What's there to do around St. George?

So I'm going to St. George for a few days with my wife who isn't really physically able to do a lot of hiking type stuff. So I need some suggestions for things to do. Oh, also, I don't have four wheel drive or and ATVs. I've been into Snow Canyon, driven to Zions and Kolob, checked out that old ghost town where part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed, and a few other things--well, if you can think of some fun and interesting things that don't require a lot of exertion, let me know.

check out this site for things to do in St. Geroge

http://sgcity.org/parks/sgtrailsinfo.php

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tanya

check out this site for things to do in St. Geroge

http://sgcity.org/parks/sgtrailsinfo.php

---

Good call, I love that site. :five:

hmm...there's quite a few things to do outdoors (but these are relatively easy - so you and your wife should have no probs). The hiking mentioned below is just mere walking on flat surfaces (with no incline - except for "red cliffs" which is a mere walk in the forest, and the "little narrow" which is just easy rock scrambling.




There is this really cool pond right in town (that virtually no one goes to literally and don't know it even exists either. I went around it with a local 70yr-old lady that has lived there for 30 years and never knew it existed until that very day when she got "lost" looking for the post office...hehe). It's going to be made offical in a few months I believe.
Anywho, take "Main Street" (off of St. George Blvd) all the way to the North, and where it ends is where you need to park. Hike up the hill-side to your east and the pond is right there. Apparently, its been there for over 100+ years and it is naturally fed my 2 springs. And that water that comes down from the hill, in which you will see when walk up - is the same water that feeds all the fountains off of Main street in the local park down there (which is pretty cool to check out - by the new clock tower).

Also, you could go to Red Cliffs Recreational Site (located in Leeds, about 10+ miles north of St. George off of I-15, maybe exit 21 or 22 - heading north that is), and you have to head towards the town (forget what its' called - but its all the trailer parks off to the east of I-15) and go right under a small tunnel under I-15 and follow the road to the trailhead (costs $2 for a day visit) - but its a easy stroll through a quick 30min canyon that has a awesome perenial stream coming through the middle of it...

Also, drive towards Gunlock State Park (from st. George on: drive west on the St. George Blvd, and make a right (north) on Bluff st. Make a left (headed west) on Sunset Blvd and go through the next town of Santa Clara and then a few more miles past Kayenta (a desert community) and make a right on a turnoff (there will be a sign there too) that says Gunlock Reservoir 8 miles. Drive for 8 more miles and park at the east side of the reservoir (not where the camping is), where the walkway is way across the reservoir and head towards the other side (easy 1/2 mile walk) and follow it towards the spillway and you will see the coolest waterfalls in SW Utah! (search Google: "Gunlock Waterfalls" and click on the 3rd link (shoud be a webshots.com website album).

Also a fun little day hike through what is called the "little narrows" is located right in town too. From St. George blvd. make a right at your first right off of I-15 and go up the hill and make a left on Skyline Dr. From there go for 1/2 mile or so and look for a paved black asphault road and make a right and follow it (its a one-way road) and park along the many picnic areas and explore that area. It's pretty fun actually. It's located on the side of the hill where the name "Dixie" is painted in white onto the hillside.

I have a few more areas if you are interested - but that should be a good start for ya. Let me know how it turns out!

Also a GREAT local restaurant to eat at, especially in the morning, is called the Bear Claw, just located off Main Street. (head west on St. George Blvd. and make a left (headed south) on Main Street) and immediately park on your right and it's located in that shopping mall.

What's funny, not that anyone cares, I've lived there for 2 years+, and I don't really miss the town, but I sure do miss the outdoors down there. And the sad thing is, according to the local newspaper in Nov. 07, it said that less than 15% of residents - go on 2 local hikes (which includes Zion) or less per year... I just think - how sad and what a waste to them. But to me - that's great news - less people and less congestion on the trails....

anywho....have fun!

