Introduction to Cedar City, Utah; things to do; hotel review

Introduction to Cedar City, Utah

The town of Cedar City makes a good home base for a visit to the many striking national parks in Southern Utah.  Getting here is about a 2 ½-hour drive from Las Vegas, which makes a good entry point by air. 

●Crystal Inn  

1575 West 200 North, 2 mi. from downtown, (888) 787-6661, (435) 586-8888.  100 rooms; 2 stories.  Heated pool; hot tub; sauna; exercise room.  Full buffet breakfast; restaurant (L-high tea-D daily).  Free WiFi.  

Cedar Inn is considered the best in town, with large, comfortable rooms and cool cotton-swathed beds.  A shuttle van is available into downtown.

●Frontier Homestead State Park Museum  

635 N. Main St., 435-586-9290.  M-Sat 9am-5pm.  

Displays at the Frontier Homestead State Park Museum include rare horse-drawn vehicles used from 1850 to 1920 and a collection of pioneer artifacts.  An iron industry exhibit features the only known remaining artifact from the original foundry--the town bell.

●Utah Shakespearean Festival 

On the Southern Utah University campus, (800) PLAYTIX, (435) 586-7878.  June-Oct.  Children must be age 6+.  

This regional theatre has a 5-month season of plays and musicals.  Settings include both an open-air theater patterned after Shakespeare’s Globe and a modern facility for contemporary plays.   In the 2012 season, I saw “Mary Stuart,” and the quality of the performances was top-notch.  It was well deserving of the standing ovation received.  A free pre-performance Greenshow features music, song, and dance on the grass outside.  Atmospherically dressed hawkers sell Renaissance Faire-style foods, including favorites with locals--dessert tarts and “puck” candy (a large, round, puck-like “turtle”  made of milk chocolate with a caramel-pecan center).




More things to do in Southern Utah.  

Great ideas for travel adventures in the U.S. 

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers