Free (and Nearly Free) Things to Do in St. George

You do not have to spend money to have a good day here. Some of the best things in town are free, and the paid stuff that is worth it is cheap. Here is where to start.

Pioneer Park and Dixie Rock

Fifty-plus acres of red rock right above downtown, with mini slot canyons to scramble through, boulders to climb, and easy trails. The move is to hike up Dixie Rock, which locals call the Sugarloaf, around sunset for a view over the whole valley toward Zion and Arizona. It costs nothing and it is the photo everyone comes home with.

Red Hills Desert Garden

Right by Pioneer Park, this is Utah's first desert conservation garden, and it is free. Five thousand desert plants, a little stream with endangered native fish, a replica slot canyon, and, no joke, 200-million-year-old dinosaur tracks set into the rock. Shady, easy, and great with kids.

Historic downtown

Ancestor Square and the blocks around it are worth a slow wander: old pioneer buildings, the tabernacle, local shops and coffee. Free to walk, and it is where the good restaurants are when you are ready to eat.

Worth the small ticket

If you have kids, or you just like dinosaurs, the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm runs about ten dollars and sits right over a bed of real Jurassic tracks. Rainy-day proof and genuinely cool.

Bring water, wear real shoes, and go early or late in summer. The middle of a July day is for the pool, not the red rock.