(BTW Admin...I don't think the Spell Check button works...might wanna check it...I've tried it 5x, and on different posts - when there was intentional spelling errors - but it picked up nothing...just fyi)

Great information here, I know I'm learning new places. How about going out in the AZ Strip? You can visit the petroglyphs at Little Black Mtn, old Fort Pierce and the Dinosaur Tracks. This can be done in one easy day, go in from St George and exit either in Washington or Hurricane. Pick up maps and directions at the BLM in St George. No real hiking involved and doable in any 4WD, just make sure it hasn't rained recently.

Win

Hey, thanks Tanya and jman for those suggestions. And, yes, I'll take more if you have them. I'm going to be there for much of the week (March 4-7), and am looking forward to doing a lot of stuff. I like the restaurant suggestion too, especially from someone who lived there. Far better than the time I stopped in Moab for breakfast in January and had the choice of McDonalds or a regular sit down restaurant, chose the restaurant and wish I'd have chosen Mac's.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jman

Also a GREAT local restaurant to eat at, especially in the morning, is called the Bear Claw, just located off Main Street. (head west on St. George Blvd. and make a left (headed south) on Main Street) and immediately park on your right and it's located in that shopping mall.

What's funny, not that anyone cares, I've lived there for 2 years+, and I don't really miss the town, but I sure do miss the outdoors down there. And the sad thing is, according to the local newspaper in Nov. 07, it said that less than 15% of residents - go on 2 local hikes (which includes Zion) or less per year... I just think - how sad and what a waste to them. But to me - that's great news - less people and less congestion on the trails....

---

Hi! I have never tried the Bear Claw! Bo! We need to do lunch there next time I am down.

I don't think that the survey by the SUN is correct. Bo and I write that hiking article that is in the http://www.todayindixie.com/ (Today in Dixie Magazine) each month. It is mailed out to everyone in the St. George area. The magazine did a survey and that was one of the favorite articles in the magazine and people pop into Outdoor Outlet all the time where Bo works and converse about hiking. Granted.... perhaps 15% is a big number anymore -- the area is growing!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jimflint1

Hey, thanks Tanya and jman for those suggestions. And, yes, I'll take more if you have them. I'm going to be there for much of the week (March 4-7), and am looking forward to doing a lot of stuff. I like the restaurant suggestion too, especially from someone who lived there. Far better than the time I stopped in Moab for breakfast in January and had the choice of McDonalds or a regular sit down restaurant, chose the restaurant and wish I'd have chosen Mac's.

---

Cafe Rio!!!! :2thumbs: That's the place for lunch! The coconut shrimp taco's are to die for!!! It was tied with another Mexican Restaurant in St. George for best in town. Ancestor Square has some good restaurants as well and a variety of them. My kids always want to hit the buffets though. :roll:

I can't give you much in the way of things to do there... we hike here in the Zion area and just do things like the mall, walmart and movies when we go down there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jman

(BTW Admin...I don't think the Spell Check button works...might wanna check it...I've tried it 5x, and on different posts - when there was intentional spelling errors - but it picked up nothing...just fyi)

---

:peepwall: :nono2: Like usual.... I am going off topic. Sorry Shane! :cold:

But if you have the google toolbar it has a cool spell check right on it and it will check your posts! I love it!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tanya

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jman

(BTW Admin...I don't think the Spell Check button works...might wanna check it...I've tried it 5x, and on different posts - when there was intentional spelling errors - but it picked up nothing...just fyi)

---

:peepwall: :nono2: Like usual.... I am going off topic. Sorry Shane! :cold:

But if you have the google toolbar it has a cool spell check right on it and it will check your posts! I love it!

---

Whoops. Will have to take a look at that or remove it altogether. Firefox web browser is free and has free spell check, really slick too. Not sure if Internet explorer has it yet. Anyway.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Great St. George talk going here, carry on. :popcorn:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tanya

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jimflint1

Hey, thanks Tanya and jman for those suggestions. And, yes, I'll take more if you have them. I'm going to be there for much of the week (March 4-7), and am looking forward to doing a lot of stuff. I like the restaurant suggestion too, especially from someone who lived there. Far better than the time I stopped in Moab for breakfast in January and had the choice of McDonalds or a regular sit down restaurant, chose the restaurant and wish I'd have chosen Mac's.

