March/April 2025 - St. George, Utah
- Trevor
- Aug 11
- 9 min read
St. George is a beautiful spot in southern Utah, with perfect weather for an early-spring (March/April) getaway. We chose it as a location for its near-70s weather and access to outdoor recreation and hiking. We chose our specific Airbnb, actually located 5 miles east of St. George in Washington, for its large backyard and dog-friendly amenities. The house was equipped with a kennel and dog toys, and there was a nice, relatively flat, walking/biking path around the outside of the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, before our travels to St. George, Sandy and I were faced with a very difficult decision in February. Gunner’s mobility was really starting to suffer, and he was spending more and more of his days lying in bed. Getting up required help from one of us, and retrieving, fetching, and playing were all very hard for him to do. Gunner’s mind was still very sharp, and his nose for food was still very strong, but with his quality-of-life degrading, we decided that the time had come for him to move on.
Because our home in St. George was already booked and paid for, Sandy and I went ahead with our 6-week stay as planned. We spent a bit of time mourning and missing Gunner, but began to take advantage of some sightseeing opportunities that we wouldn’t have been able to do if he had been with us (more on that below). Our St. George house was very nice, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a large kitchen and pantry, with an open floor plan to a family room with a giant TV. We had great high-speed internet, washer and dryer, an oversized shower in the master bathroom, and even access for parking in the garage. Outside, the house was equipped with a standard gas grill and also a pellet grill. I had never used a pellet grill before, but took the opportunity to learn about this one, and we smoked pork ribs on 3 separate occasions. Our Airbnb host was very accommodating and responsive, and after our stay, she invited us to contact her directly if we ever wanted to return, bypassing the Airbnb platform for better rates.
Our neighborhood in Washington was part of a larger community named Coral Canyon, with extensive walking/biking paths and a community center with a pool and exercise center. We walked the trails near our house often, but didn’t use any of the other community amenities. Our section of the neighborhood had no through-streets, so we had very little traffic or street noise. We had a grocery store, Walmart, and Costco within 4 miles of our location, and it was only a 20-minute drive to downtown St. George.
The greater St. George area is a hiker’s paradise. We spent many of our days exploring local trails, admiring slot canyons, petroglyphs, dinosaur tracks, red and white sandstone, and the occasional waterfall. Early in our visit, we set some goals to complete two long and difficult hikes at Zion National Park, and then worked on finding a series of training hikes with increasing distance and difficulty. We typically hiked 6 days per week, with favorites including Zion National Park, about 45 minutes east of our home in Washington, and Snow Canyon, on the northwest side of St. George.
We visited Zion National Park at least 5 times. For our first visit, we targeted the most popular portion of the park, which requires a National Park pass, and is only accessible by bus. For minimal crowds, it’s best to get an early start and arrive at the park before 8 AM and we recommend stopping at the River Rock Coffee Shop in nearby La Verkin on the way to the park. The bus tour is nice, with dramatic views of the main canyon and a few short hikes. It was on this first tour that we were inspired to take two longer and more iconic hikes – Angels Landing and The Narrows. Both were very challenging, but for different reasons.
Angels Landing is a 5-mile round trip walk, with everyone allowed to walk the first 2 miles, but with a permit required for the final half mile to the landing. You get the permit through an online lottery with a $6 fee. We found the web site easy to use, and we luckily snagged our permit on our first try. The hike starts by taking the bus about halfway into the park. Exiting the bus, you cross the Virgin River and follow a steep, paved, switch-back trail up (and up and up) to a developed flat area with a decision point before the final half mile. Beyond this point, the trail is narrow, worn, and no longer paved. The hike gets steeper, and heavy chains have been installed to use as handrails and to help pull yourself up the steep slopes and steps. Many hikers get nervous along the way and turn around before reaching the landing. But if you have the nerve, you will be rewarded with a great panoramic view at the Angels Landing!
For the Narrows hike, first take the bus to the end of the route, and then walk along the Virgin River further up through Zion Canyon. The trail ends after the first paved mile, and hikers wade up-river, picking their own path as they go. Because we took this hike in mid-April, the water depth ranged from mid-shin to mid-chest. We rented chest waders, waterproof boots, and hiking sticks to help with our hike. These are highly recommended for early-season hikes, and the best rental prices are found right next to the Zion National Park parking lot and visitor center. We paid $55 each for our gear, which we picked up the night before so we could check the fit and then make sure we were ready for an early start the next morning. We caught an 8 AM bus, headed up the canyon, and started our hike around 9 AM. Wading through water with large cobbled stones is slow-going, though we took our time and stopped frequently to admire the canyon and the dramatic walls above us. Because no extra permits are required for the Narrows, the area gets very crowded and congested, especially later in the day. We averaged about 1 mile per hour and walked about 4 miles upstream, passing through the narrowest section of the canyon known as The Wall. Hikers can go about a mile further, but we knew we needed to head back, partly for our own physical limitations, but also because we didn’t want to get back too late. In total, we walked a bit over 8 miles in about 8 hours. We would love to return, and would challenge ourselves to be in better shape, allowing us to go even further along the Narrows.
