Hiking, running, road riding, mountain biking, golf, kayaking, canyoneering, fishing, rock climbing, nature photography, ATVs, horseback riding, wakeboarding and water skiing, even SCUBA diving - if there’s an outdoor pursuit you want to enjoy in a gorgeous setting with great weather and amazing nature, there is a place for you. In fact, there’s one place that has all of this - and more.
After two years of pandemic-induced demand, many sectors of the travel industry are reporting record bookings for 2022 and beyond. There’s no doubt there is a pent-up urge to travel, but with a rapidly changing and confusing international landscape of closed borders and testing requirements, and the latest worrisome shoe to drop, the omicron variant, more would-be travelers may be looking to stay within the U.S for longer than expected.
That’s not bad news if your next vacation is focused on the great outdoors.
An interesting travel wrinkle from the pandemic has been an explosion of interest in fitness, active and outdoor pursuits. Sales of home fitness equipment saw triple digit growth since the pandemic began, and a 2021 study by the Outdoor Industry Association, the premier trade group covering the sector, concluded there was growth in just about every outdoor activity imaginable, even birdwatching, but the three biggest gainers were walking/hiking, running and cycling. The new participants included either first timers or those returning after years of absence as well as entirely new demographics, more urbanites and younger people. But the most interesting statistic of all when it comes to the future of travel was this: More than 60% of those who started hiking, bicycling and running during the pandemic say they intend to continue doing so afterwards. So whether you are new to these activities or a longtime hardcore athlete, I’ve got the perfect trip for you - especially with winter and cold weather coming to much of the country.
This red-hot travel trend is why I recently visited the nation’s newest hotspot for all these things, St. George, Utah. The small city anchors an area in the southwestern corner of the state known as the Greater Zion region, because the main tourism draw has long been Zion National Park, the third most visited in the country. But there is a lot more to the area than the park, much of it new, and frankly Zion, which requires parking outside and lining up for buses, has been so crowded since the pandemic that you might consider skipping it altogether (though it is gorgeous) because there are now so many excellent alternatives.
Consider this: St. George was recently chosen - out of every location on the planet - to host the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (aka half-Ironman) as well as the North American Ironman Championship. These were so successful and well received that organizers have moved the main event, the Ironman World Championship, here from Kona for next year (2022) - the first time since the famous triathlon began in 1978 that it has ever been held outside Hawaii. The length of the full Ironman may be daunting to most visitors, but any section of the routes can be enjoyed by recreational runners, swimmers and road cyclists, and frankly, having been to Kona and seen the classic route, this one is more appealing (and more shaded!) rolling through impossibly gorgeous red rock canyons that are the signature of this part of the country and make the many National and State parks so appealing. In fact, the Ironman route runs from the swim in the reservoir at Sand Hollow State Park right through Snow Canyon State Park, a destination-worthy stunner with 15,000-acres of sand dunes among the rock formations and canyons.
But it’s not just the triathlon folks who found the area to their liking, as this region has been a hotbed of mountain biking for as long as mountain bikes have existed and Greater Zion is home to the premier televised event in the sport, the crazy-looking Red Bull Rampage. There are 300 miles of single track for mountain bikers around St. George, plus the Snake Hollow Bike Park, 80-acres of courses for four skill levels with hundreds of features including jumps, berms, ramps and bridges. It is the only year-round bike park in Utah. For those who do not want to go off-road under their own power, ATVs are hugely popular here, with hundreds of miles of trails and thousands of acres of accessible dunes, plus rental shops and guided tours at every turn.
Hiking is the best-known attraction and one of the big reasons people visit Zion, but there are also four impressive State parks, and the hiking in Snow Canyon, a red rock wonderland, is so impressive that the local consensus is that it would have easily been made a National Park if Utah did not already have five of them. “Zion’s little brother,” Snow Canyon has been used to film blockbuster westerns such as Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Hondo and Jeremiah Johnson. It sits just 10 minutes outside downtown St. George, has 18 well marked hiking trails, excellent rock climbing, petroglyphs, horseback riding, canyoneering and ideal gravel grinding trails (in between road and mountain biking and the fastest growing segment of cycling). Snow Canyon is so impressive that famed fitness, wellness and spa resort Red Mountain, in the league of Canyon Ranch and similar, setup at the entrance to the park to offer hiking and outdoor activities here. Besides the State Parks, there are tons of other protected areas full of trails, such as the stellar mountain biking within Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, and many other options.