---

Cafe Rio!!!! :2thumbs: That's the place for lunch! The coconut shrimp taco's are to die for!!! It was tied with another Mexican Restaurant in St. George for best in town. Ancestor Square has some good restaurants as well and a variety of them. My kids always want to hit the buffets though. :roll:

I can't give you much in the way of things to do there... we hike here in the Zion area and just do things like the mall, walmart and movies when we go down there.

---

tanya is right. Cafe Rio is great! you should rtry there (that's right off the St. George BLVD headed west). Also, another great Mexican restaurant (although same price as Cafe Rio) is called Sharkies. That is located in the same building where Starbucks is. Make a left off (just off of I-15) - heading East, and cross the overpass and when you come to River Rd. - keep going through the light and park on your left (next to Carl Jr.) and walk to the opposite side of Starbucks for some really tasty Mexican...especially the Horchada (milk-cinnamon drink - but here it's really good and really cold).

Another great "authentic" mexican restaurant, I forget the name currently, but is located off of Sunset Blvd. It's located in the shopping strip mall where Lins (a grocery store) is located, on the north side of it. It's locally run and really good! Although your stomachs will be "authentically" hurting afterwards too. haha. but great nontheless and fairly inexpensive.

There is also another superb restaurant (located near the town of Leeds mayby closer to Silver Reef) called Neopolitan. Search google for directions. But that is one really good restaurant and again, all local.


Those dinosaur tracks are a fun to visit too (as mentioned above). One is the Johnson Dinosaur Track Farm (http://www.sgcity.org/dinotrax/directions.php).

The other is the dinosaur tracks in Warner Valley are far out there (30min away from St. George, but those are not fairly visited so you'll do okay there - but like Win said - it can't be raining otherwise you'll get stuck in the deep deep mud there) - here's directions (http://www.so-utah.com/zion/eaststg/.../homepage.html)

That webpage also listes Fort Pearce - and that is pretty interesting to check out too. There is a small wash there with water (...water is always good) and also some petroglyphs at the site too. It's probably less than 20min from Fort Pearce on the same dirt road.

I didn't mention the AZ strip because I thought you mentioned you don't have too great of a car for off-roading adventures... but if you do. There are some good visits, 2 hours south of St. George on the AZ strip called Mount Trumbull (ice caves, Death Valley Lake, petrified forests, indian pottery and arrow heads (you need a permit to pick up even one piece), a sawmill site (that the LDS temple there in St. George used for wood - only play with large enough ponderosa).

Umm....I'll try to pull up some more info for ya. You guys up for swimming in a natural hot-tub? (located 30+ min north of St. George)

Also a FAMOUS and Great pie restaurant is located up in Veyo (just off of Main St. in Veyo - about 30+ min north of St. George - cant miss it). I use to drive up there with friends or my fire crew just for the pie itself.mmm...I want one right now. All hail the rubuarb!

I was going to suggest seeing Tuachan, but I just remembered the shows don't start till June...

I got more...if ya want them?



Tanya - Yea, I would read your articles all the time when I lived there and those were fun reads. But those statistics - it could be a lot (granted there are a lot of senior citizens who probably don't get out a whole lot...) and maybe that's a huge factor - but up here, in the Deseret News, there was an article that said that kids (my age and younger - I'm 24 currently) these days are 20+% NOT going to visit the outdoors and MORE "wanting" (that's what the article said..."wanting"- which I think is sad) to stay inside! So the Dixie article doesnt' suprise me. But ironically, the meca for the SW of the USA, St. George, the locals didn't even use it that much. It's like one of my buddies I took him to Zion for his first time (he's a native of St. George all his life and has NEVER been to Zion) and his words verbatim after hiking Emerald Pools was "I didn't know cool things like this existed near St. George!" WOW!!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jman

Umm....I'll try to pull up some more info for ya. You guys up for swimming in a natural hot-tub? (located 30+ min north of St. George)


Is that the one in Hurricane or another?


I was going to suggest seeing Tuachan, but I just remembered the shows don't start till June...

