Family Guide to St. George with Kids

St. George is a favorite weekend destination for our family, being just a couple hours from our home in Las Vegas. Our kids love it as much if not more than we do so it is a good time every visit. Below are some of our favorite, and not so favorite, things to do in St. George. Hopefully, you find it helpful for your visit. Let us know if you have any questions as well!

We took lots of pictures at most of these locations so make sure to scroll all the way to the end of the article for bonus pictures to get a better feel for each spot.

In St. George

Thunder Junction

Thunder Junction is an all-abilities park in southern St. George located off S. Dixie Drive. It remains one of our kids’ favorite playgrounds that we visit. There are a lot of unique play structures that you don’t see at many playgrounds.

The park is fairly large with a lot of play structures. While there are some things specifically designed for wheelchairs and other things, there is nothing able-bodied kids won’t also enjoy.

Indeed, it is one of our kids’ favorite parks to visit. Last time we stopped in, we had to drag our kids away after a couple hours. The zip lines are always a favorite.

Some of our kids’ favorite play structures included the zip line, swings, rock wall, slides and splash pad.

One of the main attractions is the splash pad. There isn’t a lot of actual water features to play in, but there is a big rock feature with a waterfall and streams running through for kids to play in.

Our kids loved it for a little while, but I wouldn’t plan on spending too much time in the water before the kids get bored.

Finally, there is a sensory garden that is separated a bit from the play areas. This garden area is surprisingly quiet and does feel different as you can focus in more on playing with the musical structures or just relaxing.

If you are there at night, be sure to poke around and see if you can spot a raccoon going for some garbage. Our kids thought it was so much fun.

Tonaquint Nature Center

It was several trips to Thunder Junction before we learned there was a great nature center right next to it!

The start of the park features a big wooden deck that goes out over the water where you can feed the ducks or just enjoy watching them.

The trail leads you around the shore of the east side of the pond so you can get a much closer look at the ducks and other wildlife. As you continue along the trails, you will find more little areas for the kids to play. Our group of kids loved the little amphitheater where they could put on performances as we watched.

I was surprised at the amount of wildlife we saw in this little nature center. Even something as simple as a bee in the flowers added to the experience.

More exciting than the small bee was the egret hanging out in the pond. It stayed around for quite a while and we were able to walk around the pond to get closer views, but it was more obstructed for trying to capture good images. If you look closely, you can see some turtles by the egret. there were quite a few turtles swimming in the pond and sunning on any floating piece of wood.

We also saw some coots swimming among the ducks.

St. George Temple

The St. George Temple is one of the earliest temples built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a beautiful structure and is well worth the visit for people of any faith. I especially love to visit the temple grounds at sunset and blue hour as the lights of temple really make it stand out. These images were taken before construction started.

While you have to have a special document, called a recommend, to enter the temple, anyone can enjoy the beautiful grounds of the temple, which are full of grass, flowers and trees. Also on the temple grounds is a visitor center that is an easy way to spend a little time and learn about the history of the temple

We’ve been back since the construction completed and love the new changes. If you haven’t seen it since construction completed, you definitely need to go back. We will get some more pictures up soon.

Sand Hollow Aquatic Center

The Sand Hollow Aquatic Center is almost always a must-visit whenever we are in St. George. It is located a bit on the outskirts of town toward Santa Clara, on W. Sunset Blvd.

The aquatic center is relatively inexpensive, even for for non-residents. With the low price, and what they have, it is easily justifiable even with a big group, as we have driven up there with multiple families from Las Vegas just to swim during the winter.

The size and diversity of the aquatic center is really what is awesome about visiting here. It has something to offer for children of all ages so it is especially great for families with older and younger kids.

If swimming laps is your thing, there is a lap pool that has always been relatively empty when we have been there. If you have older kids that want more adventure, there is a diving board and a rock climbing wall that comes out of the pool. My young kids have enjoyed these too, but it is usually bigger kids here.

