Media Kit 2013

Scenic southern Utah is a red rock paradise, full of natural, cultural, and historical resources that make it one of the West’s great year-round vacation destinations.

Easily accessed within a day’s drive of major cities in the West, and just three hours from Las Vegas, Iron County Utah is home to Brian Head Resort, Zion-

Kolob Canyons National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Dixie National Forest and Cedar City – Festival City, USA.

Experience Southwest Utah and “Get Away To It All”.

Cedar City, Utah

For a small town of less that 50,000 people, Cedar City has a big heart and more than it’s fair share of festivals and events, earning it the moniker ‘Festival City, USA’. Visitors are drawn to Cedar City year round for the vibrant culture, fun festivals, rich western history, endless natural resources, opportunities for year round recreation, and easy access from population centers in Nevada, California, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Cedar City has even been recognized by American Cowboy Magazine as one of their 20 Best Places to Live the West, as well as one of the best places to retire in the US by Where to Retire Magazine.

Brian Head Resort

Brian Head Resort, a year-round mountain resort destination in Southwestern Utah’s Dixie National Forest, offers world class skiing in the winter months as well as lift serviced hiking, mountain biking, and disc golf in the summer months. Brian Head is just 45 minutes from Cedar City and I-15, just a 3 hour drive from Las Vegas. Situated among the stunning red rock vistas of Southern Utah, Brian Head offers the same great powder skiing that has made Utah resorts like Park City and Snowbird famous, but with half the lift ticket price and none of the crowds. Sunset Magazine even named Brian Head one of the West’s Best Secret Ski Slopes.

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Cedar Breaks is an often overlooked treasure nestled between southwestern Utah’s well-known Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. This 2,000 ft. deep, three mile wide natural amphitheater is the result of millions of years of geologic change that created fascinating geological features like ridges, pinnacles, buttresses, hoodoos, fins, and natural windows. Cedar Breaks’ wildflower fields and alpine forests make the 6-mile scenic drive though the National Monument one of the West’s most spectacular fall foliage viewing drives. Cedar Breaks is also home to the Bristlecone Pine, one of the oldest living trees on earth, as well as some of the West’s darkest night skies for star gazing.

Kolob Canyons Zion National Park

Kolob Canyons is a lesser known section of Zion National Park that is located just 20 minutes from Cedar City. A six-mile scenic drive through Kolob Canyons offers access to spectacular vistas of red rock canyons, cascading waterfalls, blooming wildflowers, and remarkable fall foliage displays during autumn. In addition to a year round National Park Visitor Center, there are scenic pull offs with interpretive roadside exhibits, picnic facilities, and access to hiking and backcountry camping. Though it is part of Zion National Park, visitors to Kolob Canyons will experience none of the crowds and congestion of Zion proper.

Dixie National Forest

The Dixie National Forest is Utah’s largest national forest, occupying almost two million acres of southern Utah. The Dixie National Forest is one of Southwest Utah’s greatest natural resources, offering recreational opportunities like camping, hiking, Nordic and alpine skiing, canoeing, fishing, hunting, swimming, horseback riding, ATV and off-roading, and snowmobiling. Utah State Route 143 through Dixie National Forest, the Patchwork Parkway, received National Scenic Byway Status in 2009 and has been recognized by NBC’s Today Show as one of the nation’s best destinations for fall foliage viewing.

Festival City, USA

Germany has their Oktoberfest and Brazil has their Carnival, but Cedar City has a whole summer full of festivals to celebrate. Dubbed ‘Festival City, USA,’ Cedar City offers family friendly activities and events ranging from theater and rodeos to music festivals and sport competitions. Highlights include the Cedar City Livestock and Heritage Festival, the Cedar Breaks Wildflower Festival, the Paiute Tribe POW WOW, the Utah Summer Games, and Utah Shakespeare Festival. The summer festival season kicks off in June and goes through October. View a full calendar of events and festivals at http://www.scenicsouthernutah.com

Utah Shakespeare

2013 marks the 52nd season of this Tony Awarding winning regional theatre. The Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City has been hosting live performances of Shakespearean classics and contemporary plays since 1961, making it one of the longest running nonprofit theatres in the west. Performances play out on three different stages, including a wonderful outdoor Shakespearean theatre. Performers come from across the country to act in productions of The Tempest, 12 Angry Men, Anything Goes and Richard the II just to name a few. The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s performances are held daily throughout the Summer and Fall season from June through October.

Western History and CultureSouthwestern Utah is home to a rich heritage of geologic history, Native American culture, Western exploration, and homesteading pioneers. The red rock geologic formations of Cedar Breaks and Zion harken back to prehistoric eras, while the rich history of the Anasazi and Freemont ancestors of today’s Paiute tribe can still be seen in Southern Utah today. Tributes and monuments of the Spanish Trail, used by early Spanish explorers, mountain men, and Mormon pioneers, are scattered throughout Southern Utah, and places like the Frontier Homestead Museum and the Old Iron Town ruins showcase the rich history of the region’s early settlers. Today the western culture lives on and thrives during the many western and Native American themed events and festivals throughout the year.

Parowan Gap Petroglyphs

Parowan Gap represents one of Southwest Utah’s most interesting and valuable archeological sites. The Gap is a geologic formation used by prehistoric peoples as a passage through the surrounding mountains. As the Parowan Freemont people passed through the Gap during their yearly migrations, they left carved drawings called petroglyphs scrawled on the walls of the Gap. These petroglyphs were different than the human or animal forms found at many other glyphic sites. The Parowan petroglyphs take the form of repeated geometric shapes that mark days, forming a rudimentary calendar. The distinct ‘V’ shape of the Gap allowed the Freemont to track the sun’s movement through the sky, and using their petroglyphs they were even able to track solstices and equinox. To this day locals hold seasonal Solstice and Equinox celebrations at Parowan Gap.

Media Contacts

Hailey McDonaldDirector of New Media, Adventure Mediahailey@adventuremedianews.com970.568.7423

Bonnie Char HallmanPR Specialist, Cedar City Brian Head Tourism Bureaubonnie@ironcounty.com800-354-4849