I love the Tuachan!

Tanya - Yea, I would read your articles all the time when I lived there and those were fun reads. But those statistics - it could be a lot (granted there are a lot of senior citizens who probably don't get out a whole lot...) and maybe that's a huge factor - but up here, in the Deseret News, there was an article that said that kids (my age and younger - I'm 24 currently) these days are 20+% NOT going to visit the outdoors and MORE "wanting" (that's what the article said..."wanting"- which I think is sad) to stay inside! So the Dixie article doesnt' suprise me. But ironically, the meca for the SW of the USA, St. George, the locals didn't even use it that much. It's like one of my buddies I took him to Zion for his first time (he's a native of St. George all his life and has NEVER been to Zion) and his words verbatim after hiking Emerald Pools was "I didn't know cool things like this existed near St. George!" WOW!!!!!!

I too am shocked how few 'locals' visit the park other than the one time drive through. You would be surprised at how many of the older people hike these days though. Bo says that many of those that go into his store are over 50, 60ish. :2thumbs:

Kids today just want to sit and let electronics entertian them perhaps. :roll:

---

Quote:

---

I didn't mention the AZ strip because I thought you mentioned you don't have too great of a car for off-roading adventures... but if you do. There are some good visits, 2 hours south of St. George on the AZ strip called Mount Trumbull (ice caves, Death Valley Lake, petrified forests, indian pottery and arrow heads (you need a permit to pick up even one piece), a sawmill site (that the LDS temple there in St. George used for wood - only play with large enough ponderosa).

---

I loved the AZ strip the one time I went there. Well really, I loved the area but didn't get to explore it much. It was probably about 10 years ago and I had my Jeep Cherokee then. We had water strapped on top of the rack, and a few miles into the strip, I noticed water running down the windshield. When I got out and checked, our water had nearly all leaked out. A few miles further and we saw vultures circling in the sky, over a dead cow carcass. After that second sign, we should've known to turn back! But stupidly, we continued on and then the clutch line burst. We were stuck in first gear, so I tried to turn around, but got stuck on an embankment and the vehicle stalled. I sent my wife and son back down the road to try and get help from a ranch house a couple of miles back, while I tried to figure out what to do. Finally, I was able to get off the embankment by turning the key to the right and holding it there for awhile. So now I was facing the right direction, but the Jeep still wasn't started. I can't remember how I got it started in gear with no clutch, but somehow I did. We had to drive in first gear about 25 miles back to St. George, but we made it. Never have had a chance to go back, and now I just have this Honda Accord. One of these days though! Those restaurants all sound good! We'll have to try a couple of them at least. Any good spots for breakfast? What about rockhounding?

Oh yeah, we have been to the dinosaur tracks. Good suggestion. The hot tub is going to be a no. I'd do it, but my wife won't, and I won't go by myself. Some of the easier hikes in Zions might be nice though. If you have any suggestions for those, I'd welcome them.

Not outdoorsy, but we always enjoy visiting LDS churches and temples. One of each in st George, and interesting tours. Can't remember exactly where, but near the church is an ice cream shop with WONDERFUL ice cream. We also enjoyed a tour of Brigham Young's winter home.

South of St George, Mesquite,NV is interesting and has a fun drive to Gold Butte.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sparker1

Not outdoorsy, but we always enjoy visiting LDS churches and temples. One of each in st George, and interesting tours. Can't remember exactly where, but near the church is an ice cream shop with WONDERFUL ice cream. We also enjoyed a tour of Brigham Young's winter home.

South of St George, Mesquite,NV is interesting and has a fun drive to Gold Butte.

---

ah yes...ice cream joints.

I think the one sparker1 mentioned is either Blue Bunny (which is now closed - I mean the parlor shop off of Main St. Although, interesting to note, that hottest place in Utah is world-headquarters to Blue Bunny Ice Cream.

Or it could be Iceberg, which is located off of St. George BLVD and (I think its) 200 W.

