Cedar City Family Winter Vacation (Sample) Itinerary
One of my all time favorite past times is going on trips and planning out trips so I thought I would share some itineraries for visiting the area I call home.
This itinerary is for a Winter Trip.
Cedar City can be found right off the I-15. It's a 2 hr and 50 minute drive from the Las Vegas Airport and 3 hr and 39 minute drive from the Salt Lake City Airport. There is also an airport 45 minutes away in St George and a local airport in Cedar City if you want to fly in to a smaller airport.
You would think Cedar City was named for all the Cedar Trees around, which is was the founders thought, but in fact the trees surrounding Cedar are actually Juniper. They stay green year round. A lot of red rock can be found around Cedar but is a slightly different red rock than Moab, or St George area. It has a more Bryce Canyon quality, a little more orange than red.
Cedar City is also known as the Festival City so make sure to check out https://visitcedarcity.com before you come to see if there are any festivals going on during your intended stay.
Where to Stay
Cedar City is home to many unique airbnbs from basements and tiny homes, to full on farms and cabins. I think there's even a Hobbit hole on there.
One of my favorite vacation rentals for family is called the Black Sheep Inn. You can find them on instagram and airbnb or vrbo. It's close to parks, walking paths and the mountains but also close to amenities like groceries and gas.
Day 1-
Arrive and get acclimated. Take it easy. Cedar City is actually considered high elevation at 5,846 ft above sea level. So If you live at a lower elevation, your body might need some time to get use to being higher. I grew up at an elevation that was BELOW sea level. When I moved to Cedar City I was out of breath all the time and thought I must've put on the freshman 15 in like a week. Then someone explained to me it was because my body wasn't use to the higher elevation yet. Mind blown moment there, my below elevation brain didn't realize that high elevation affected the body so much.
Get a few groceries to have on hand and then take the kids to either the Aquatic Center or Cedar Fun Center in the evening so they can burn off some of that pent up energy.
Day 2- Fun in the snow of Brianhead
Brianhead is a local ski resort. It's a 40 minute drive from Cedar City. Before you head up Parowan Canyon, stop in at the Rusty Bucket to get snacks. The Rusty Bucket is an old motel converted into an antique, odd and ends, and snack shop. Each room has a theme and one of the rooms is full of snacks! You can fill a grocery bag with anything you want in that room for $5. After you explore a little bit get back on the road and head up the canyon to Brianhead. You can snowboard,ski,tube, and/or ice-skate. I'll leave up the activity side to you and your level.
Bonus tip- get your Brianhead tickets early online for cheaper prices.
After a day of fun in the snow, eat pizza at the Lodge or head back to Parowan to the Pizza Barn. After a day in the cold, having nice hot pizza really hits the spot.
Day 3- Take a drive to Kolob Canyon. Kolob is technically part of Zion National Park but isn't connected by "roads" to the main park, it is it's own thing, but less known and only 10 minutes away from Cedar. If your family is hikers, it's a good place to hike around. If your family likes to stay in the car more. It's also a good place for that.
Bonus tip-It's often less crowded in the morning and you get better pictures of people with the big red rock features in the morning light. Also colder in the morning, especially in the winter.
If you are still up for exploring by car and maybe want to thaw out after being in the Snow, head down to St George to Snow Canyon State Park. I know what you are thinking, more snow!?!?! Nope! Well..... probably not..... Snow Canyon is named after a dude, not the weather. It's red rock features and the area is typically 10-15 degrees warmer than Cedar. You can play in sand dunes, petrified dunes, lava tubes or ride bikes up and down the trails. This is also an epic place for family pictures wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
If you want a quick stop to eat, I'm a chic-fil-a fan or Freddys (not exactly on your way out of Snow Canyon but my kids love eating at both of these places.) If you would like more of an experience head towards Vero, UT and pick up one of their world famous pies and then head to Enterprise UT to eat Burgers at Marv's Drive-In. Then head back to Cedar by Hwy-56.
Day 4- Eat Breakfast out at Bowman's Kitchen and then Explore Iron Springs. There are trails galore and some sculptures. My husband sculpted the figures out there. :). If you are thirsty for more snow play, head up Cedar Canyon to sled up at Woods Ranch or arrange a snowshoe hike to Cedar Breaks with a ranger.
If your stay is longer than 4 days and want some more ideas, please feel free to reach out and ask. I hope to put other itineraries out in the future of my local haunts as well as trips I make out of my local area.
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