Lights, Camera, Kanab! An Adventure Town with a Storied Past
Kanab’s reputation as an outdoor adventure hub is well earned, yet the area also boasts not-to-be-missed opportunities to learn more about the people who’ve called this corner of Southern Utah home.
Outdoor adventurers from around the world know Kanab for its stone’s-throw access to mind-blowing natural wonders like the 16-mile-long Buckskin Gulch slot canyon, the acres of saffron-hued dunes at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and The Wave, a surreal sandstone formation that appears as if frozen-in-a-moment millennia ago.
Yet Kanab is also chock-full of opportunities to learn about the diverse people who’ve put this gorgeous corner of Southern Utah on the map. There’s the Native Americans who christened the area Kanab or “place of the willows,” and the ten pioneer families who began establishing the present town in 1870. Then there’s the unusual-for-the-era all-female town council and mayor who ran Kanab from 1912-1914. (Read about Kanab’s Heritage House Museum, one of Ten Places to Honor Women’s History On Your Trip to Utah.) And who can forget the stories of the Hollywood elite who flocked here to star in multiple films beginning in the 1920s.Here are a few of Kanab’s richer story repositories, places to check out between your outdoor pursuits while visiting this eclectic little outpost.
Tip: For full immersion in local history and culture, plan your visit during Heritage Days, a month-long celebration of all things Kane County (July 24, Pioneer Day, through August 24). Events include everything from concerts and pioneer history tours to paleontology hikes and star parties recognizing the area’s beautifully unfettered dark skies.
Kanab beckons visitors year-round with its endless outdoor recreation opportunities.
From ancient Anasazi dwellings to early Western film sets, Kanab is brimming with culturally significant remains to visit and explore.
"Outdoor adventurers from around the world know Kanab for its stone’s-throw access to mind-blowing natural wonders ... Yet Kanab is also chock-full of opportunities to learn about the diverse people who’ve put this gorgeous corner of Southern Utah on the map."
Kanab Museum
13 N. 100 East
kanabmuseum.org
(435) 644-3966
Free admission; open Monday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Thursdays and Sundays.
Within Kanab’s venerable Public Library Building is the Kanab Museum, a well-organized collection of artifacts and photos adeptly telling the stories of the area’s earliest known people to those living in the modern era. While this museum attempts to acknowledge all of Kanab’s past residents, much empathetic attention is paid to the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians. An example greets visitors as soon as they enter the museum. Here a placard accompanying a mirror asks visitors to have patience as signage for the Native American artifacts are part of an ongoing collaboration with local Paiute members. The placard asks: “Who would you want to be your storyteller?’
Other impressive items housed here include a series of Native American photographs taken by John K. Hillers in 1873 as part of John Wesley Powell’s investigation of the Great Basin Indians. There’s also the survey table Powell used when he made Kanab his base of operations while exploring Southern Utah and Northern Arizona from 1871 to 1872.
Also on display is a classroom globe from one of Kanab’s first schools. “I love to think that even though Kanab was for a long time one of the most isolated towns in America, residents here still believed in education,” says Kanab Museum Director Emily Bentley.
When you go: Next door to the Kanab Museum is the Parry Lodge, a hotel founded by the Parry brothers in 1931, where countless film stars posted up during the town’s early 20th-century heyday as a film set. The lodge’s restaurant is open daily for breakfast, served in a dining room adorned with movie memorabilia. Be sure also to check out the cluster of signs in front of the lodge, similar to dozens more located throughout downtown Kanab, which offer background on many film stars who spent time here, including John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Burl Ives and Frank Sinatra.Heritage House Museum
115 S. Main Street
kanabheritagehouse.com
(435) 644-3506
Free admission, open Monday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Thursdays and Sundays.
Upon its construction in 1894, the stately Victorian home now housing the Heritage House Museum was billed as “the first modern home in Kane County.” And it’s easy to see why. The home’s ornate gables and porch, gingerbread trim, and impressively tall turret are an opulent departure from the more utilitarian sandstone brick homes typically built around Kanab during that era.
Henry and Mary Bowman, who built the home, were the first of many prominent families to live here over the years. Local physician George Russell Aiken spearheaded the city’s purchase and restoration of this historic home in 1975, the year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now, during the museum’s regular operating hours, visitors can take a free guided tour, which offers a glimpse into the lives of the families who called the Heritage House home for almost a century. “Each time the home was sold or passed on, new inhabitants would leave many of the furnishings in place, much of which remain in the home today,” says Kanab Museums Director Emily Bentley. Outside on the home’s sweeping lawn, a gazebo built in the same style of the home and a leafy grape arbor provide shady resting spots before or after your tour.
When you go: Those who arrive outside of regular hours are welcome to stroll the Heritage House’s lush grounds, planted with period-appropriate mulberry trees and rose bushes in honor of Elinor Chamberlain, who lived here from 1897 to 1935. Brochures outlining a self-guided exterior tour can be found in a kiosk attached to the front gate, printed with QR codes to access photos and more information.
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Sharing the same building as Kanab's public library, the Kanab Museum displays a comprehensive snapshot of the different people who have called the area home for thousands of years.
This historic house was once called "the jewel of Kanab," and is known to be the first modern home built in the area circa 1894.
Little Hollywood Museum
297 W. Center Street
littlehollywoodmuseum.org
Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, admission is $5 suggested donation.
