On our road trip around Southern Utah, we spent a lot of time in Kanab checking out everything that we could! We did a plethora of super fun things and saw some really cool sights. On arrival, we weren’t too sure what to do, and most of our trip was improvised. So we wrote this local guide on what to see and do in Kanab with your family!

Little Hollywood Land: Museum, Trading Post & Chuckwagon Cookout

Little Hollywood Land in Kanab allows you and your family to live your Wild West fantasy in the United States. The museum is on the back of the property and full of picture-taking spots. The city of Kanab is known for being  “Utah’s Little Hollywood”. The town has hosted over 100 movies and television shows in the area. 

The most famous movies are The Lone Ranger, Billy the Kid, and Stagecoach to name a few. The first film to be filmed in this area is called “Deadwood Coach”. This film was produced in 1924.

Little Hollywood Land has so many movie sets to enjoy. They include buildings from Sergeants 3 and The Outlaw Josey Wales Homestead. Set along with the barn. The whole place has old relics from the Wild West. The place is a great spot to play cowboys and Indians for the afternoon. 

Buildings that are included in the location include a bank, a jail, a saloon, and the Sweetwater Tpike Toll building. The buildings are made of wood and adobe brick. The wood buildings are a little run down, and pretty beat up from the years of the harsh desert conditions. But, that’s what makes them look and feel like the old west. 

We spent our morning here before looking for a place for lunch. They do offer food here but only for group sizes of 25 people or more. They also offer a gift shop full of Native American pottery and small gifts. The gift shop has many Western books that highlight the career of John Wayne specifically. So if you or anybody in your family is a fan of him, this is a great spot to grab some memorabilia!

Moqui Cave

This natural cave is on Highway 89 just north of Kanab and is definitely what we would consider a hidden gem. It is a natural sandstone cave that was formed thousands of years ago along with other sand caves in the area. The cave has a very interesting history that spans many centuries. 

The Native Americans have left cave paintings here on the great chamber of the cave roof. Which is easily viewable from below. This place was used as a speakeasy during the prohibition. In 1951 the Chamberlain’s bought the property and turned it into a tavern and dance hall. 

Today it serves as a time capsule. They have lots of native american artifacts, mineral stones, and dinosaur tracks in sandstone rocks for display. 

It is an interesting place to stop and relax for a quick tour. The Moqui Cave Museum costs $5 dollars for entry. The cave at the deepest depth is 200 feet. But with all the artifacts and minerals to view, it definetly did not feel like 200 feet long.

We thoroughly loved our time here enjoying the fossilized Megalodon teeth and the Aztec Indian artifacts. Outside to the left, they also have a food/ drink truck, so you can grab a quick snack for the road if you want!

Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park

We love pink coral sand dunes and had to show the kids. The photo opportunities are a must if you are into photography, and even if you aren’t, you can’t forget the outdoor activities. 

There is a small entry fee of 10 dollars a car for day use. The state parks honor their veterans with a 50% discount turning our entry into 5 dollars. They have a $8 drone permit if you want to fly your drone in the park. 

The park allows camping, hiking, off-road vehicle driving, and of course photography. We entered the park after breakfast. It was full of people enjoying the deep sand when we arrived. 

We met a really nice couple from Ireland and they let Addy use one of the sandboards they rented from the shop located on the park property.

It was fun to chat with them about other things they’re planning to check out and we got some great photos of the kids rolling down the dunes. We also enjoyed watching the off-road dune buggies carve tracks in the soft sand. Randomly, we also found a phone, it was lost and buried pretty deep in the sand so when you go, be mindful of your items. They can get lost very quickly in the sand.

We spent a few hours here enjoying the sun and the dunes. We looked for the allusive Coral Pink Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle and we were unsuccessful. The beetle is endemic to the sand dunes and found nowhere else on the globe. But alas we didn’t find anything, maybe we will have better luck next time. 

If you want to know more about the Pink Coral Sand Dunes we wrote a more in depth article on it.

Zion National Park

On our drive from Kanab, we were approaching the end of our trip through southern Utah and the southwest for this season before heading to Asia for a few months. We discussed visiting Bryce Canyon National Park and other national parks before visiting Zion, but everyone was ready to skip those and come back later when the parks were less busy.

We wanted to show the girls Zion National Park because it is an extremely beautiful park. This park is like no other park in the USA. The park has slot canyons, sandstone cliffs, rivers, and natural bridges to name a few things. As a family, We had plans of showing them the drive into the park from the east entrance and getting the iconic picture at The Narrows. We planned to do a quick drive through the park and stop for photo opportunities that are reasonably close to the parking lot located in the park.

Drive Through Zion National Park 

As we exited The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and descended the switchbacked hill we approached the right-hand turn to reach the road that takes you to The Narrows. As we approached the turn the gate was closed and I did not expect the shuttle to be in service during our visit. 

The shuttle was in service until November 27th and we arrived in mid-October. This instantly changed my mood as we could not drive in the park towards The Narrows as I have done in the past. 

Since no one besides me was willing to do a hike we passed on the opportunity this time because of the amount of people that were going to be present in the park. 

Alex spoke to us about the dangers and sketchiness of hiking Angel’s Landing. Alex hiked it years ago and marked it as a favorite spot and knew he and Addy would be the only ones who would potentially do the hike. Since there is a permit to enter the rest of the hike after the Scout Lookout, we decided to do this adventure during the off-peak season time for the park. 

The Narrows

The Narrows is one of the more famous rock formations and is a narrow canyon with beautiful views all around. We wanted to show the girls this canyon and the canyon walls because it is one of the biggest attractions of the park. 

We wanted to enjoy the park for the rest of the day after spending all morning at Coral Pink Sand Dunes so we decided to enjoy the Zion Canyon scenic drive. Having the Lifetime Military Pass for free helped us not accrue a $30 fee to drive through the scenic byway to St. George. 

Zion was fun to see again and have the girls experience it for the short time we spent in the park. We would definitely not say this is it forever but more of a see you later when things are less busy and more relaxing. Going during the off-season is a great choice compared to going during the busy season. As it obviously won’t be as crowded. Going during the off-season will also allow you to drive instead of using the park shuttle as a requirement during the busy season. 

Hike The Nautilus Trail 

After being denied two times by the daily lottery for the wave hike permit we were not going to let that get us down. We looked for other amazing hiking trails and geology sites in the area because Utah is one of the best places to find other trails to adventure.

We found the Nautilus trail located inside Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument. The Paria Contact Station is on the right while driving into the area. They assist guests in visiting the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and nearby historical sites within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This station helps you with hiking permits, camping permits, and general information about these areas. 

It looked like a perfect short hike to stretch our legs and enjoy this smaller crevasse in the sandstone slab. This hike looked like an easy hike in and out in a sandy wash when researching on AllTrails.

The colors and sedimentary layers of the rock speak volumes. The white sandstone is present in this specific feature. The red layers are present in the surrounding area. A perfect second alternative to the wave for a short day hike because this trail is a sandy wash hike with little to no elevation change. This is also a great hike for kids and older folks, as it’s not strenuous in the slightest.

Visit The Wild Thyme Cafe

We originally went to Rocking V Cafe after exploring Little Hollywood museum, we decided to visit Rocking V Cafe because of the reviews on Google. We parked, entered the door, and stood at the hostess area for about 5-10 minutes. But we were never acknowledged, so we left. We were in the vicinity of 3 wait staff people and none of them said anything to us, not even a hello. 

Our family travels a lot and if they cannot even acknowledge you at the front door waiting patiently the service is more than likely going to be terrible. Because we are on the road and travel a lot, we spend around 190 days a year in a hotel or similar type of accommodation. If they can’t get the simple things correct, then that says to us that they don’t want our business so we left. We are so glad we did because we had a great meal at Wild Thyme Cafe. 

The first thing we notice is the curb appeal. The restaurant building looks really new and nice. The flowers are what stand out the most. They have a huge grove of daisies and purple lavender around the property. They are growing thyme and mint out front as well. They use the thyme and mint in the drinks for garnish along with the main dishes. 

