Zion Mountain Ranch is a unique place in a unique location, so there are many questions to be asked.

What Airport should I fly into?
Fly into St. George, UT Municipal Airport or McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV. St. George is smaller and closer, but Las Vegas has lots of flights and is generally less expensive. We are about 1 hour and 30 minutes from St. George and about 3 hours and 30 minutes from Las Vegas, NV.

How do I get there from the airport?
You will need to rent a vehicle at the airport or drive your own from home. Both Airports have the conventional rental companies: Enterprise, Budget, Avis and Hertz etc. There is also the St George Express shuttle to and from Las Vegas airport and the St George American Best Value Inn – you can decide if you want to try and coordinate that. Las Vegas also has a Harley Davidson motorcycle rental company! To get here you will drive on I-15 North (from either Las Vegas or St George airport) up to exit #16 for highway 9 east, the town of Hurricane, Ut and Zion National Park. You will stay on highway 9 east all the way to us, going through Zion National Park. After you exit the park on the east side, continue on 9 for another 4 miles and you will come to the Ranch’s main office and cabins. Our coordinates are N 37° 14.811’ W 112°48.207’ – we are between mile marker 47 and 48. The Ranch location is hard to explain, but very easy to find.

What address do I put in my GPS to find the Ranch?
Good question! We don’t bother with GPS much out here. We do exist – I assure you – so don’t let that GPS tell you otherwise! The coordinates N 37° 14.811’ W 112°48.207’ work the best. Or we recommend a paper map or a print out of the Location on our website. If you still want to try the address then you could try: 9065 W SR9, Mt Carmel, UT 84755 OR 9065 W Highway 9, Mt Carmel, UT 84755 neither may work or it may send you to our Post Office in Mt Carmel – it’s near Muddy Creek, so if you go there you will be in the wrong place. Honestly, we are very easy to find! We are on highway 9 just 4 miles outside the east gate of Zion Park.

What if I’m coming from Salt Lake City?
That’s going to take longer – it’s about 5-6 hours away. The fastest way here is to take I-15 south to the highway 20 exit just south of the town of Beaver, UT. Take highway 20 east and cross over to highway 89 and turn south onto 89 and drive all the way down to Mt Carmel Junction and highway 9 – and there you will turn west onto highway 9. Go about 9miles and you’re here! If you get to Zion Park then you’ve passed us by. OR If you prefer scenic to fast come south on I-15 from the Salt Lake area and take the Toquerville exit onto highway 17 which dead ends at highway 9 in the town of La Verkin. You will turn east onto 9, following the signs to Zion Park and proceed all the way through the park to us. We are 4 miles east of Zion’s east gate.

How do I get there from Phoenix?
It takes about 7 hours from there to here – 8-9 hours if you take the detour and go to Page, AZ (you only need to consider going to Page if you have reservations or bad weather/road conditions are forecast for 89A). Drive north on I-17 to Flagstaff and then exit onto 89 north – take that all the way up to 89A – going past the detour at 160. Take highway 89A up past Jacob’s Lake to Fredonia, AZ then north to Kanab, UT, there you re-join 89 north. Go straight through both stop lights in Kanab as 89 bends through town and continue north to Mt Carmel Junction. At the junction you will turn west and go 9 miles and you will be at the Ranch!

Do I need a car?
A car, truck, jeep, motor-home or motorcycle – a motorized transport of some kind is highly recommended ( I can’t say absolutely because we did have a couple who didn’t want to go to the parks, they just wanted to stay here at the Ranch for a week and didn’t bother with a rental car – they hired a car to drop them off then pick them back up afterward). The Ranch is over an hour to the nearest airport. Zion Park east entrance is 4 miles from the cabins and the shuttle doesn’t yet stop on the east side of the park – it’s another 13 miles to the visitor’s center. Bicycles are not allowed in the tunnel so folks usually wait until an obliging truck driver with room in the back stops and takes them through. It’s seventy some miles to Bryce Canyon – I’ve never tested a scooter that far. Grand Canyon North Rim is even farther.

Are you in Zion?
Nope. We’re not in Springdale either! We are on highway 9 outside the East gate of Zion National Park – the cabins are just 4 miles east of the gate. We are a nice combination of remote and easy to find.

How far are you from Zion Park?
We are 3 miles from the eastern border of Zion National Park, 4 miles from the east entrance gate and 17 miles from the Visitor’s Center. It can take 30 minutes or more to drive down to the Visitor’s Center, depending on traffic through the tunnel and how many times you stop to take pictures of the beautiful sandstone formations on the way.

