# Resorts closest to Zion and Bryce Canyon



## Carlsbadguy (Aug 19, 2010)

I was wondering if the resorts in St. George Utah or Brianhead would be closer to the National Parks.  What would be the approximate driving time.

Also is mid October too late in the year to visit weatherwise.
Thanks for your help


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## Cathyb (Aug 19, 2010)

*How about Worldmark?*



Carlsbadguy said:


> I was wondering if the resorts in St. George Utah or Brianhead would be closer to the National Parks.  What would be the approximate driving time.
> 
> Also is mid October too late in the year to visit weatherwise.
> Thanks for your help



Hello fellow Carlsad resident :  We stayed a few nights at Worldmark's St. George facility and it was real nice -- great views!  A little hard to find though.  We drove to the national park -- took maybe an hour because of traffic.  I believe it was early October and beautiful.  If you do stay there, highly recommend the outside live theater nearby.  It is built in the cove of a mountain and the acoustics are terrific!  Small bats fly around


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## susieq (Aug 19, 2010)

We stayed in St. George in July 2008 - resort was really nice. The following is from my review:

The resort is pretty well centrally located to area attractions. While there we visited The North Rim of The Grand Canyon, (about 3 hours), Bryce Canyon, (about 2 ½ hours), and Zion National Park, (about 1 hour). We also visited Kolab Canyon, (which is a part of Zion, and therefore the entrance fee from Zion is still good there). St. George itself is very pretty, and well worth exploring. 

Have a great vacation wherever you decide!! 


BTW ~ Loved Bryce best!!!


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## akp (Aug 19, 2010)

*A different point of view...*

We had booked the Canyon Villas at Coral Ridge (I think that is the name) resort in St. George Utah as our base for Zion.  We opted to skip 2 of the 3 nights we'd booked there because we felt it was too far away from the park.  It was easily 45 minutes each way.  

In addition to the distance, we felt the town of Springdale (at the entrance to Zion) had such lovely charm and ambiance, whereas the area of St. George we had booked in had zero.  It was a partially finished suburban development just off a highway.  

LOVED Zion.  We didn't make it to Bryce or Brian Head.

Anita


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## barndweller (Aug 19, 2010)

We are owners in Mesquite and have visited the parks from there. St George is definitely closer but we like the setting at our resort better. October is an ideal month to visit the area. Any later and you might get some snow. Earlier and it is pretty hot.


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## Laurie (Aug 19, 2010)

St George is closer to Zion, Brian Head is closer to Bryce. Each park has their fans, search and you'll find a long thread on that here on TUG. 

As someone who likes mountains better than desert, I personally preferred Brian Head area and Bryce NP over St George and Zion NP - however my travel companions, the reverse. Since we were based in St George, we got over to Zion 2x (and Kolob a third day) and Bryce only once. Of course you'll want to visit both parks, but might think about which you're more likely to visit more than once.

But mid-Oct might already have some snow up at that elevation (we ran into snow up there in May - whereas is was 100 degrees in St George and at Zion!), so St George could be a better choice. 

Edited to add: Brian Head would be closer to scenic route 12, a must-do drive IMO.


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## jamstew (Aug 20, 2010)

We stayed at Brian Head, but I don't remember which place. We were there in late June or early July, and the units weren't air conditioned. It was extremely warm, which made it hard to sleep, but you wouldn't need to worry about that in October. We splurged on  Zion Lodge for the first part of the trip, which IMO is well worth the money. Alternatively, I'd spring for lodging in Springdale. We felt that St. George and Brian Head were both too far from Zion.


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## Bill4728 (Aug 24, 2010)

jamstew said:


> We stayed at Brian Head, but I don't remember which place. We were there in late June or early July, and the units weren't air conditioned. It was extremely warm, which made it hard to sleep, but you wouldn't need to worry about that in October. We splurged on  Zion Lodge for the first part of the trip, which IMO is well worth the money. Alternatively, I'd spring for lodging in Springdale. We felt that St. George and Brian Head were both too far from Zion.


Monarch Grand Vacations has a TS in Brian's head.


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## Rose Pink (Aug 24, 2010)

Cathyb said:


> ... If you do stay there, highly recommend the outside live theater nearby. It is built in the cove of a mountain and the acoustics are terrific! Small bats fly around


 
Tuacahn. http://www.tuacahn.org/

DD and I saw Disney's Tarzan there a few weeks ago. The opening scene is a raging river flowing down out of the canyon and over the stage. The water disappears just before it hits the front row of the audience. 

If you are there in October and like dance, I highly recommend "Thriller."

PS:  I've never seen any bats in all the times I've been there but I wouldn't doubt it.  We did see lots of aerials in Tarzan including the muscular ape-man himself not far above our heads.
Also, the Shakespeare Festival is still performing in Cedar City in October. www.bard.org Cedar City is about 40 minutes north of St. George.  You could stop along the way and visit Kolob Canyon.


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## talkamotta (Aug 30, 2010)

Just got back from Brian Head yesterday.  Today is my first day back at work and it will be a hard day to get through. 

We stayed at the Monarch Grande, Cedar Breaks it is at Brian Head.  It is a nice resort; I would rate it an 8.  If there are 2 of you,  you will want at least the one bedroom grande. The one bedroom standard doesnt have a full kitchen and its small.    Very convenient.   While St. George was 106, we were in the high 80's.   Thats not going to make much difference in October.  If you have a hard time going up and down steep slopes this would not be a place for you to stay.  We usually drove the freeway to Parowan and drove up from there  instead of Cedar City.  

1. We spent one day in St George visiting friends. 
2. Our easy day was Brian Head and Cedar Breaks. Went to Parowan Gap (if you are into Petroglyphs this site is easy and its amazing. 
3. Bryce
4. Zions
5. Kolob Canyon
6. Escalante Highway 12 is very beautiful. 

We did alot of hiking and were able to get back to the resort for dinner.  You will have fun no matter where you stay.  Utah is an amazing state that has so much to offer.


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