Kanab, UT: Top Attractions to See + Places to Eat
There’s no secret that I’m in love with Southern Utah. We’re still married to the state of New York for the next 20 years as I wait out my retirement in teaching- and I swear I will one day reside in Southern Utah.
My first trip there was in 2017 and I’ve been back three times since. Each time we’ve gone we’ve been able to explore more and more towns and attractions within close proximity to Zion National Park in Springdale, UT and my most recent trip to Utah had us stopping in Kanab. It did not disappoint.
Where is Kanab?
Kanab is a Southern Town in Utah on the border of Utah and Arizona off Hwy 89. It’s about an hour and 10 minutes North from Page, AZ, which has the show-stopping sites of Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell, and about an hour South of Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah, my absolute favorite national park that we’ve visited to date. It’s also an hour and 20 minutes South of Bryce National Park, another one of my favorites. This makes it the perfect spot to stop in between if you want to see all of these areas in one trip- or you can even stay here. (Although, Springdale, Utah where Zion is definitely has more of that town-feel).
This post will break down some top sites to see while staying or passing through and some eateries you cannot miss.
(Zion, Bryce, and Page, AZ travel information can be found at the end of this post.)
Nature Attractions: Don’t Miss
1. Moqui Caverns: Not to be confused with the Moqui Cave Museum (which is actually directly to the left of it). If you’re headed from Kanab it’s about 5.5 miles up off Hwy 89, you’ll see a pull off on the side of the road directly across from it on the left side of the road (Caves on the right). If you reach the Moqui Cave Museum, you’ve gone too far. If you’re headed from the opposite direction it’s located directly after the Moqui Cave Museum (address for museum: 4581 US-89, Kanab, UT 84741). You’ll walk across the road from the pull off and see the cave up directly ahead. However, you have to walk all the way to the far left to find the easiest walk up route to the caves. Best time to view is in the morning or right before sunset for the best pictures. We were the only ones there for most of our stop.
2.Belly of the Dragon: Is a manmade tunnel under Hwy 89 close to Mount Carmel Junction just outside Kanab. It’s a short .5 walk through the tunnel and back and reminiscent of Wild E Coyote and Road Runner Looney Tunes cartoons. It’s a definite stop to see- and a quick one. Located just a mile south of Mount Carmel Junction, there’s a short road pull off that will take you there and you can plug it in to google maps for directions.
3. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park : Great for camping, atv’ing, snowboarding (or should I say sand boarding) or just stopping by for pictured. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is the largest and only sand dune on the Colorado Plateau and can be found between Kanab and Mount Carmel Junction off Hwy 89. Google Maps address: 12500 Sand Dune Rd, Kanab, UT 84741
4. Buckskin Gulch via Wire Pass Trailhead : Unfortunately we didn’t have time to hike this because of all we packed in to our last trip here, but Buckskin Gulch is said to be a great alternative to Antelope Canyon in Page AZ which currently is closed due to COVID (and you’re only allowed in Antelope Canyon slots by paid tours given by the Navajo). Be sure to purchase a day pass on Recreation.gov for the $6 to park and hike to Buckskin Gulch via the Wire Pass Trailhead parking lot. I found this great post with information regarding this hike:
Other Attractions:
5. Little Hollywood: (297 W Center St, Kanab, UT 84741) is a small museum that has many movie sets from classic Western movies. It’s a cute stop off point- to fill an hour or two of your day.
6. Moqui Cave Museum: (4581 US-89, Kanab, UT 84741) located right next to the Moqui Caverns, is a small museum of Native American artifacts as well as Dinosaur tracks.
Places to Eat:
Wild Thyme Cafe- this was our absolute favorite. We had the best meal of our entire trip here and loved it so much, we decided to cancel our reservations the next night at the next restaurant below so we could have these meals again. Try the Yellow Curry and Falafel Bowl or the Pistachio Chicken dinner. We got the same meals two days in a row… so freaking delicious. The owner Vicky and her sister who was our waitress were so so nice as well! Check it out the menu here:
2. Sego Restaurant: other blogs I had read raved about this place. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to try it out and reservations are a must with Covid. Check out it’s menu here:
3. Rocking V Cafe : Another place many talked about on the internet. They have a wide range menu that helps especially if you have picky eaters for children. Check them out here:
4. Sunny Creek Coffee Truck: We stopped here on our way out of town for coffee and the homemade cinnamon buns. One cinnamon bun is enough for 2 or 3 people… lesson learned.
5. Kanab Creek Bakery: online reviews rave about the breakfast here. check it out below:
Other Resources You Might Find Helpful:
And finally, if you’d like to expand your trip outside of Kanab, which I would recommend (it’s more of a stop-through town, not a spend your entire vacation just here town), I’d recommend you check out my two other posts related to this:
As always, thanks for stopping by, sharing, and supporting my blog!
Happy Travels! :) Barbra
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