15 Fun Activities To Do In The St. George Area

When we first visited Southern Utah to see if we wanted to live here, we fell in love with it right away! It’s kind of the best of both worlds in my opinion.  We have amazing Red Rock, Beautiful Pine Valley Mountain not far out of town, and if you want snow in the winter you only need to drive a half hour north to Cedar City!  When most people think of Southern Utah they think of the big places like Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.  Both of which are amazing places and if you haven’t ever been there, you totally need to go! Today I am going to share with you some great places to visit if you were planning to visit the St. George area for a weekend and wanted some fun things to do as a family or even just as a couple! This post is filled with mostly adventurous hiking, fishing a swimming places in the St. George area. I can assure there are a lot of other great things to do around here.  Next month I will share with you some great places to visit if you’re not in it for a big outdoor adventure.

*Click on each title and it will take you to a website to find out where each place is.  

15 Fun Activities To Do In The St. George Area

• Pioneer Park – (aka Dixie Rock) – This isn’t a park with a playground, it’s a big 52+ acre area with some great hikes, picnic tables, amazing views and more.  My favorite view is when you get on top of the Dixie Rock and you can see the whole valley, including the spectacular St. George Temple. There is a really cool slot canyon to climb through that’s kind of hard to find but it is well worth the search.  Ask someone you see if they know where it is!  This area is free.

• Snow Canyon State Park – This is a hidden gem in Southern Utah. You could camp here and spend days.  I’ve done most of the hikes in this park! Our favorite place to go here is the sand dunes! The kids have so much fun playing and rolling down the big hills of sand! They also have fun biking paths and some great hikes you can do with or without kids.  Make sure you find the caves, they are really cool, but not easy to do with children. This place is amazing because you see red, black and white rocks all blended together!  There is a fee to enter the park unless you have a state park pass. 

• Red Cliffs Recreation Area – This place is amazing! We love to go here and let the kids play and explore!  It’s a great place to camp, hike, rappel, and when there is water flowing, a fun place to play in the pools at the end of the hike!  There is a $5 fee for day use.

• Oak Grove – If you need to get up in the mountains and enjoy a cool evening out of the St. George heat this is the place to go! It gorgeous and very peaceful! There is a $5 fee for day use. 

• Pine Valley Recreation Area – We love to camp, hike and go to the reservoir up in Pine Valley. We recently camped up there in October and the weather was great! The retirement town is nestled in the mountain of Pine Valley. If you go, make sure you visit the church there.  The architecture is amazing! There is a day use fee, and it is only open from May to October each year. 

• Kolob Canyon – This is a gorgeous area to go to.  There are tons of great hiking places and a reservoir.  It is especially gorgeous in the spring and fall!

• Kanarraville Falls Hike – This hike can be done with children although you may not be able to go all the way to the top unless you have some tough people to carry the kids up the hard part, which is what my husband and our friends did. .  The hike is mostly in water, which was about shin deep on me.  At the top are some fun natural watersides and really amazing slot canyons that you walk though.  There is a parking fee of $10, but it is worth it!

• The Virgin River– We love to go down to the Virgin River and let the kids play. There are lots of place to enter the river.  It’s free and fun!

 

• Gunlock State Park – Boat, fish, and swim on the tranquil waters at Gunlock Reservoir or enjoy an afternoon picnic on the beach.  Warm waters during summer and a mild winter climate make the park a year-round destination.
• Anasazi Ridge Petroglyphs – I have only been out here once, but if you want to see some really cool petroglyphs. this is a great place!
• Temple Quarry Trail – This is a great easy level hike for the whole family. It’s easily accessible right in the middle of St. George.  It takes you to the place where they got all the stone to use for the St. George temple. You will be amazing how much distance they had to take this stone to the temple!

There are also some great lakes to visit that don’t cost very much that are both about 15 miles outside of the St. George area in the Hurricane area!

• Quail Creek State Park – There is a place that you can walk down in the parking lot to avoid paying the state park fee. They don’t mind.  Mostly the fee is for boaters and campers.  The beach here is more rocky, so if you don’t want sand all over in your car, then this is the beach for you!

• Sand Hollow Lake State Park – I love this lake, but my husband hates red sand all over inside our vehicles so we don’t go here as often, but when we first moved down here we were there every weekend in the summer

There are a lot of places to camp, but if you aren’t very excited to camp our favorite hotel is the Holiday Inn Express in Washington.  They have very nice rooms, serve a great breakfast, and have a nice pool!

I would advice that if you are planning a St. George weekend trip, check the St. George City Calendar to make sure it isn’t a busy week. St. George holds a lot of big races, and the Senior Games each year. The city is very packed during these week. There are plenty of weeks throughout the year that are perfect to come!

  If you are ever planning a trip to the St. George Area, feel free to email me and I can help you plan a fun trip!

Here are some of my other posts about the St. George area….

CINDER CONE VOLCANO HIKE IN SOUTHERN UTAH

SPRING BREAK DESTINATIONS IN UTAH

TOP 10 VALENTINE’S DAY RESTAURANTS IN SOUTHERN UTAH