Is the road through the Park open?
Always! If there is anything that is causing a stop, then it is temporary. You can drive through at night as well – the road is never blocked – not even during a government shutdown.

Can I drive through the Park?
Yup, anytime! During daylight hours you will be charged a fee if you haven’t already paid for a pass, unless it’s a free weekend. Highway 9 through the park is always open to drive for regular vehicles. Large oversized vehicles cannot drive through the tunnel at night.

Does the park shuttle stop at the Ranch?
Nope. You will need to drive through beautiful Zion park to get to the visitor’s center on the other side – well worth the trip!

What time is it?
The Ranch is in Utah, which is Mountain Time – we do observe daylight savings in the summer. Nevada and California are Pacific Time Zone and they also observe daylight savings. Arizona is Mountain Standard Time Zone and they do NOT observe daylight savings; which means that in the winter they are the same as us and in the summer they are the same as Las Vegas – except for the Navajo Nation, which does observe daylight savings (important if you are planning a visit to Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon). Most phones will make the switch. Be careful at Lake Powell, though, the border of Utah and Arizona and the Navajo Nation bisect the Lake! Rent a boat, put your watch and phone in a waterproof bag and forget what time it is! That’s the best way of dealing with it.

I’ve never been to that area; what is there to do?
Go hiking in the parks, learn geology – why is that rock red and that one yellow and the other white? What makes the layers? What’s a hoodoo? What caused the Colorado Plateau to get so form? How is a canyon created? Stand in the bottom of a nature made canyon and look up at the towering cliffs in awe, stand at the edge of another canyon and look down onto the layers of earth that have been there before the dinosaurs. Find a fossil, ride a horse, ride a bike, swim in a man-made reservoir, go fishing, or just sit and watch the sunset. This a the best place to step back from the intensity of a ‘normal’ life and experience nature in a cabin setting reminiscent of old west, but with all modern convenience.

How long does it take to get to Bryce Canyon from the Ranch?
It’s about a 1 hour and 15 minutes or so to Bryce Canyon from the Ranch. It’s an easy ride and a great day trip from the Ranch.

How far are you from the Grand Canyon North Rim?
A little over 2 hours to the North Rim Lodge, but I recommend taking even longer and heading out to the Cape Royal view point where you will see Angel’s Window. It’s a paved road all the way out with beautiful stops along the way. Great place for a picnic and you can see the Colorado River from there.

How do I get to the Ranch from the Grand Canyon South Rim?
From Grand Canyon Village take highway 64 east to highway 89. Turn north onto highway 89 up to 89A (alternate 89) to Fredonia, AZ. Drive through Fredonia to Kanab, UT. You will re-join 89 north. Drive through both stop lights in Kanab and continue north on 89 up to Mt Carmel Junction (there is a Cheveron and Shell Station there as well as a small golf course. This is your turn onto highway 9 west, following the signs that say Zion National Park, although you will come to us before the park in about 9 miles. It’s about 5 hours from there to here.

How far are you from Page, AZ?
About and 1 hour 45 minute drive – timing is going to depend on if it’s daylight savings or not.

Do you have horses?
Oh yeah! Giddy-yup and ride with us!! 6 and older can go on the trail and those under 6 can take a pony ride. Even if you don’t want to ride, but like horses – we have them right here for you to come scratch – apples and carrots always appreciated, but not required.

Can I ride a Buffalo?
My flippant answer to this would be ‘Sure, just sign this multi-page legal your-death-is-not-our-fault waiver, catch the buffalo you want to ride, hop on and go!’ Seriously – No. The buffalo are wild animals, although they usually seem quite sedate and lumbering, I have seen them spook and take off down valley in moments – blink and you miss’em. Depending on the season, the mothers can be quite protective of the young calves or males can be fighting for the privilege of the ladies. The big males are about 2,000lbs (yup, they weigh a ton) and they can all run as fast as a horse. They all have horns – even the girls – and they have never had a halter or received any form of training.

What’s with the chickens?
Gotta have chickens! We have a few that hang out around the front desk area – many children (and some adults) have never seen a live chicken. Visitors actually take more pictures of our chickens than of our buffalo. We also have a couple of large chicken coops with many laying hens that provide wonderful cage free, organic eggs for breakfast in the restaurant.

Is that a cow out there with the Buffalo?
That’s Spot! He’s a steer that was on the ranch before the buffalo conservation effort began. He hangs out with the buffalo now and won’t be told otherwise. He’s quite old and we’re always happy to see him. Photos of him are displayed in various local art galleries.

