St. George Area Information

The City of St. George Utah offers the perfect mixture of big city appeal with a small town feel. The city currently has a population of more than 100,000, making St. George one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. As the city grows citizens and visitor are finding more and more shopping and dining locations to choose from. Both local and national brand name businesses are always building in St. George. In recent years, St. George has become the shopping mecca for the area. People drive from Arizona , Nevada and several Utah cities and towns come to browse the array of shops, stores and boutiques found in St. George.

The arts are plentiful in St. George. There are several live performance theatres in St. George, including Tuacahn Amphitheatre and the St. George Musical Theatre. Cedar City is just a short 50-minute drive to the north of St. George and is home to the Utah Shakespearean Festival, which runs each year from June to October. The annual Arts Festival in St. George offers an outdoors venue for both local and national artist to show works. The Festival is held each spring in St. George Historic Downtown area. The city is also home to several museums and historical sites.

Early Mormon Pioneer settlement homes in the area have been preserved by the community and are open to the public. Visitors to St. George will find many homes throughout the city. Some have been turned into museums while others have been converted into quaint boutiques and shops.

True art enthusiast will enjoy spending an afternoon at the Keynta Artist Community & Museum located just few miles outside of St. George.

In 1999, film makers Nathan Fackrell, Jason deVilliers, and Matt Fackrell began the Eclipse Film Festival. This festival is held in November each year and is growing in popularity. The festival founders selected St. George to be the site of their event because of the beauty of the surrounding area.

Being located in the far southwest corner of Utah, St. George is the gateway to many breathtaking natural wonders. Including the spectacular desert colors, Bryce& Zion National Parks, Lake Powell, Kanab and the north rim of the Grand Canyon . There is plenty of hiking and exploring available in the St. George area. There are several locations near St. George where ancient Native American petroglyphs and pictographs have been found. Not far from St. George, visitors can explore the Lee’s ferry area or take a tour of the Glen Canyon Dam.

In the spring of 2000, a farmer living in the St. George area was flatting the ground at the edge of his property. As he worked he discovered what turned out to be the largest collection of dinosaur tracks ever found. The tracks were made in a casting like process, thus giving scientists and curious visitors a rare look at what dinosaur skin, and claws were like. This attraction is free to the public during the ongoing excavation.

There is also opportunity for winter activities such as skiing and snowboarding in resort areas like Elk Meadows and Brian Head; or just get away for a day of snowshoeing or cross-county skiing in the hills of Pine Valley. Visitors can drive to any of these locations for fun wintertime activities then return to the warmth of St. George at the end of the day. After braving the cold, winter adventures could even take a swim! Many of the St. George lodging and rental locations have swimming pools and hot tubs available to guests year round.

People running from snow and cold temperatures will find that the winters in St. George are sunny and warm. The daytime temperatures rarely dip below 60 degrees. Nights are a bit colder, but never so cold that a light jacket won’t do.

Because of the milder winters, St. George offers several world class golf coursesincluding Entrada, Coral Canyon and Green Springs. There are also tennis courts, walking/running trails, baseball diamonds and swimming facilities available throughout the year.

St. George is home of the largest/newest hospital in the region. The Dixie Regional Medical Center opened its doors in late 2003 and offers several state-of-the-art medical treatments. The hospital currently has 137 beds available to patients needing surgery, emergency attention, cancer treatments, cardiology/heart services and much, much more. There is an additional floor on the hospital which has not been opened. The plan at this time is to open the floor as the need arises, which should keep hospital costs lower for patients in the St. George area.

IHC converted the “old” hospital into a woman’s health center. Allowing the women in the St. George region access to personalized health care and preventive medicine usually reserved for women in the larger cities. The hospital also sponsors the annual Festival of Trees. Proceeds of the festival are donated to health related charities.

Dixie State College also calls the City of St. George home. With humble beginnings as an academy, then a junior college (2-year); Dixie became a state college in the year 2000 and has begun to offer 4-year degree options to students. Currently, bachelor degrees are being offered in Elementary Education, Business Administration, Computer & Information Technology and Nursing. The College hopes to expand the bachelors program in the future. Dixie State College also continues to offer Associate Degrees, Certificate Programs and Adult Education classes.

Whether the plan is to visit southern Utah, or to move to a more community-oriented city, St. George is definitely the place to be. Everyone is encouraged to check out Utah’s Dixie… Come to St. George!