Things to do in St. George, Utah
April 20, 2022 10:46 AM Subscribe
We'll be spending ten days in St. George to visit my in-laws, and we need some activities to do in the evenings and weekends. Details on what we're looking for inside.
We're not outdoorsy, which is a major disadvantage for the area, obviously. Though, to clarify- I'm happy to go sit in a park or walk an easy trail for an hour, but the people I'm with are not about to do any hiking.
We tend to like eating and drinking and shopping at the sort of places that you can find in hip downtown areas in any city. We also like interesting historical and architectural stuff (but we do not want to do or see anything related to the LDS church). I know I'm asking a lot of an area that's not likely to contain a lot of what I want, so I'm open-minded if there are other things that are worth my attention. We're willing to drive under an hour.
We're not outdoorsy, which is a major disadvantage for the area, obviously. Though, to clarify- I'm happy to go sit in a park or walk an easy trail for an hour, but the people I'm with are not about to do any hiking.
We tend to like eating and drinking and shopping at the sort of places that you can find in hip downtown areas in any city. We also like interesting historical and architectural stuff (but we do not want to do or see anything related to the LDS church). I know I'm asking a lot of an area that's not likely to contain a lot of what I want, so I'm open-minded if there are other things that are worth my attention. We're willing to drive under an hour.
Best answer: We liked Anasazi Steakhouse when we were there back in 2017.
posted by soelo at 10:57 AM on April 20, 2022
posted by soelo at 10:57 AM on April 20, 2022
Best answer: Try the Shakespeare festival in Cedar City? (Also has non-Shakespeare plays.)
posted by Theiform at 11:44 AM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Theiform at 11:44 AM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also, there are shuttle busses through the canyon valley of Zion National Park. I think you'd have to be incredibly nature-averse to not appreciate at least seeing the highlights of one of America's prettiest parks from the eyes of a vehicle..
posted by Theiform at 1:59 PM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Theiform at 1:59 PM on April 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
I also have some family in the area and have been to the Shakespeare festival to see a production of The Pirates of Penzance that was fun. We also did a picnic in a scenic part of Bryce Canyon which was pretty, but I personally didn’t enjoy it much as I had either some bad altitude sickness or surprisingly negative reaction to heat on a summer day.
If you expand the distance you’re willing to drive, you can tour Hoover Dam and boat on Lake Mead.
posted by A Blue Moon at 2:54 PM on April 20, 2022
If you expand the distance you’re willing to drive, you can tour Hoover Dam and boat on Lake Mead.
posted by A Blue Moon at 2:54 PM on April 20, 2022
Best answer: One of my favorite hole-in-the-wall secret restraunt gems in St. George is Irmita's Casita. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it somehow is different from most Mexican food I've ever had and it was absolutely amazing. We go every time we are down there and I can't recommend them highly enough.
Also, Tuacahn is a pretty unique and fun experience if you are into performing arts.
posted by _DB_ at 2:55 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also, Tuacahn is a pretty unique and fun experience if you are into performing arts.
posted by _DB_ at 2:55 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There are a pretty large number of art galleries in the area. Kayenta Art Village, Sears Art Museum, St George Art Museum seem most interesting. But you could definitely spend few hours browsing galleries.
Petroglyph Park.
Little Black Mountain Petroglyphs. Might require a bit of walking, though.
The Mojave Desert Joshua Tree Road Scenic Backway - scenic drive.
If your group doesn't want to hike etc, how about some driving tours? You are literally smack in the middle of the 5 of the most beautiful/most visited National Parks and there are probably 2 dozen more places to visit that would be national parks if they were anywhere else.
Some people just like to drive. Just for example you could drive Colorado City, Fredonia, Kanab, Springdale and back. That's maybe 4 hours of driving altogether but you would plan to drive a while, look at something, drive 45 minutes, look, etc.
Also you could set up a tour with a place like this who would likely personalize it to make it interesting and so some great sites but without doing much more than jumping out of the car to look.
The Old Spanish Trail passed through area. Retrace the route and/or visit key locations.
Red Pueblo Museum.
Pipe Spring National Monument. (Has Mormon connection though - but also other connections, general north side of Grand Canyon history, southern Paiute reservation & exhibits, Old Spanish Trail way stop.
Western Skies Warbird Museum.
Downtown St George is a little slightly night-lifey, at least in the sense of a few restaurants and a bit of shopping, a few bars & breweries, so maybe that will work for an evening or two.
Mesquite Nevada is the nearest place with gambling and "real" night life.
Las Vegas is a 2 hour drive away, and of course that is loaded with eating, drinking, shopping, etc.
Fio's Culinary Adventures.
Grafton Ghost Town
Harrisburg Ghost Town
Hebron Ghost Town
St Thomas Ghost Town (inundated by Lake Mead but now revealed again by low water.
Woodward School
Note all the ghost towns will have SOME Mormon connection. There won't be a visitor center shoving Mormonism down your throat, though - just old pioneer houses etc. Still, visitor beware.
Red Hills Desert Garden
posted by flug at 5:45 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Petroglyph Park.
Little Black Mountain Petroglyphs. Might require a bit of walking, though.
The Mojave Desert Joshua Tree Road Scenic Backway - scenic drive.
If your group doesn't want to hike etc, how about some driving tours? You are literally smack in the middle of the 5 of the most beautiful/most visited National Parks and there are probably 2 dozen more places to visit that would be national parks if they were anywhere else.
Some people just like to drive. Just for example you could drive Colorado City, Fredonia, Kanab, Springdale and back. That's maybe 4 hours of driving altogether but you would plan to drive a while, look at something, drive 45 minutes, look, etc.
Also you could set up a tour with a place like this who would likely personalize it to make it interesting and so some great sites but without doing much more than jumping out of the car to look.
The Old Spanish Trail passed through area. Retrace the route and/or visit key locations.
Red Pueblo Museum.
Pipe Spring National Monument. (Has Mormon connection though - but also other connections, general north side of Grand Canyon history, southern Paiute reservation & exhibits, Old Spanish Trail way stop.
Western Skies Warbird Museum.
Downtown St George is a little slightly night-lifey, at least in the sense of a few restaurants and a bit of shopping, a few bars & breweries, so maybe that will work for an evening or two.
Mesquite Nevada is the nearest place with gambling and "real" night life.
Las Vegas is a 2 hour drive away, and of course that is loaded with eating, drinking, shopping, etc.
Fio's Culinary Adventures.
Grafton Ghost Town
Harrisburg Ghost Town
Hebron Ghost Town
St Thomas Ghost Town (inundated by Lake Mead but now revealed again by low water.
Woodward School
Note all the ghost towns will have SOME Mormon connection. There won't be a visitor center shoving Mormonism down your throat, though - just old pioneer houses etc. Still, visitor beware.
Red Hills Desert Garden
posted by flug at 5:45 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Silver Reef Ghost Town is 20 miles or so from St George and has a museum and tour that's pretty good.
Seconding Irmita's and Anasazi Steakhouse.
I live in St George if you want to PM with any questions.
posted by mmoncur at 6:17 AM on April 23, 2022
Seconding Irmita's and Anasazi Steakhouse.
I live in St George if you want to PM with any questions.
posted by mmoncur at 6:17 AM on April 23, 2022
« Older Finding Faith and Understanding Prayer | How can I make one-handed handling of my iPhone 13... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
(When I was there, the man working in the gift shop was really angry at the LDS church because they had built a church that impeded further discovery of dinosaur fossils, refusing to give scientists time to explore where they wanted to build, so it's definitely not an LDS thing.)
posted by FencingGal at 10:57 AM on April 20, 2022