Top Five Vacation Destinations of Southern Utah

Top Five Vacation Destinations of Southern Utah

Well, the easiest way to write this article about the top five vacation destinations of Southern Utah is to stick with Utah’s national parks because there are five of them, but that could provoke some resentment from the people who work at the other amazing attractions of Utah.  So, I’ll limit the information to two of the national parks and include three destinations which are not national parks but are worthy of consideration among the top five.

Zion National Park

First is Zion National Park in southwestern Utah.  Zion “has it all”:  magnificent scenery, rustic sandstone, easy to hard hikes, relaxing to scary, water, towering monoliths, wildlife, a visitors’ center, and a charming town at its entrance.  Springdale, the gateway to Zion, is ready to make your vacation special.  It offers rustic, yet classy hotels, delicious eateries, original gift shops, and friendly local residents.

Stay in one of Springdale’s comfortable lodges and take in the spectacular views from your deck or windows.  In the morning, take the Zion shuttle to the Visitors Center to discover Zion’s history and features.  While at the Visitors Center, ask about the hikes that suit your group’s fitness level and phobias.  You don’t want one miserable person to tarnish the trip’s success.  Zion is the third most visited national park in America and stands about 45 minutes drive from Southern Utah’s largest city, Saint George.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Second is Bryce Canyon National Park, this writer’s personal favorite of the top five vacation destinations of Southern Utah.  From the viewpoints along the highway, you’d swear your car had somehow rocketed into space while you were sleeping, and now you find yourself on another planet.  Ubiquitous, vertical sculptures of orange rock decorate the valley bottoms like warnings not to enter.  If you dare to exit your car, take a trail into Bryce to be up close and personal.  The Navajo Loop is famous, as well as the Queen’s Garden Trail and Wall Street, an area of huge slabs of sandstone/giant walls.  Queen’s Garden was named for Queen Victoria whose image is eerily similar to a rock formation at Bryce.  It’s time for a photo.

State Parks

Third are the state parks between St. George and Hurricane, Utah.  The larger of them is Sand Hollow State Park, a man-made reservoir which attracts boaters, swimmers, cliff divers, sun-bathers, and anglers.  The Virgin River from Zion National Park filled the basin to make this beautiful lake amid reddish sandstone.  Sand Hollow stores water (scarce in Southern Utah) and enables replenishment of the Navajo Sandstone Aquifer below ground by seepage from the bottom of the reservoir.  Behind the lake is Sand Mountain, a paradise of sand dunes for ATV and UTV enthusiasts.  Across the highway lies Quail Creek Reservoir, also built from the Virgin as well as Quail Creek waters.  It provides the same lake sports and supports the adjacent water treatment facility which sends clean water to residents of Washington County.

Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort

Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort should definitely be on this list of top five vacation destinations of Southern Utah.  Its marketing verbiage is fitting: Around here life slows down; it fills your heart, frees your mind, and feeds your soul.  Dramatic, yet true to my experience there.  Zion Ponderosa offers cowboy lodging, zip-line flying, horse-back riding, jeep and ATV adventuring, canyoneering, swimming, biking, hiking, paint-balling, mini-golfing, dutch-oven cooking, and skeet-shooting, all amid gorgeous scenery.

Dead Horse Point

Dead Horse Point in southeastern Utah towers over the Colorado River, providing spectacular views of buttes and spires of Canyonlands National park.  Full of hiking and mountain biking trails, Dead Horse Point attracts photographers, geologists, nature buffs, and fitness-oriented people.  Moab, Utah stands nearby for the usual small city provisions.  To wrap up, my votes for the top five vacation destinations of Southern Utah are Zion, Bryce, Sand Hollow State Park, Zion Ponderosa Ranch, and Dead Horse Point.

Top Five Vacation Destinations of Southern Utah

Top Five Vacation Destinations of Southern Utah

Article By: Clear Content Marketing

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