Towering sandstone cliffs, narrow slot canyons, and iconic hikes such as Angels Landing and The Narrows have made Zion National Park one of the country's most recognizable landscapes. It is easy to see why millions of visitors make the journey each year to experience it for themselves. However, a trip to Zion can require patience, planning, and the willingness to share its most visited spots with crowds of other travelers. For those looking for a quieter, calmer way to experience Southern Utah, Greater Zion offers a fantastic alternative.
Just outside St. George, the region is filled with its famous red rock cliffs, volcanic lava fields, petrified dunes, mountain lakes, and geothermal pools. The scenery is just as dramatic as its national park counterpart, but the experience can feel much more relaxed. A morning might begin with a sunrise hike in a state park, followed by a casual lunch at an outdoor café, and an afternoon bouncing across red dunes in a 4x4.
Where to Stay
Black Desert Resort is an ideal home base for exploring Greater Zion. Located in Ivins, the resort welcomes everyone from hiking and golf lovers to business travelers and large groups looking for roomy accommodations. One highlight of the 600-acre resort is the 19-hole championship golf course, designed by the late Tom Weiskopf. The property also features 447 rooms and suites, seven restaurants and bars, a 15,000-square-foot spa and wellness center, an infinity-edge pool, and 21 pickleball courts.
Black Desert Resort also easily connects guests with the area’s outdoor landscape. With six miles of hiking trails winding through the property, guided excursions, and a variety of outdoor activities, guests can explore without worrying about arranging every detail. It is also minutes from Snow Canyon State Park, so planning a morning or afternoon hike before returning to the resort for some poolside fun or a spa appointment is extra convenient.
Where to Eat
Basalt, Black Desert Resort's on-property restaurant, offers panoramic floor-to-ceiling views of the desert landscape. The well-curated menu offers prime-aged beef, sustainably sourced seafood, Utah cheeses, and seasonal produce. The restaurant, which also features a robust wine list and seasonal cocktails, was named one of Salt Lake Magazine's Best Restaurants of 2026.
For a more relaxed meal, Xetava Gardens Café in Ivins is tucked inside Kayenta Art Village and surrounded by beautiful mountain views and cactus gardens. The restaurant serves contemporary American fare with an emphasis on healthy, locally sourced ingredients. The restaurant offers outdoor seating with blankets and fire pits available when desert temperatures cool down. Even without a meal, Kayenta Art Village is worth a stop for its galleries and shops, many featuring art, jewelry, and crafts made by local artisans.
Where to Play
Snow Canyon State Park may be the region's best reason to skip Zion's famous entrance gates. Located within the 62,000-acre Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, the park sits at the convergence of the Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert, and Colorado Plateau, creating a landscape that feels almost otherworldly. Black basalt lava flows are beneath brightly colored sandstone cliffs, and fossilized dunes have become sweeping formations that look like frozen ocean waves, making it easy to see why so many science fiction and space-inspired movies have chosen Utah’s red rock landscape as their backdrop.
Three of the most popular hiking trails are the Petrified Dunes Trail, a great introduction to the landscape, and the Whiterocks Trail, which winds past massive rock formations and overlooks ancient volcanic flows. Three Ponds Trail is a narrower canyon path where natural sandstone basins collect rainwater.
Adrenaline junkies can head to Sand Hollow State Park in the nearby town of Hurricane. Red dunes surround its 1,300-acre reservoir and offer opportunities for boating, swimming, and paddleboarding. Mad Moose Outfitters offers a guided 4x4 excursion that lets you explore the dunes without worrying about finding the best route.
After a day of desert adventure, Zion Canyon Hot Springs in La Verkin provides a much more relaxing experience. The 15-acre wellness destination features more than 50 geothermal and mineral pools, along with Finnish saunas and cold plunges. Temperatures range from about 80 to 104 degrees, letting visitors create their own mix of desert-inspired hot and cold plunge therapy while enjoying views of the surrounding red-rock landscape. Zion Canyon Hot Springs also has over 16 pools modeled after famous hot springs worldwide so that guests can soak in pools with the exact mineral content of waters found across the globe.
Greater Zion offers dramatic scenery, outdoor adventure, luxury stays, and fewer crowds just outside Zion National Park.