Last time we were there, there was a fun obstacle course in the deep pool as well. This is designed for bigger kids, but our young kids grew up swimming and were able to enjoy it. To go on the obstacle course, you do have to first prove that you can swim the length of the pool with no assistance.

All those attractions take up half of the center, while the other half is directed more toward younger kids. There is a more shallow swimming area, a very small lazy river that just goes around in a circle, and lots of small play structures.

There is also a little jungle area which is like a ropes course that is fun for all ages.

The last big attraction is the waterslide. For an indoor aquatic center, it is a pretty large slide, but not the most fast or thrilling. It is great for kids of all ages and just adds that edge of what really turns this aquatic center into a half-to-full day activity.

Dinosaur Site at Johnson Farms

Unless your kid is a huge dinosaur fanatic, and maybe not even then, just don’t bother going here. This place was one of the biggest disappointments we have ever had in visiting an attraction.

We took ten kids with us and not a single one enjoyed it. I think we forced them to stay about 30 minutes, but that was rough.

You basically look at some dried mud with what look like bird prints and some scraggly lines. There is nothing interactive for the kids and overall it was just extremely boring, and it comes with a pretty decent admission price at that.

Pioneer Park

Pioneer Park is an absolute gem that we heard about for many years, but never bothered to try because we thought it was just a regular park.

We were completely wrong. It is the absolute best place to catch sunset in St. George. As you can see in the image below, the sun hitting the red rocks makes them glow.

Pioneer Park is just a big area of red rock formations where you and the kids can explore and climb as much as you want.

Pioneer Park is on the bluff on the north side of town overlooking downtown and the temple. In addition to offering great areas to explore and climb, the views from Pioneer Park are spectacular.

Of course the St. George LDS temple stands prominent in the view in middle of the city and catching some evening rays of sunshine hitting the temple is a great outing.

We now like to spend an evening here every time we are in town, watching a beautiful sunset and letting the kids run wild exploring all the different hills to climb, caves and slot canyons. We did a family reunion in St. George recently and it was one of the favorite places for the kids that didn’t involve a pool.

Pioneer Park gets a little crowded for the sunset, but as long as you can find a parking spot, there is enough land that you never feel crowded. You can see a bit of people on the edge of the big rock enjoying the sunset in the shot below.

I would plan on spending a least a few hours here and definitely going for sunset.

In addition to just exploring the natural creations, be sure to find the old structures built into some of the rocks not far from the parking lot. This is always a highlight for the kids as well. In the image below, the setting sun is making the structure glow red. I actually had to turn the saturation down when editing because the natural glow on the rocks looked too fake for me.

Red Hills Desert Garden

Right next to Pioneer park is a little botanical garden that makes for a nice little walk with the kids and some exploring. Plan on about thirty minutes here.

Children’s Museum

We have been going to the St. George Children’s Museum for many years whenever we visit. We used stop there even if we are just driving through town when our kids were younger. With our kids getting older, it has sadly fallen off our list, but it is great for families with smaller children.

The museum is really well done and is cheaper than most children’s museums we have been too. The dinosaur room shown above is a favorite of our kids, at least as they get older. It was a bit scary for them when they were really litte.

It isn’t huge, but our kids will happily spend several hours there no matter how many times they have been.

Some of the rooms change from time to time, but there are always some that haven’t changed in the years we have been going. One of the rooms that was new the last time we went was all about farming. Everything is hands on and our kids loved it.

Some of the other rooms include a super market, airport and mechanic shop. These are also very hands on and a lot of fun for kids.

This is inside the plane where the kids take turns flying the plane after loading it up with luggage.

If your kids like to dress up and play princess or fairies or knights, they will have fun in the fairy tale land with castles and dragons.

One of my favorite rooms is the music room. The kids enjoy this one too, but it definitely keeps me entertained longer than it does the kids.

If you are in St. George and your kids are under 10, the Children’s Museum has to be on your list. It is inexpensive and will keep them entertained for hours. It is also right in the heart of St. George next to Town Square Park and lots of eating options so you can easily plan it into a full day of other activities.

Town Square Park

Town Square Park is located just outside the Children’s Museum in downtown St. George. It is the perfect place to visit on a hot afternoon to spend an hour or two.

There is a small splash pad that is a fun place for the kids to run around and get wet.

It doesn’t have any features other than shooting water so it is better for younger kids and is not an all-day activity, but it fits in nicely with the rest of the park.

Once your kids have gotten wet, they will love playing in the creek which cascades down a waterfall and through sandstone features and statues through the park.

Our kids love running around the water playing and splashing and climbing the rocks.

The final attraction our kids love at Town Square Park is the Carousel. It is very affordable and our kids always ride it at least a few time.

The Park is just a nice, relaxing area to let your kids run free and enjoy the warm weather. If you like to picnic, this is the best location. If you are like us and would rather eat out, there are plenty of restaurants nearby. Iceberg is a favorite of ours for hamburgers and giant shakes.

Brigham Young House

The Brigham Young House in St. George was the summer home of the second prophet-president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are tour guides that will take you through a free tour of the house anytime you walk in. It is not the most interesting historical site we have visited and I wouldn’t recommend it for younger kids, but it is definitely worth visiting at least once if you have older kids.

Historic Tabernacle

The Tabernacle is right downtown and easy to get to. There are tour guides that will give you a free tour and will adjust it for whatever time you have. It is more open and easy to explore with younger kids than the Brigham Young home. The beautiful architecture is only bested by the story of those who built it.

In Santa Clara

Santa Clara is a small town just west of St. George. They are pretty much connected so it is not a big deal to travel from one town to the other. Depending on what we are doing while in town, we stay in St. Clara often because it can be easier to find a house to rent and there are more houses with pools and other amenities. It is also closer to Snow Canyon and Gunlock.

Lava Flow Arboretum

This little area is worth a quick visit if you are staying somewhere near Santa Clara.

The arboretum is on the east side of Santa Clara. If you look at a map, it is just north of the little league baseball fields and reservoir off Lava Cove Dr. It is easy to find once you are there because it is giant mounds of lava rock, over 10 feet tall in many places.

There is a paved trail that runs around and through the lava fields that makes for a really nice walk. If you are more adventurous, you can climb through the rocks and get a really good view of the red rock cliffs from the top.

You want to be careful if you are climbing on the lava rock though as it is very unstable and sharp at points. I accidently caught the edge of a rock on the side of my foot and it sliced through my shoe and cut my foot.

In addition to the cool lava mounds, this is a good place to find some wildlife. When we went, I saw quail, rabbits, and even a couple moles.

Jacob Hamblin House

The Jacob Hamblin House is one of our favorite historic homes in the area. It is a smaller house and easy to explore with a free tour guide. Jacob Hamblin was a real character and foundational piece of Southern Utah so hearing his history is always entertaining. It is my personal favorite of the historic sites in town other than the temple.

In Washington

Washington is a few miles north of St. George. Like Santa Clara, there isn’t much separating Washington from St. George. We have never stayed here, but head there from St. George every October for the next location.

Stahelli Family Farm

Stahelli Family Farm is an operating farm located at 3400 S. Washington Fields Rd. The farm comes with a bit of a hefty entrance fee, but it is a really fun visit.

There are activities throughout the year so you will want to check the event calendar to see what is available.

We try to go every year before Halloween. Coming from Vegas where the fall activities are very commercial, it is a fun experience.

There are a ton of activities for smaller kids. We can easily spend 3 hours there and not get bored.

When you first walk in there are a few small rides and photo spots. You can also take a hay bale ride, which our kids enjoyed. From there, you find some bigger slides, carnival type games and a huge bouncy trampoline type structure.

There are also a couple bigger zip lines that our kids loved, although the lines prevented them from going as much as they would have liked.

There are a few bigger activities like gold panning and some things designed for bigger kids, all of which cost additional money. Those don’t run all day so if you want to participate in those activities, the evening is your best bet.

