Overview
Southern Utah (often referred to as Utah's Dixie & Red Cliffs) is a region in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Utah, encompassing the counties of Iron and Washington.
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Oct. Summer highs reach about 91°F; winter lows dip to about 16°F. Very hot (Jul) — plan outdoor time for mornings. Wettest: Mar and Oct. (climate data from nearby Cedar City)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- CDC Cedar City Regional Airport, Cedar City — 18 mi away. Directions
- SGU St George Regional Airport, St George — 38 mi away. Directions
- LAS Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas — 142 mi away (major hub). Directions
Sample 3-day trip
- Day 1: St. George — St. George Utah Temple, St. George Tabernacle, St. George Art Museum.
- Day 2: Middleton — National Desert Tortoise Reserve, Thornton Art Gallery, Baby Elephant Arch.
- Day 3: Cedar City — Utah Shakespearean Festival, Brian Head Ski Resort, Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
Built from the best-covered destinations in this region; open each for its own day plan.
Photos
Places in Southern Utah
Understand
The part of Utah known as Dixie is the southwestern corner of the state. It bears this incongruous name (more commonly associated with the South region of the United States, far to the southeast of Utah) because early settlers were successful in practicing some of the same agriculture as in the southeastern United States. Historically it has been sparsely populated, but the growing popularity of St. George as both a retirement community and a jumping-off point for outdoor recreation is increasing the population rapidly.
Other destinations
- Cedar Breaks National Monument — a colossal natural amphitheater of multi-hued rocky cliffs
- Dixie National Forest — the largest national forest in the state (1,900,000 acres!) is mostly high altitude evergreen forest, with lots of hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, climbing, and even spelunking possibilities
- Snow Canyon State Park — a pretty state park full of red sandstone bluffs, just northwest of Saint George
- Zion National Park — one of America's most popular parks is breathtaking and has lots of excellent hikes ranging from very easy to very challenging, but all of them rewarding
Get in
- St. George Regional Airport (SGU has flights from Salt Lake City, Denver, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Cities and communities
- Cedar City — a small city, home to Southern Utah University and near the northwestern section of Zion National Park, as well as Cedar Breaks National Monument
- Hurricane — a rapidly growing town along the road to Zion
- Springdale — a nice, albeit overpriced, resort town on Zion's western border
- St. George — county seat of Washington County, which boasts 2 huge LDS temples; home to Utah Tech University, and has countless outdoor activity opportunities in the surrounding areas
- Middleton — town in Saint George; a historical site with a shopping center
- Green Springs, small community, has some parks, has a golf course, has some ponds.
Nearby
Zion National Park
Park · 40 listings · 26 mi away
Mount Carmel Junction
City / town · 34 listings · 46 mi away
Colorado City
City / town · 8 listings · 46 mi away
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Park · 1 listings · 52 mi away
Panguitch
City / town · 10 listings · 54 mi away
Panaca
City / town · 10 listings · 57 mi away
Milford
City / town · 3 listings · 60 mi away
Kanab
City / town · 40 listings · 60 mi away
My experience
Write about your trip here. Notes save automatically in this browser as you type; back them up from My journal.