St. George Utah Day Trip: What to Do an Hour from Zion
Most people treat St. George as the place they fly into or the last exit before Zion, which is a waste of a genuinely good town. There are more things to do in St. George Utah than a single day can hold: a state park full of petrified dunes, a working dinosaur track site, a […]
Grafton Ghost Town: Utah’s Most Photographed Ghost Town Near Zion
Four miles from the gates of a national park that sees millions of visitors a year, there is a cluster of weathered pioneer buildings standing in a field with the cliffs of Zion rising behind them, and most days you can have the place nearly to yourself. Grafton ghost town in Utah is the most […]
Smithsonian Butte Scenic Byway: The Most Beautiful Shortcut to Zion
There is a dirt road between Apple Valley and Rockville that almost nobody on a Zion itinerary knows exists, and it happens to be the single best drive in the area. The Smithsonian Butte Scenic Byway runs a little over nine miles between Highway 59 and Highway 9, climbing over a saddle beneath the butte […]
Water Canyon Hike: The Slot Canyon Locals Love Near Apple Valley
There is a slot canyon twenty minutes from our front door that most Zion visitors drive right past, and the locals are in no hurry to change that. The Water Canyon hike in Utah starts at a dirt pullout outside Hildale, requires no permit and no fee, and delivers a genuine narrows section with a […]
Snow Canyon State Park: Southern Utah’s Hidden Gem
Ask most travelers headed to Southern Utah what’s on their list and you’ll hear the same answer: Zion, Bryce, maybe the Grand Canyon’s North Rim. Almost nobody says Snow Canyon State Park Utah, and that’s exactly why you should go. Tucked into the red rock country near Ivins and St. George, Snow Canyon delivers petrified […]
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park: Complete Guide
Most people come to this corner of Southern Utah for Zion’s towering sandstone walls, then discover that one of the region’s strangest and most photogenic landscapes sits just over an hour away. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is a 3,700-acre sea of rose-colored sand tucked between the Moquith and Moccasin Mountains, and it looks […]
Kanab Utah Day Trip: Slot Canyons, Sand Dunes, and More
Photo by Jeff Wiles via Pexels If you have been searching for Kanab Utah things to do, you are in for a treat. This small town about an hour east of the Zion area packs more adventure per square mile than almost anywhere in the Southwest. Slot canyons you can squeeze through, sand caves you […]
Bryce Canyon Day Trip from Zion
A Bryce Canyon day trip from Zion is one of the best value add days you can build into a southern Utah itinerary. Two national parks, two completely different landscapes, and a drive that is a legitimate attraction in its own right. It is very doable in a single day, and it is also very […]
Zion and Bryce Canyon Itinerary: How to Do Both in One Trip
Two national parks, two hours apart, and almost nothing in common. That is what makes a Zion and Bryce Canyon itinerary the best short trip in the Southwest. Zion is a narrow canyon you walk into, with 2,000 foot walls closing overhead and a river running through the middle of it. Bryce is an amphitheater […]
Apple Valley Utah: The Underrated Base Camp for Zion Visitors
Most Zion visitors book the first available room in Springdale and call it a plan. But if you’ve been to Springdale on a peak summer weekend, you know the drill: bumper-to-bumper traffic on the main strip, packed parking lots, and restaurant waits that eat into your hiking time. Apple Valley, Utah offers a quieter, smarter […]