Brian Head & Cedar Breaks National Monument
Winter’s stillness invites a peaceful time of the year with fresh, powdery snowfall and crisp air. The pine-covered mountains and multi-colored cliffs in Southern Utah create a beautiful scene after the snowfall. With four national parks surrounding St. George, and plenty of shops offering snow-friendly activities and rentals, you’ll easily have a fun-filled day with your family.
Visit Brian Head
About an hour-and-a-half north of Hurricane, Utah, Brian Head is a top destination for winter sports enthusiasts year after year. All winter long, you can enjoy activities from cross-country skiing, or ice skating to exploring the groomed trails on a snowmobile. Brian Head is known as Utah’s best ski resort, and for good reason! They see an average of 350” of fresh snow each winter season, which usually begins in November and lasts through the end of March. Brian Head offers 71 runs to choose from, ranging from beginner slopes to advanced, technical runs to challenge and improve your skill level.
Skiing & Recreation at Brian Head
For skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts, Brian Head’s alpine slopes are a must! There are 8 different lift systems to help return you to the top of the slopes, too. Additionally, Brian Head has a designated tubing site! Reservations are recommended, and tubes can be rented in hour-and-a-half-long increments. For tubing reservations, visit this link: Brian Head Tubing Reservations. Brian Head Ski Resort has all the skiing and snowboarding equipment you and your family will need for a day of fun on the mountain. There are two locations with all your rental needs located at both Navajo and Giant Steps Lodges open from 10 am to 4 pm during the regular season, with adjusted hours from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm during peak season. They also offer complimentary overnight ski and snowboard storage. Pricing ranges from $20 to $60 depending on how you would like to tackle the slopes, with a brief spike in peak pricing over Martin Luther King weekend. You can reserve your rental here: Brian Head Ski and Snowboard Rentals.
Visit Cedar Breaks National Monument
Located just east of Cedar City, Utah, Cedar Breaks National Monument offers a variety of winter activities for you and your family. Roughly an hour and twenty minutes from WillowWind RV Park, resting between Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, you’ll find one of America’s most breathtaking overlooks - Cedar Breaks National Monument. During the late cretaceous period (roughly 90 million years ago), Cedar Breaks would have been a beachfront destination. Years of rising and lowering water levels and wind carved out just over 10,000 linear feet of steep cliffs, pinnacles, and spires, creating the magnificent scenery we see today. Evergreen trees line the rim of the canyon, providing a stark contrast between the forest and the pink canyon walls.
Snowmobiling and Recreation at Cedar Breaks
During winter, one of the most common activities within Cedar Breaks is snowmobiling. There are a couple of shops nearby offering snowmobile rentals to tour Brian Head, Dixie National Forest, and Cedar Breaks. In addition to snowmobiling, you will find ski and snowshoe rentals, but snowmobiling provides the best opportunity to see the views surrounding Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Thunder Mountain Motorsports offers tours of Cedar Breaks and Brian Head. For a reasonable price, you could hire a tour guide to show you around. Tours range in length from one-and-a-half hours to full-day tours beginning at 10 am. You can book a reservation here: Thunder Mountain Motorsports.
If you opt to tackle the snowmobiling trails without a guide, please keep these rules in mind: Stay on the groomed trails parallel to Highway 148; observe all trail markers and closure signs; and wear appropriate gear, including helmets. Violators will be fined $5,000 and snowmobiles will be impounded if these rules are not adhered to. If and when you stop to admire the scenery, it is recommended to snowshoe or ski while off the snowmobile trails. Snowmobile trails are not limited to Cedar Breaks alone; connecting to additional trails in the Cedar Mountain Complex will guarantee a full day of adventure before returning to a warm fire at WillowWind RV Park for an evening of rest.
Relax and Unwind at Southern Utah Spas
If a full day of climbing and rushing down slopes has left you sore, warm up and relax at one of the nearby spas before heading back to WillowWind. The Red Leaf Spa in the Grand Lodge at Brian Head offers healing massages, hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms; and the Cedar Breaks Day Spa provides Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, stone massage, and mud wraps. Noorish Spa’s services include massages, facials, and body treatments, with some specifically designed to tend to the aches and tension brought on by long days on the slopes. Reservations can be made in advance here: Reserve a Treatment with Noorish.
Star Gazing in Southern Utah
Utah is one of the best states in the US for star gazing. With so many national parks surrounding the greater St. George area, clear skies and minimal light pollution help make the most of an evening under the stars. Brian Head and Cedar Breaks National Monument typically partner during the winter months and have established star-gazing parties lead by park rangers - telescopes included! Although this is closed for the 2022 winter season, the skies are still clear and vibrant to see with the naked eye. The higher elevations within Brian Head and Cedar Breaks make you feel closer to the sky, but make for a chilly night, so dress warm! Three Peaks Recreation Area and Parowan Gap are near Cedar City and are more accessible sites for stargazers, and they have firepits and campsites available.
Enjoy a peaceful drive back through a dark valley under a glittering night sky on your way back to WillowWind where a warm shower and quiet night’s rest await.
Additional Resources:
https://www.suu.edu/blog/2018/08/southern-utah-stargazing-locations.html
https://www.visitbrianhead.org/Winter-Activities
https://visitcedarcity.com/experience-cedar-breaks-in-winter/
https://www.nationalparks.org/explore/parks/cedar-breaks-national-monument
https://www.go-utah.com/Cedar-Breaks-National-Monument/Snowmobiling/#
https://www.brianheadthunder.com
https://www.nps.gov/articles/nps-geodiversity-atlas-cedar-breaks-national-monument-utah.htm
https://www.nps.gov/cebr/learn/nature/geologicformations.htm
https://www.nps.gov/cebr/index.htm