Where are the Buffalo?
If they are not right out front then they are roaming somewhere on the 3,000 acre ranch. We don’t tie them up or anything. They do usually roam by the cabins and front desk at some point during the day or night – if you hear a weird snorting and grunting in the dark – that’s them. Their eyes do reflect light from a flashlight.

Are those Buffalo or Beefalo?
Actually, our herd is officially the American Bison, also known as the American Buffalo – although the term buffalo actually refers to an Asian species. Or herd is as much American Bison as they can be.

Do you have a pool?
Not yet, but we are working on building one! If it’s not done by the time you’re here, then ask at the desk about a local watering hole that you can swim in!

What’s the Weather like?
We have all four season here at the Ranch. Spring weather is variable; we can get showers, shining sun or even a few flurries. The temps range between highs of 50-60’s F (10-15C) lows between freezing-40’s (0-7C) – we can get a night freeze as late as May 15th. Summer is warm and sunny with temperatures between 70-90’s (21-32C) with possible triple digits (37-40C) in late July and August. We do get the Southwestern ‘Monsoons’ anywhere late August into September. With Fall comes the changing of the leaves, brisker weather, but nothing formidable. Temperatures are between 50-70’s (10-20C) depending on the day, lows can start to dip to 30-40’s (0-4.4C) at night after the sun goes down so bring a jacket. Winter temps are between 20-40’s (-6.6-4.4C) by day and 0-20’s (-17- -6.6) at night – bring a coat, gloves and boots. Then snow starts in December sometime, although we have occasionally had some for Thanksgiving or even as late as New Years. Snow coverage is usually and few inches or a foot or so. The road is plowed very well and chains are not needed – if you have any worries about the weather don’t hesitate to call the desk and ask us what’s going on!

What should I wear?
Clothes of some sort are required – ZMR is not a nudest or a ‘clothing optional’ ranch. That said, wearing layers is the most common recommendation because the temperature can vary, depending on elevation and season. The Las Vegas airport is at 2,181′ (665m) above sea level; the elevation of Zion National Park at the south gateway town of Springdale, UT is 3,900′ (1188m) above sea level; the Ranch here, outside the east gate of the park, is at about 6,000′ (1,828m) above sea level; the rim of Bryce Canyon where most people view that park is at 8,000-9,000′ (2,438-2,743m) above sea level; the Grand Canyon North Rim averages about 8,000′ (2,438m) as well; with Cedar Breaks National Monument being the highest park around at 10,000′ (3,048m) above sea level. In the summer, Las Vegas is HOT, plain and simple; Springdale and the lower part of Zion Canyon is 10-20 degrees hotter than the Ranch, Bryce Canyon and the North Rim are 10-20 degrees cooler than us and you will need a jacket at Cedar Breaks most of the summer. The Ranch is high desert plains with cactus, sage and juniper brush, pine trees, wild grasses and rocky outcrops. Throw in a pair of jeans, a light-weight long-sleeved shirt, hiking boots, and socks along with your shorts, tank-tops and flip-flops. Horseback riding is more comfortable in jeans or long pants – legs stick to the summer-hot leather saddles and can be scratched on the wild brush along the path. Also, a shoe that has a closed toe are required (can’t ride a horse in flip flops). Winter can bring balmy weather worthy of shorts or freezing temperatures, deep snow and you will wish you had remembered your gloves, hat, scarf, full coat, and winter boots. Yes, we have had a few folks show up here in winter, thinking that the desert is always warm, to stand at the desk in shorts with 2 feet of snow outside, asking if we sell pants and gloves. We don’t, so bring some along. (If you come is springtime or during the autumn ‘monsoons’ throw in one of those fold up rain ponchos, too)

Do you have a place to eat?
We have a wonderful place to eat! Two, in the summer months. Our restaurant incorporates the ongoing harvest from our organic gardens and greenhouses into every meal. Located right here next to the Front Desk. Then down the road a few miles at the other end of the Ranch, we have our East Zion Pizzeria (open seasonally) that makes fresh pizza pies in a wood fired pizza oven – to order or by the slice.

Where’s the nearest grocery store?
We have a small Trading Post/Convenience Store that has little extras you might need. IF you do need a full grocery store, then the closest is in the town of Orderville, about 15-20 minutes away. If your going into Zion Park for the day, though, you might just continue on to the town of Springdale; they have a full grocery with some gourmet items as well. If you’re heading to the North Rim or Lake Powell, then the town of Kanab, UT is on the way with 2 full service grocery stores!