The immense Sand Hollow reservoir offers 1,300-acres of swimming, watersports (stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, fishing, wakeboarding and water skiing), but surprisingly is also a hotbed for SCUBA diving. Within the reservoir an undersea park of sorts has been created, including a sunken plane and bus to explore. There are half a dozen well equipped dive shop outfitters around St. George.
Another big surprise is Joshua Tree National Monument. While Joshua Tree National Park in California gets more press, this park has very high number of the unusual and iconic trees that look like they were created by Dr. Seuss. It’s the only spot in Utah where they grow and the nation’s northernmost home of the also impressive yucca tree. The 1000-plus acre park has been a national monument for more than half a century.
But while Utah’s “Canyon Country” has long been known for hiking and biking, the most overlooked appeal here may be golf, so impressive it warrants a destination trip even for avid golf travelers used to more famous destinations. There are more than a dozen courses closely scattered around St. George, the weather is good for golf pretty much all year round, almost all of them showcase the stunning red rock views, and the value proposition is excellent. Three in particular stand out as being trip-worthy. The John Fought designed Sand Hollow has for years been the Number One rated public course in Utah, and is exceptional. As someone who has written on golf and worked closely in golf course rating for 20+ years, and as former resort rater for Golf Magazine, I know a lot about the way ratings work, and I am 100% confident that Sand Hollow is better than several courses on the U.S. Top 100 list that are there because of bonus points for hosting tournaments. Sand Hollow would be a standout course almost anywhere and is a must. Copper Rock is the newest, and while the routing is a bit confused, it also is visual stunner showcasing the natural beauty.
The latest news is Entrada at Snow Canyon, a longtime high-end private course that has a secret boutique resort within its community, and overnight guests get access to the golf. But the big change is that the course is currently being completely rebuilt by David McLay Kidd, one of the world’s top golf course architects and the designer of Oregon’s legendary Bandon Dunes as well as the Castle Course for the Links Trust in St. Andrews. Kidd’s new vision was scheduled for this fall, is expected to open imminently and is good reason to start planning a golf trip here, which requires a stay at the luxurious 57-room Inn at Entrada. Everything about Entrada is first rate, from the excellent food and deep wine list in the clubhouse to the new Toptracer-equipped practice facility.
There is also value-oriented lodging at the Sand Hollow course, but it has not been brought up to the standards of the fast-growing tourism region. The place to stay is the relatively new Advenire hotel in the heart of downtown St. George. The Advenire is a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, the brand used for its upscale boutique hotels with independent, non-chain feel that are otherwise hard to categorize. This means it is both not cookie cutter, which is good, and accessible to members of the biggest and best hotel loyalty program, Bonvoy, also good.
The hotel has a mix of deluxe spacious rooms and really nice suites, some with outside terraces, a rooftop patio with hot tubs, a great outdoor bar and dining patio, and a well-equipped bar (especially by Utah standards) with a long list of signature cocktails and local craft beers. The restaurant is among the best in the city and brings in people from the area not staying here and is very good food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is also within easy walking distance of the top St. George spots, such as the Zion Brewery’s cool bar down the street and longtime local favorite George’s Corner Restaurant. Outside of the hotel, the standout area restaurant worth the short drive to eat at is Balcony One in nearby Virgin, Utah which has an eclectic but delicious mix of smoked meats, Italian specialties and Southwestern flavors, a great drink list and indoor and outdoor dining.
Ever since the Advenire opened, it has been the choice of the staff for the Red Bull Rampage, TV networks covering the sporting events here, and visiting musicians performing at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, an outdoor natural amphitheater that is St. George’s answer to Denver’s famed Red Rocks, a great place to see a show - and yet another good reason to visit Greater Zion.
It’s an overlooked, affordable destination that is also centrally located and an easy trip from most of the country. St. George has its own very user-friendly small airport 15 minutes away served by all the major carriers, making it one stop from just about any major city in the U.S., but it also an easy under two-hour drive from Las Vegas, with inexpensive non-stops from all over world, and worth combining for a lot of fun.
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