We love eating at places that put that little extra effort. And Wild Thyme cafe really does that by growing plants on the property for ambiance, and incorporating those elements into the meals. After we did a quick photoshoot with the flowers we were greeted quickly and immediately seated in the main dining room. 

We ordered fun drinks for the kids. The adults got a Wasatch Brewery Devastator lager and a pineapple mojito. All the drinks tasted fresh and light. The mocktails for the kids always makes them feel special and boujee.

Main Course

The kids ordered the famous American cheeseburger with chips. The meal came with a half-pound burger Pattie and nicely melted white cheddar cheese. The burger was devoured and is kid-approved. 

Alex ordered the Wild Thyme salad and it happened to be vegan and gluten-free. It was a heaping amount of mixed greens. The salad was topped with apples, sun-dried cranberries, walnuts, and blue cheese crumbles. The vegetables included in the salad were carrots, tomatoes, and cucumber. The salad was finished off with a white balsamic vinaigrette. The flavor of this salad was great and filling. Alex says he would definitely order this again but the other items on the menu look very much enticing too. 

Amanda ordered a Big Sexy Burger with a large half-pound burger patty. The burger is topped with double-smoked bacon, white cheddar, house barbecue sauce, onion straws, lettuce, and tomato. 

The burger is served with sage-buttered smashed red potatoes as the side. The burger and potatoes were done just perfectly. The potatoes were soft and smashed with just the right amount of butter. Butter makes everything better. 

Dessert Time!

After a long day of driving from Page Arizona and Hiking The Nautilus Trailwe felt like dessert was a good way to have more fun. The deserts looked amazing and sounded so good, we ordered 3 of them to share. 

Key Lime Pie 

The pie is made with freshly squeezed limes and a golden graham cracker crust topped with whipped cream and comes with a few blueberries in this order. This is Amanda’s favorite dessert and it did not disappoint. It slapped hard, no prisoners were left. 

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

This cheesecake is luscious and rich but not too sweet. This special cheesecake is house-made with a graham cracker crust and a dollop of whipped cream. The salted caramel was the perfect addition to this perfect cheesecake. Alex says he could have eaten 2 of them but he had to help Audrey eat the Death By Chocolate dessert. 

Death by Chocolate

This dessert is a gluten-free chocolate cake combined with chocolate buttercream, topped with chocolate mousse, and drizzled with chocolate ganache. Served with vanilla ice cream. The gluten-free chocolate cake was a little funky and was more dense than a regular chocolate cake.

Wild thyme was a great place to eat and we got fueled up for the adventure after lunch. If you’re looking for where to eat in Kanab, this is a great spot! We headed to the hotel across the street to check in but after they gave us two dirty rooms back to back we headed to Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort for the night. 

Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort

We stayed at Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort for a few days, and it’s a great destination to stay while visiting Zion National Park and Mount Carmel no matter what time of the year you choose to go. Whether you’re making spring break plans, taking a road trip, or planning your next visit, we’ve put together a full coverage review to help you decide if Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort is the perfect place for you to stay!

The property of the Zion National Park resort is very big and green and is of course it’s in the more quiet side of Zion. They have a pool, miniature golf, and many more things that are covered in the recreation activities section of this blog post making this the perfect home base.

The cabins, lake, and all are surrounded by coniferous forest so not only do you have many people staying on the property, but deer also like to make an appearance every now and then. 

We saw deer around three different times during our stay and an astonishing number of birds. So you get a taste of America’s wilderness alongside a relaxing resort stay. Not only that but they have goats that also roam the property, grazing on the fields. They’re friendly and will more than likely let you pet them, they did for us!

Check out our write-up and review of Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort.

Kanab Final thoughts

Our family loved the Kenab area. It was full of some of our favorite things to see. We did not do the sand caves but did the moqui cave instead. We completely forgot to visit the belly of the dragon and realized it after arriving at Ponderosa Ranch for the night. So we will have to go back for these two attractions at some point. We did have the best time with all the things there is to see in Kanab. It was a great place to hang out for a few days.