Lions Dixie Roundup Parade
Saturday, September 19, 2026 · 9:00 AM–11:00 AM
Downtown St. George
The Morning After the Rodeo
The Roundup Parade fills the Saturday morning at the end of Lions Dixie Roundup Rodeo week, after the rodeo's three nights in the Sun Bowl are done. It steps off at nine, which in September in this valley is a deliberate choice — by noon the street would be unbearable.
It is a civic parade rather than a commercial one, and it looks like it: rodeo royalty on horseback, high-school marching bands, classic cars, service clubs, churches, schools, and businesses that have entered every year for decades. Each year carries a theme, and the entries interpret it with varying degrees of effort, which is much of the entertainment.
The Route, and Where to Stand
The parade forms up on Tabernacle Street near 200 West and runs east through historic downtown, finishing around 400 East. That is a straight shot through the oldest part of the city, past the pioneer-era blocks and within sight of the Tabernacle the street is named for.
Where you stand matters more than it does at most parades, and shade is the reason why. The locals who turn up first are not picking a view; they are picking a side of the street.
Entering It
Nobody is selected out of this parade. There is no jury, no fee, and no requirement to be a business or a club — if you have something to march, ride, or drive, you can be in it, and the sign-up opens well before Roundup week. For a local organization it is the cheapest hour of undivided civic attention available anywhere in the county.
Parking and the Rest of the Day
Downtown parking is the same as it is for any downtown event: park a few streets off the route and walk in rather than circling the closed blocks. The streets on the route itself close ahead of the start.
The parade also makes a good anchor for the rest of a Saturday. It ends late morning, the historic core is walkable, and the downtown historic sites are all within a few blocks of where you are already standing. Anyone attending the rodeo the night before can do both on one trip into town without moving the car twice.
Who It Suits
Families, anyone who likes a small-city parade done sincerely, and visitors who want to see St. George behave like a town rather than a destination for an hour. It is free, it is outdoors, it takes about an hour, and it is one of the older continuously held civic gatherings in Washington County.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the parade start and finish?
It runs the length of Tabernacle Street through the oldest blocks of the city, heading east and ending several blocks later near 400 East. Tabernacle takes its name from the pioneer-era building it passes, which is a useful landmark if you are trying to find the middle of the route on foot.
Does it cost anything to watch or to enter?
Neither. Watching is free, and entering is free as well — the St. George Lions Club opens entries to businesses, community groups, car clubs, schools, and individuals ahead of Roundup week, without an entry fee. It is not a juried parade.
Where is the best place to watch from?
The middle blocks through the historic core, if you want the parade set against the old buildings. The west end near the start fills earliest with families and chairs; the east end stays thinner and is the easiest place to turn up late. Take the north sidewalk where you can — downtown's mature trees shade that side for much of the route, which matters by mid-morning in September.
Do I need a ticket to the rodeo to attend the parade?
No. They are separate: the rodeo is a ticketed evening event across three nights in the Sun Bowl, and the parade is a free public event on the Saturday morning at the end of that week. Plenty of people go to one and not the other.
How long does it last?
About an hour. It starts at nine in the morning — early by parade standards, and deliberately so, because a September late morning in this valley gets hot quickly. That timing also leaves the rest of the day free for the walkable historic core it passes through.
Do the streets on the route close to traffic?
Yes, and before the start rather than at it. Plan to leave the car a few streets off the route and walk in — trying to get closer once the closures are in place is how people miss the beginning. Downtown is small enough that a three- or four-block walk is nothing.
Address
150 South 400 EastSt. George, UT 84770