In addition to the bus-only tour up the main Zion Canyon, tourists can drive through the park, heading east up a smaller canyon, along a winding road with numerous slot canyons to explore. Sandy and I drove up here multiple times, exploring many of these canyons, climbing over boulders and through narrow passages, looking for petroglyphs, animals, and scenic viewpoints. Zion also has a lesser-known western entrance at Kolob Canyon that we visited with daughter Skylar and her 2 kids, and later for a short hike to an interesting double arch. Although the Kolob entrance is right next to I-15, it’s a bit out of the way, and we’d recommend focusing on the main part of the park unless you have a lot of time in the area like we did.
Closer to St. George, our favorite spot to explore was Snow Canyon State Park. Here, numerous trails wind through a very diverse landscape. Over multiple hikes, we found caves, slot canyons, petrified sand dunes, and lava tubes. Access to the park requires a $15 day-use pass, though Utah residents can purchase an annual pass good for all state parks. By the end of our stay, we felt that Snow Canyon was probably our favorite spot close to St. George.
From St. George, we also visited Kanab, about 1.5 hours east. We have some friends that live there, and we visited twice for some hiking and lunch. We also got a wonderful tour of the BLM dinosaur lab. Our friend, Steve, volunteers there, extracting and preserving dinosaur bones that have been found in the region.
We also booked a rappelling tour from Kanab. This was our first time rappelling and we weren’t sure how we’d feel about the climbing and the heights. It turns out that we both loved our rappelling tour of Ladder Canyon, with 6 separate rappels down an increasingly narrow and deep slot canyon, and we are eagerly looking for our next opportunity to do something similar! For anyone in the area, we highly recommend booking through AllWays adventures. Our $179 (each) half-day private tour with guide Brett was outstanding. He tailored the pace to our abilities, was helpful throughout the day, and focused on our safety and enjoyment the entire time.
During our 6-week stay, we also found a couple of local events that coincided with our stay. First was the annual Scottish Highland games and strongman competition. Held over two days in a local park, we watched a series of traditional events and feats of strength. Numerous food and craft vendors were also there, mostly selling items with a medieval or renaissance-era style. Attendance at the games was free, and we only bought small snacks and drinks while there.
We were also able to make multiple visits to the Washington County Fair. We were surprised that the fair was held in April, as we’re used to county fairs occurring later in the summer or fall. We watched the rodeo events on two separate nights, two concerts (Lonestar and Lee Greenwood), and a demolition derby – our first, but definitely not our last! Admission to the fair was $3 on top of our show tickets, which ranged from $10-$30 (each) per event. We were pretty fortunate that the fairgrounds were only a few miles from our house, making travel to/from the events very convenient.
In addition to exploring many of the hiking trails and scenery surrounding St. George, we also spent some time exploring the town. The historic downtown area is very walkable, with many touristy sights and restaurants. We took a great free tour of Brigham Young’s summer home, gaining an interesting perspective on the initial settlement and development of the area. We also recommend the Johnson’s Farm dinosaur dig site ($10 admission), where excavation is ongoing, peeling back layers of mudstone in search of dinosaur prints. There are some bones and models on display, but the majority of the site is dedicated to prints excavated right at the site.
For food options, St. George is a typical U.S. city with all of the normal options. Since we had our house, with its grills and great kitchen, we actually ate most of our meals at home. For dining out, our favorites included Majaraja, with a wonderful Indian buffet lunch, and Mad Pita for falafel or gyros. On the south side of the city, we found a spot that we visited multiple times - Silver Reef Brewery, offering good food and great beer. Many of the beers are only available at the brewery, including our favorite Java Madre Imperial Coffee Stout. And I can’t end the food section without another mention of River Rock Roasting Company in La Verkin. We stopped here at least 5 times to pick up breakfast before Zion or other destinations, and twice more for lunch. The coffee is excellent and the breakfast options are all good, and the café has a reasonable price-point.
For costs, we felt that St. George was a very reasonable early-spring destination. Our house cost $4,600 for 6 weeks, or about $110 per day. Food costs could be considered average for the U.S. Our major costs included $300 for gas (lots of driving to our hiking spots!) and $1,000 for all of the entertainment (most of that went to rappelling and the fair). Though we loved the house, and were invited back by our host, we might consider a smaller condo if we returned. We could save a bit of money that way, and could potentially spend our time in a different part of the city.
Overall, Sandy and I really enjoyed our time in St. George. We went there with plans of taking care of Gunner, but the natural beauty of the area made it easy for us to modify our plans and find many options for entertainment without him. We also did a lot of pondering while there – what will Our Nomadic Journey look like now that Gunner is no longer a factor in our travel planning? We'll no longer be limited to driving, so we can look at many more destinations. We'll also need to rethink what weather we're looking for, what attractions we want to see, and what we can and can't take with us (we pack a LOT of stuff in our car). We’ve got lots of ideas, including a cruise later in the year, and some time in Portugal – where we originally talked about launching our early retirement. Lots of changes, to be sure. Our travels will be very different from here on out without our constant travel companion. We'll miss you, Buddy!
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