The corn-filled sandbox and slide also always seems to a favorite of all the kids.

There are also some of the biggest swings you will ever see. All told, I felt it was a little over-priced, but not so much so that we don’t continue to go back each year. If you are in St. George in the fall, be sure to visit Staheli Family Farm for a fun day.

Silver Reef Ghost Town

Silver Reef Ghost Town is a bit north of town, but it is a fun stop. It is especially great if you are already going up the freeway and just need somewhere to stop for an hour and break up a trip.

There is a small, but decent museum that is $4 to get into. The Museum wasn’t too interesting, but it is cheap and doesn’t take long. The real fun is exploring the old buildings. The jail below was a favorite.

You can get through all the buildings and ruins pretty quickly or you can spend some time exploring more thoroughly if you want.

There is also an old mine to see if you are into mining history. You can’t explore it all but it is worth seeing.

In Gunlock

Gunlock State Park

The reservoir here isn’t the best and we haven’t had luck trying to fish or play in the water due to wind problems, but the real highlight of the park is Gunlock Falls. This seasonal waterfall comes when they release water from the reservoir so you have to do some research to know if the falls are going or not.

Besides being beautiful, the falls are a ton of fun to explore with plenty of spots to jump off cliffs into small pockets of water. Be cautious though as it can be pretty dangerous. I hurt my ankle pretty good using an area as a slide, but we have seen serious injuries with people falling off cliffs. Despite many people doing it, I definitely wouldn’t recommend drinking adult beverages here as any loss of balance could be deadly.

Gunlock Rodeo

There are three small town rodeos that you can go to in the summer (Gunlock, Veyo, and Enterprise). The Gunlock is our favorite. Small town rodeo is a lot different than what you get at PBR. While there is some great barrel racing, riding, and other events, the real fun comes from events the crowd can participate in such as donkey racing, chicken catching and even letting your kids try to ride small cows.

Veyo

Veyo is another tiny little town about 20-30 minutes from St. George. There are three reasons to go to Veyo.

Veyo Pies

Hands down, the best pies you will ever eat. The Sour Cream Lemon is my favorite. If you are anywhere near town, this is a must visit.

Veyo Rodeo

Like the Gunlock Rodeo, this is a fun small town rodeo that is well worth a visit.

Crawdad Canyon

This place is great with kids. The price tag is a bit hefty, but it is a unique experience. We have gone for the day and also camped on site, both of which are fun. Camping is better in my opinion because you can explore more and just enjoy the location.

The star of this place is the creek full of crawdads. Our kids love crawdad fishing and will spend hours pulling them out of this small creek.

I also enjoyed hiking back in the canyon and exploring a bit more of the creek.

There is also a natural pool. This is fun too, but my least favorite part. It gets very crowded, the food is really expensive, and there is nothing to do other than hang out in a rectangular pool. Maybe it’s because we have a pool in backyard, but that isn’t enough to get me excited. Visiting this place is all about the crawdads.

Sand Hollow State Park

Sand Hollow is a state park about 20 minutes east of St. George. We try to make it there during the summer when we are in St. George.

It is a fairly small reservoir, but it is an awesome location for a family day out, if you can get over the dirty water and potential for swimmer’s itch. We have never gotten swimmer’s itch, but there have always been plenty of warning signs.

The main attraction for us is the big sandy beach that is great for kids with shallow water going pretty far out.

We also love that we can rent jet skis, boats, paddle boards and kayaks. Finally, there are some small cliff and rocks that are good for jumping off.

The Jet Skis and boats get rented pretty early in the day so if you aren’t going to be there early, try calling ahead and making a reservation.

Hiking

I have a brother in law that hates hiking. During a family reunion in St. George, he referred to is as something along the lines of a hiking hellhole. I love hiking and there is plenty of it near St. George. Whether you want something quick that is ten minutes away or something more adventurous an hour from town, you will find any kind of trail you could want. I never go to St. George without getting a few good hikes in, and I try to do a new one every trip. These are the best trails I have done with kids.