Can I cook in my cabin?
That will depend on the cabin style you have reserved and/or your cooking ability. The basic 1 & 2 king cabins and cabin suites have a microwave, but no service – there are no plates etc to cook with so you would have to bring those with you. Most of the Lodges (except the Buffalo Vista 2 Bedroom Lodge) have basic kitchens with some simple pots and pans. Service ranges from 6-12, depending on the cabin style. You are welcome to bring a Propane stove or Propane BBQ – all the cabins, suites and lodges have porches or a patio. No briquettes allowed, please – it is a fire hazard.

Is breakfast included?
Not in the cabin rate, but it is available here in our restaurant – farm fresh eggs!

Can we drink the water?
Please do and fill those water bottles for the day’s hiking. It’s spring water that we have brought down from the mountain.

Do you have roll away beds?
Not roll away beds – we do have a limited number of floor mats or air-mattresses. They are available on a first come first serve basis.

Do you have internet?
Yes, here at the front desk and in the restaurant we have a great signal from our fiber optic.

Where can I get cell service?
You can get a good signal at the Front Desk where we have installed a booster. You can also stand on the flat, red rock outside the front desk ~ hat with aluminum foil horns optional, but available at the front desk. You can also get a signal at the junction of highway 9 and North Fork Road. Needless to say, cell service is spotty up here – a good place to turn it off for a while – like in the old days.

Do you allow children?
We welcome children (of all ages)! This is a wonderful place to be a child – discovery, exploration, and experience of nature’s glory out here away from the rest of the world.

Do you allow pets?
A dog (or maybe 2) is allowed in the basic 1 and 2 king cabins, Meadow View or Buffalo Vista, with an additional, one-time charge of $50+tx added onto the room charge. That’s for the extra housekeeping work that is required to make the cabin habitable for people with pet allergies. You will be financially responsible for any damages beyond normal cleaning. As much as we love animals, having them in the cabins is tricky. Dogs are not allowed in the suites or lodges – they are too expensive to refurbish if the animal decides to chew, rip, tear, scratch, pee or worse. We also request a crate and please don’t leave your dog tied outside or loose in the cabin without your being there – NEVER leave a dog tied on the decks, even if you are there. Even the best of dogs can make a big (expensive) mess if left in an unfamiliar place.

Are there bathrooms in the cabins?
Absolutely! In every single kind of cabin, cabin suite and lodge – with the lodges having more than one!

Do I have to bring sheets and towels?
Nope! All linens are provided as well as small bottles of shampoo/conditioner, gourmet soap, facial soap, lotion and shower caps. (Kleenex and toilet paper come with it, too)

Are there kitchens in the cabins?
Only in the big one-of-a-kind lodges. All cabins come with a small refrigerator, microwave, and coffeemaker. The only lodge type that does NOT have a kitchen is the Buffalo Vista 2 Bedroom Lodge. The Buffalo Vista Family Lodge does not come with an oven, but has everything else. All the other lodges have a full kitchens, with service up to 10 or 12 people.

Does my cabin have a view?
Some do some don’t – all the suites and lodges have been designed to have views of the various aspects of the ranch’s scenery. The basic cabins have a view that will include the back of other cabins or the highway, which is why they are less expensive, the basic cabins are all furnished beautifully.

What is the difference between the Meadow View Cabins and the Buffalo Vista cabins?
The main difference is location and exterior appearance. The Buffalo Vista cabins are the log cabins that are seen in one of the photos on our home page. They are further from the highway and a little further from each other. The Meadow View Cabins are across the highway from the restaurant and front desk. They have live edge siding – real wood exterior. They do have a view across the road to the rest of the ranch and the buffalo preserve. They are closer to the highway, but they are less expensive. Are have kings beds and warm, homestead style decorations.

What is the difference between a cabin, cabin suite and lodge?
The cabins provide a great place to stay and see the parks on a ranch with buffalo, horses, and huge open pastures; they all have king beds, standard bathrooms, a small fridge, microwave and coffeemaker – there is no guarantee of a view, however. If a view is important to you then reserve a cabin suite or lodge. The cabin suites have been situated to have views of the surrounding pastures and cliffs – they also have jetted tubs and luxury decorations. Our spacious lodges have everything the cabins do, but with added amenities and room to make your stay even more relaxing. Each style is unique, so give us a call if you have any special needs or questions.

What is the best cabin suite?
The Canyon Rim Cabin Suite – no contest. It’s 1000 square feet with a king bed, jetted tub and a very private deck, but it is also situated with the best view – huge windows that over look Meadow Creek Canyon on one side with views of the buffalo pasture out the other side. It has it’s own personal, private fire pit and a wood burning fireplace inside (wood provided).