Snow Canyon for People Who Would Rather Not Hike It
A small-bus loop out of downtown St. George that puts you on the sandstone at Snow Canyon without asking you to hike for it.
The bus pulls away from the curb on Tabernacle Street and comes back to the same curb two and a half hours later. Six stops in between, and a guide working in English.
Snow Canyon State Park is the only stop on the route with an entrance fee, and the fare already covers it. The rest is red rock, a volcanic cone and the historic downtown, taken at the pace of a vehicle that stops when there is something worth stopping for.
A shared departure is capped at fourteen travelers, and a single booking can take all fourteen of them. There is no hotel pickup. Everyone meets at the start point.
Southern Utah Majesty Greatest Hits Bus TourTwo and a half hours from 111 E Tabernacle Street in St. George, with the Snow Canyon entrance fee included. Adults $49, ages fifteen and under $25, US dollars.www.viator.comThirty Minutes on the Ground at Snow Canyon
Five of the six stops are logged at ten or fifteen minutes. The sixth is Snow Canyon State Park, at thirty.
What is out there, in the operator's own words: petrified dunes, sandstone cliffs and lava flows, in a single view. The bus parks. You go as far onto the sand as you feel like going, and you come back. Nobody is keeping a pace.
The Cone on the Horizon and the Town Below It
One stop on the itinerary is kept as an unannounced surprise on the way to the volcano, left off the published schedule on purpose.
The volcano is the one the operator credits with the lava that ran through the outer edge of St. George, and you see it from the road. Earlier in the loop the bus goes through the historic downtown past the Tabernacle, Green Gate Village and Brigham Young's Winter Home, then stops for fifteen minutes at Pioneer Park among Dixie Rock, the Red Hills Desert Garden and more petrified dunes. The downtown historic sites are a scenic drive-by, so you take them in from your window without stepping inside.
When It Runs, and What a Seat Costs
There is no departure on Tuesday. Every other day of the week has a one o'clock run. Monday, Saturday and Sunday add a nine o'clock, and Thursday adds a three o'clock.
- Adults, sixteen and over: $49
- Ages fifteen and under: $25
- At least one adult has to be on the booking
- Booking closes three hours before the departure time
- Confirmation is immediate, and the ticket is a mobile one
Prices are in US dollars.
Who This Ride Is Built For
The operator's answer about walking is the thing to hold onto. Asked how much there is, the FAQ says minimal, and that the tours are designed so you can sit back and enjoy the ride. The thirty minutes at Snow Canyon are yours to spend standing still if that is what you want.
There is no restroom on the bus. The operator points to public restrooms at several of the stops, which is worth knowing before a loop this long.
Boarding is at the curb outside 111 East Tabernacle Street in St. George. The operator's own instruction is to look for the bus. The ride ends back at the same spot.
A full refund needs twenty-four hours of notice before the scheduled departure time.
Two and a half hours after you got on, you are back on Tabernacle Street with the rest of the day in front of you.