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is the closest area to get out of town. Although there are plenty of hikes in town too, this is the closest place to town to get more nature. It is located right between St. George and Santa Clara on the north side of town.

Chuckwalla Trail

This trail is great for anyone looking for a quick hour or two activity from St. George. It is located off Bluff Street just north of Snow Canyon Parkway, so it is very easy to reach without really even leaving St. George.

There is a large parking lot that we had no trouble finding a parking spot in, and then the trail is just off the parking lot.

The cool think about the Chuckwalla Trail is 90% of the fun is in the first 10% of the hike. So, if you have smaller kids or are not up for real hiking, it is a great location to just get out of the car and climb around the mountains. There are many little crevices going up the mountainside where the sandstone is easy for even the smallest kids to climb.

There are also usually rock climbers here near the beginning of the trail. These rock climbers can add some more interest to the trail and are fun to watch for the kids.

The trail is only 1.7 miles round trip so it can be worth hiking the whole thing as there are a couple cool places near the end.

The first is a little great area with some awesome trees.

The second is this little amphitheater area. The sad thing was this last area was full of broken glass so we couldn’t let the kids play. We took a couple pictures and then headed back.

Silver Reef Trail

This is an easy little hike where you can see some good dinosaur foot prints.

Anasazi trail to the Santa Clara Petroglyphs

This 2.9 mile trail is called a loop, but it is mostly out and back. Not too exciting of a hike, but if you are in St. Clara and don’t want to drive to one of the state parks or Zion’s for a quick morning hike, this is a good one that has some decent views and some petroglyphs.

Snow Canyon State Park

Snow Canyon State Park is a nice little park with some good trails very close to St. George. Below are a few that we have done.

Jenny’s Canyon

Jenny’s Canyon is perfect for small kids. It is just a little walk from the roadside and offers a fun little slot canyon to explore.

It is also a good hike for the kids to find lizards!

Johnson Canyon

Johnson Canyon is one of our favorite easy hikes close to St. George. It is actually just outside Snow Canyon State Park so you don’t have to pay an entrance fee. It starts at the parking lot a couple hundred yards short of the south entrance. You will want to get there a bit early because the parking lot and roadside fills up.

Be aware the trail is home to migratory tortoises and closes down every year from mid-March to mid-September. If you happen to visit during this time period, you can take the longer and less exciting trail to Scout’s Cave, discussed below.

The hike through Johnson’s Canyon is a very easy, mostly flat 1.8 mile roundtrip, out and back, hike. The trail begins crossing over some open area that offers great views of Snow Canyon to the north and lava fields to the south.

After a while, the trail turns north and you will see some trees and hear a small spring to the right of the trail. You can climb down to it, but it is not that exciting.

These are the trails you pass entering into the canyon right before the spring.

Not to far into the canyon, you reach the pretty impressive Johnson’s Arch. The massive arch is much bigger than I expected, spanning 200 feet.

The area is fenced off so you cannot go up to the arch, but the trail passes very close to it.

The fun doesn’t stop at the arch. The trail continues deeper into the canyon. The deeper you go in, the more narrow the canyon gets and the taller the canyon walls loom over you.

The hike ends at the end of Johnson Canyon, which is a box canyon. The area opens up with a big sand area the kids can play in and you can enjoy the shade of trees and the canyon walls before making the return trip.

Scout’s Cave

Scout’s Cave starts at the same trailhead as Johnson Canyon, but veers off not too far into the trail.

The trail is mostly flat and pretty boring, but eventually reaches a decent little climb up to the cave.

The cave is surprisingly large and is perfect for capturing the classic cave shot.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is one of the most amazing National Parks for hiking with its unique landscapes, but most of the hikes are not ideal for taking kids along. These are some of our favorites that are easy for kids too.

Riverwalk

The Riverwalk is probably the most popular hike for small kids because it is easy and has lots to do as, surprise, it is a walk along the river. You have to drive to the end of the end of the scenic drive to reach the Riverwalk trail so the beauty starts long before you even get on the trail.