Although, my personal favorite is Larsens Frost Stop (which is located off St. George BLVD (close to 900 E. and next to Burger King) and get the Lime Glaciers. It's vanilla ice cream with a lime slushee.....mmmmmm.....so good.


Sounds like a "fun" exploration of the AZ Strip. But most of my favorite places are 2 hours south and more on the Strip. The Parashant is cool to check out (3 hours south into it), but don't visit the Pacoon (about 4hours into the Strip - that's virtually hell - no SINGLE tree...I've looked for many hours.) Although the Firefighting cabin is down there, so there is at least 4+ people stationed there if something does happen...but you gotta know where that is.

Anywho.....those hotsprings are up in Veyo (not Pah Tempe Hot Springs located in La Verkin, Tanya that I mentioned earlier).

You can see the LDS temple, like Sparker mentioned - I mean the visitor center. That's good.

Hikes you requested in Zion : my personal favs (and probably the easiest for your family) is a
1st, Emerald Springs (trailhead at Zion Lodge and a mile walk to Lower and Upper Emerald Springs. These are probably my favorite because to me it's like being in the amazon (yes I have been there) rainforest. Lots of water, lots of wildlife, lots of green trees and green grass (although March might not be too green yet). Very gorgeous and picturesque.

Another easy, easy walk is Weeping Rock. Less than 10min walk to the seepage through the Navajo sandstone. Very cool.

Also a nice walk is to the Temple of Sinawava (exit of Zion Narrows). It's all paved and flat and goes for about a mile or so. I've seen plenty of deer in the meadows there.

One thing that always gets me whenever I get there (I've been a lot but not as much as Tanya and Bo and prob never will) but just how much water is coming out of the canyons, cracks, rocks, etc. It's just weird to me thinking, here I am in the hottest region of Utah and there is literally water gushing from the walls (like Big Springs in the Narrows). I even did some bushwacking off the trails off Refrigerator Canyon (Angel's Landing hike) and near the top before you enter Refrigerator Canyon - that wash is nearly always dry. But if you hike directly down the wash probably 100 yards that's where I found 2 springs gushing out large amounts of water into a stream covered by tons of cottonwoods. I dunno its so interesting to me...almost religious, you know? Well that's enough of my rant with that...heh.

Another place, if you like fishing, is either Sand Hollow (located in Hurricane) and Quail Creek Reservoir (just a mile north of Sand Hollow). I suppose if you don't fish - just even walking around them is interesting. BUT I STRONGLY recommend checking out Gunlock State Park and the waterfalls there.




UPDATE:I pulled this from a old document I have but I believe the locations are still OK - as in good to hound on.

Rock Hounding Locations that you requested (with GPS coords too - thank goodness for copy and paste).


Location: Hurricane Cliffs Area
Rock: petrified wood

Land Status: BLM.
Directions: There are three main locations. (1) Little Creek Mountain. Take highway 59 east of Hurricane for 13 miles until a little cindercone is visible to the right. Take the dirt road to the right and follow ti for 0.75 mile and turn right for 2 miles. (2) Gooseberry Mesa. Take highway 59 east of Hurricane for 9 miles and take the road to the left up to the top of the mesa. (3) Hurricane Mesa. Take highway 15 east of La Verkin for 5 miles. At milepost 17 a paved road to the left leads aobut 4 miles to the top of the mesa. Much wood is exposed to the right as the road first reaches the top.
GPS:

Location: Leeds
Rock: petrified wood, agate

Land Status: BLM and private lands.
Directions: Take the main street out of Leeds south and across I-15 and then turn north. At the T-intersection turn right and take the road to the left through the gate. A small knob can be seen abouit 0.25 mile to the north. look on the slopes around this knob.
GPS: 37

Thanks sparker1. I've been to the St. George church sites a number of times and they are very interesting. Well worth stopping to check out---even if not a member the historical buildings like the Jacob Hamblin and the Brigham Young homes are interesting.

jman, thanks for all your hard effort at finding things for us to do. You've been a great help as have the others who've contributed on this thread. I think I've got enough to keep us busy now, but if you think of anything later on, feel free to post it here and I'll check back.