spires, balanced rocks, and a colorful panorama of buttes, canyons, and plateaus. An unusual combination of geological forces created the arches, which early explores actually mistook for the remains of ancient civilizations. Delicate Arch is a giant - the largest freestanding arch in the world!
For some less-visited but no less spectacular sights, the snow-capped La Sal Mountains, located six miles south of Moab looming over the Moab Valley, are a welcome contrast to the burning red rocks below. In the winter, the dramatic mountains offer backcountry snow adventures. Just a half mile from Moab, the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve provides an excellent opportunity to watch wetlands wildlife along the Colorado River. And Dead Horse Point State Park offers some of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring views of the region. The park is practically a mesa of stone surrounded by steep cliffs; its lookout point located more than 2,000 feet above the colorful canyons below. The Colorado River winds its way below the park, truly a striking view from the park above.
Escalante and Capital Reef
Moving southwest from Moab, the town of Escalante sits more centrally in the region, neighboring nearby Capital Reef National Park. Its expansive river system branches eastward from the town, edging right up to Capital Reef, one of the less visited of the region's six National Parks. The park's northern entrance is located 10 miles east of the town of Torrey on State Road 24, stretching narrowly 75 miles from north to south, connecting to the Glen Canyon Recreation area in southern Utah. The park offers spectacular scenery, solitude, hiking trails, and historic sites including the deserted pioneer town of Fruita. The park is known for its sandstone formations, cliffs, twisting canyons, and the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long ridge (or reef) in the earth's crust.
Other nearby attractions include Goblin Valley State Park, Fish Lake, and Dixie National Forest. The town of Escalante lies west of Capital Reef, south of the Dixie National Forest. The Escalante river system is expansive; the river and its tributaries have created a magnificent canyon landscape, explorable via scenic roadways and extensive hiking opportunities. Visitors may also considering exploring the petrified wood areas of Escalante Petrified Forest State Park.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Traveling farther west, the life-like rock sculptures and strange and spectacular formations of Bryce Canyon National Park are not-to-be-missed natural highlights of the southern Utah region. The 36,000-acre park is located quite centrally in the region, off of U.S. Highway 89 near Cedar City. It is not actually a canyon at all, but rather a series of massive amphitheaters cut into the pink and white limestone cliffs. Rock spires and eerily-shaped “hoodoo” pillars rise beneath the high pink cliffs on the east edge of the park, eroded from soft limestone in stalagmite-like features rising from the ground.
Nearby, Kodachrome Basin State Park, southeast of Bryce Canyon, hosts strange-looking rock pillars that occur nowhere else in the world, rising up 170 feet from the basin. The park makes for a great side trip from Bryce Canyon, and hosts plenty of camping, hiking, and outdoor activities.
Cedar City and Vicinity
A center for culture, tourism, and trade, Cedar City is a standard stop on most vacation itineraries. Located conveniently along I-15, 52 miles northeast of St. George on the western reaches of the southern Utah region, Cedar City often is its own vacation destination and serves as a base town for exploring the region's National Parks and other attractions. In addition to the historic sites and entertainment options, Cedar City is known lovingly by the locals as “Festival City, USA,” offering up an array of outdoor festivals throughout the year.
The immense amphitheater and rock cliffs of Cedar Breaks National Monument can be reached by a short and spectacularly scenic drive to the east. The small town of Parowan is also just a short drive away, north of Cedar City about 20 miles. It's a great place to view Native American rock art and petroglyphs from the past thousand years. Just a few miles north, the town of Brian Head livens up in the winter season as skiers flock to its slopes. About 15 miles northeast of Cedar Breaks National Monument, Panguitch Lake provides landlocked travelers some aquatic attractions. The 1,250-acre reservoir lies in a volcanic basin surrounded by forests and has a reputation for outstanding trout fishing.
Zion National Park and Vicinity
Southern Utah's original Mormon settlers called the finely sculpted rocks and massive sandstone monoliths of this area “natural temples of God,” dubbing it the promised land, or Zion. The name stuck for good reason, and today these striking natural wonders make up the region's most popular attraction, Zion National Park. Located just east of I-15 between St. George and Cedar City, the dramatic canyons and colorful sandstone cliffs of this 229-square-mile park are the stuff of movie sets and postcards. Today, Zion National Park is an outstanding place to simply observe and appreciate the landscape, or experience it hands-on through challenging hiking trails and other adventurous options.
Located just outside the south entrance of Zion National Park, the town of Springdale is where about two-thirds of park visitors arrive. In addition to providing services, lodging, and dining for travelers, Springdale is itself a quaint destination with its own artsy charm.
St. George
With the Virgin River flowing to one side and rock red sandstone on the other, the town of St. George in the extreme southwestern corner of Utah boosts a warm climate, beautiful landscape, and countless outdoor recreation opportunities. Located just north of the Utah-Arizona state line, a little more than 120 miles northeast of Las Vegas, St. George is the largest city in the southern Utah region and has the amenities and attractions to boot. In addition to serving as a base for exploring local area attractions such as Zion National Park, St. George has an acclaimed arts scene and is home to a performing arts center, several galleries, year-round golf courses, parks, restaurants, and historic sites. It also has a tradition of outdoor festivals that only enhance the appeal of the great outdoors. Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks are within reasonable driving distance, in addition to Cedar Breaks and Pipe Springs National Monuments to the north and south.