You can reach the river on the edge of the parking lot and I was drawn to this giant rock tower standing alone next to the river. This area isn’t good for the kids to play, but it is worth a quick look.

The trail starts a bit away from the river and goes for a little bit before connecting to it. If you don’t want quicker access to a good area to play in the river, head left at the first opening of the trail and it takes you to a beautiful spot along the river.

This area is great for skipping rocks, letting the kids run and play in the water and just enjoying the beautiful cliffs towering above the river.

Watchman Trail

East of Mount Carmel Tunnel

The biggest problem with Zion is its popularity. The place is usually crazy crowded, and more than once we have not been able to find a parking spot. If you find yourself stuck in this situation, head to the east entrance and try out our proven strategy below.

Luckily, crowds thin out as the day goes on so if you need to kill a couple hours waiting for Zion to clear out a little, I have the perfect place for you. Just head east of of the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and find a canyon to hike in.

We stumbled upon a really fun area to hike just in front of a tunnel a few miles after the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. For reference, this map below shows where we parked and the area we hiked.

Kolob Terrace Portion of Zion National Park

If you don’t want to brave the crowds in Zion, but still want to experience the Park, Kolob Terrace is the best option. It has a separate entrance up closer to Cedar City.

Timber Creek Overlook Trail

At the end of the road through Kolob Terrace, the short Timber Creek Overlook Trail offers some pretty fantastic views.

The trail is a short out-and-back trail at 1.1 miles. It is an easy climb too with very little elevation gain and a well-worn path.

Besides the great views, the trail offers some pretty scenic trees to photograph or let your kids climb on.

As you reach the end of the trail, there are some bigger rocks that are fun for climbing.

Finally, make sure you don’t miss a perfect photo spot at the very end of the trail.

The Vortex trail in Gunlock

The Vortex Trail is one of our favorites near St. George. It used to be pretty unknown but word has gotten out so you can expect to see people now. The trail is best in non-summer as there is not shade. The pay off is a set of cool “vortex” features. We have a whole article on the Vortex Trail to get more information.

Hildale

If you don’t mind a bit of a drive, one of our favorite hikes is in Hildale, which is famous as the former home of Warren Jeff’s polygamous community. If you visit, make sure to visit the house made famous by the documentary before heading to Water Canyon Trailhead.

The Water Canyon trail follows a small creek uphill until you reach a beautiful water outlet where fresh water comes out of the rocks and leads down to a soaking pool of freezing water.

Our Favorite Places to Stay in St. George

There are plenty of chain hotels in St. George. We like the Hyatt since we can use our points, but there are a couple other places we like to stay when we are in St. George.

St. George Inn & Suites

If you want lots of room and 3 queen beds, and you don’t mind a dated building, the St. George Inn and Suites offers a lot of space, an indoor and outdoor pool/hot tubs, and a play center. It is older and lower quality than we would stay on any other vacation, but our kids love it and it is super cheap.

Paradise Village in Santa Clara

There are a view neighborhoods in the St. George area that offer resort-style rentals if you need more space and are okay spending a pretty penny. Our favorite is Paradise Village, which has a pretty awesome pool area, as you can see below.

Our Favorite Places to Eat in St. George with Kids

Disclaimer, when we eat out with the kids, it is all about comfort, ease and keeping the kids happy. We aren’t talking about any nice food places here, these are places we can take the kids and everyone enjoys the food.

Iceberg

Giant shakes, classic burgers, and amazing fries. Can’t go wrong with this one.

Swig

Not really a food place, but a fun place to get a fancy soda and good cookie.

Honolulu Grill

This place has really good Hawaiian food at a decent price. We like it way better the Mo’ Bettah’s, which seems to be more popular. It is also right next to Little Caesars so if you want to get the kids something cheaper while you enjoy Hawaiian food, it is easy to accomplish. Honolulu Grill is located at at 700 E and 700 S.