Kanab and Vicinity
Looping back east along the Utah-Arizona border, travelers may find the small town of Kanab, Utah, a convenient stopping point on the way to and from area attractions like Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks, or on their way to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell (depending on the chosen park-hopping route). Hosting numerous lodging and dining options, the town is surrounded by spectacular scenery of glowing Vermillion Cliffs and streams that cut through the landscape. Down side streets 19th-century houses reveal Kanab's pioneer days, and visitors shouldn't be surprised if they find the whole scene strangely familiar, as the town has hosted dozens of movie and TV shows seeking the flavor of the Old West.
In the valley west of Kanab, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park breaks up the lush landscape by hosting the churning winds and sands of dunes reaching heights of up to several hundred feet. These dunes cover more than half the 3,700-acre park, providing camping, hiking, and off-road activities.
Lake Powell and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lake Powell is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States. Formed in 1963 by the damming of the Colorado River, where Glen Canyon and the Grand Canyon meet, it took 17 years to fill up. The Glen Canyon Dam backs up the waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries for almost 200 miles, filling the enormous reservoir and providing spectacular boating opportunities along its length and breadth.
The sandy beaches and cool water of Lake Powell are set against the striking red-rock landscape of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, over 1.2 million acres spread across southeastern Utah and dipping south of the Utah-Arizona border. The recreation area is expansive, including the Colorado River corridor through Glen Canyon, the lower Escalante canyons and the remote area of Orange Cliffs adjacent to Canyonlands National Park. The lake is well known for its fishing and house boating opportunities. Visitors can also take advantage of the great blue waters through other recreation activities such as boating, swimming, water skiing, kayaking, or scuba diving.
Depending on their starting point, visitors can reach Lake Powell by entering five out of six of Lake Powell's marinas. Wahweap, Lake Powell's largest and most popular marina, is located near the Glen Canyon Dam about six miles from Page, Arizona, another local lodging and dinning hub. Bullfrog is the next largest and, like Wahweap, has the greatest concentration of public services available. It is located about 95 miles up lake from the Glen Canyon Dam. Halls Crossing is on the east side of the lake, across from Bullfrog. On the uppermost part of the lake, Hite Marina is located 140 miles from the Dam and is accessible via State Road 95. Finally, Dangling Rope is only accessible from the lake itself, and Antelope Point, the newest marina, is situated on the southwest shores of the lake, seven miles from Page, Arizona.
Arizona Strip and Grand Canyon North Rim
Crossing the border from Utah into the Arizona Strip means monuments and views as off-the-beaten-track as they come. While it is technically located in Arizona, the Arizona Strip is so isolated from the rest of the state that it is culturally and historically much more closely associated with southern Utah. In fact, the Grand Canyon practically serves as a natural border for the state of Arizona, the landmark more significant than the actual state line. This is mostly due to the inaccessibility of the strip and the Grand Canyon's North Rim to Arizona-originating travelers. Although it is only 10 miles from the popular Grand Canyon South Rim as the crow flies, it is a 200-mile drive. Hikers, in good shape, can make the trip between the North and the South rim in two days, camping overnight at the Colorado River.
The southernmost attraction of the southern Utah region is actually the northernmost point of Arizona's most famous - the Grand Canyon, a 277-mile long, up to 18-mile wide, and 1-mile deep spectacular rift in the earth's crust. This is a site of epic proportions, both literally and in its prominence as a world-renowned destination. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is the highlight of the Arizona Strip, giving visitors a different – and much less crowded – perspective on the world-famous attraction.
Because of its remoteness, only about 10% of visitors to the Grand Canyon make it to the North Rim, but those who do aren't disappointed. The views are dramatically different from the more popular south rim, which is located some 1,000-1,500 feet lower. Due to the higher elevation, the North Rim experiences lower temperatures and more precipitation. This results in dense forests of ponderosa pines, Douglas firs, and aspens interspersed with large meadows, a treat on top of the dramatic canyon views. The North Rim is only open from mid-May to early November due to heavy snowfall, and it has fewer services compared to the South rim.
Further north, closer to Utah, are National Monuments Navajo, Grand Canyon-Parashant, and Pipe Spring, giving visitors a taste of the region's historic and geological charms. Navajo National Monument preserves three intact cliff dwellings of the ancestral Puebloan people, and includes a visitor center, museum, trails, campgrounds and a picnic area. Located on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the Parashant National Monument is a remote area of open, undeveloped and unspoiled public lands covering more than 1 million acres, established as a monument only in the year 2000. The landscape includes deep canyons, isolated bluffs, and rugged mountains. In addition to its geological charms, it also is rich in archeological and historical sites, and also is home to many endangered species.
Finally, Pipe Spring National Monument marks the spring that provided life-sustaining waters, a rare source in the generally dry and barren landscape, to Native Americans and Mormon Pioneers - not to mention local plant and animal species - that settled in the area. The fort at Pipe Spring, Windsor Castle, was intended to protect the spring and neighboring cattle grazing lands against Indian raids. Tours are available and a visitor center, museum, and daily demonstrations and lectures are available on site.
Places to Visit in Moab, Zion, Bryce, Arches National Parks in Southern Utah and the Arizona Strip
Places-to-Visit
Moab and Red Rock Country
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