Highway 89 runs almost due south from the Salt Lake Valley — until it reaches Kanab, that is. There, where this storied roadway turns east, is a statue of a rider astride a rearing white horse, marking the entrance to the wonderfully kitschy Little Hollywood Museum. Kanab made its big-screen debut in 1924 as the backdrop for “The Deadwood Coach” and went on to play a supporting role in hundreds more films and television shows. And while Kanab’s heyday in the film industry waned with the popularity of Westerns in the 1970s, the Little Hollywood Museum offers an amusing slice of that unlikely chapter in the area’s history.
Backdrops, sets and props from dozens of movies are assembled on the museum’s backlot reached by, you guessed it, passing through the gift shop. There, visitors can walk in and around the adobe-style jail used in Clint Eastwood’s “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” an old timey homestead-like set from Disney’s “One Little Indian,” and a small, stone-looking building (that’s really fiberglass) used in several films, adorned with a sign reading “Sweetwater TPKE Toll.” Other film set artifacts on the Little Hollywood Museum’s backlot include a rickety-looking windmill, an Old West Main Street façade, and a mid-1800s stable, complete with plastic horse and covered wagon parked outside.
When you go: Adding to this museum’s funky gestalt is how it shares space with Giff’s Barbecue. Kill two birds with one stone by ordering a to-go box of Giff’s house smoked pork, beef or chicken — served with all the yummy traditional barbecue sides — to take out to one of the picnic tables scattered among the film set memorabilia on the museum’s back lot.
The props and set pieces on display were used in many of the great Western films that gave birth to the film industry in the United States.
A visit to the Little Hollywood Museum in Kanab is an immersive experience.
Moqui Cave Museum of Ancient History
4518 U.S. 89
moqui-cave.com
Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed from the end of November through mid-February.
Admission: $7 for adults; $6 for seniors age 60+; $5 for kids age 6-17; free for kids age 5 and younger.
If you’re traveling along Highway 89 north of Kanab, the eye-catching Moqui Cave is hard to miss. Sandstone bricks, arranged to mimic the Southwest’s famous cliff dwellings and granaries, frame the cave’s yawning entrance. Inside the door is when you’ll start to fathom the huge and somewhat random collection of objects found here.
Garth and Laura Chamberlain (now deceased) purchased the cave in 1951, and then turned it into Southern Utah’s first dance hall and bar. It’s easy to imagine this unusual and no-longer-serving watering hole — decorated with a wagon-wheel chandelier, tree-stump bar stools and plenty of Garth’s personal memorabilia — as an unusually appealing hangout for locals and visitors.
But the bar is just the beginning of what makes the Moqui Cave extraordinary. The attraction, still operated by the Chamberlain family, features exhibits displaying more than 1,000 arrowheads, ceremonial points, jugs, pots, bowls, and tools from the Puebloan Era. There’s also a sizeable collection of dinosaur tracks and fossils; currency from what appears to be every country in the world; and, really what most would probably consider the Moqui Cave’s pièce de resistance exhibit, a fluorescent mineral display claimed to be one of the largest in the country.
When you go: Just south of Moqui Cave are a series of man-made caves that, like the main attraction, were excavated during the area’s short-lived sand mining era. The Sand Caves are connected by a short, half-mile hiking trail providing a rawer perspective of these fascinating sandstone caverns.
The Red Pueblo Heritage Park and Museum
1140 N. Highway 89A, Fredonia, Arizona
(928) 643-7777
Open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Arizona time); museum closed Sunday-Tuesday.
Admission: Donations accepted
Seven miles south of Kanab just past the Utah-Arizona border, is a treasure trove of Anasazi, Navajo and Hopi artifacts housed within a most unlikely location. Inside what appears to be a converted roadway rest stop in Fredonia, Ariz., is the Red Pueblo Museum and Heritage Park.
Dixon Spendlove collected most of the hundreds of artifacts displayed within the museum in the Fredonia area. Spendlove often staffs the museum himself, eagerly answering questions about the archeological and human significance of his impressive collection, which includes pottery, arrowheads, shoes, tools,and cooking implements.
The museum’s exterior is dedicated to the pioneer settlement of the Arizona Strip, a still-rural landscape between the Grand Canyon and Utah. A recreated dug out home, a sheep camp and a log cabin bring to life the sparse life that settlers led in this area in the 1800s. Interpretive signage highlights the Honeymoon Trail, a rough and somewhat ironically named desert route that young couples would travel from central Arizona through Lees Ferry and Pipe Spring to have their marriages performed in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ St. George Temple.
When you go: For a taste of what the desert can bear, take U.S. 389 west and then back north into Utah to Hildale. There, the Water Canyon Winery, a leafy oasis set off by the surrounded red rock cliffs, offers winery tours, tastings and lunch served daily at its onsite café.
En route from Kanab to the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, the Red Pueblo Museum and Heritage Park hosts an immaculate display of ancient Anasazi artifacts.
Located a mere five miles north of Kanab, the Sand Caves are remnants of an abandoned mining operation and make for an excellent afternoon of exploration.
Maynard Dixon Home and Studio
2200 S. State Street, Mt. Carmel
thunderbirdfoundation.com
Hours Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; on Sundays and Mondays by appointment.
Admission: $20; $40 for a docent-led tour.
Maynard Dixon’s beautifully preserved home and studio offers a chance to learn more about the work of the famed Utah landscape painter. It’s located about 20 miles north of Kanab, along U.S. 89, in the leafy hamlet of Mt. Carmel. The peaceful property includes the 1938-era cabin and studio where Dixon spent summers until his death in 1946 with his third wife, Edith Hamblin. (Read: Viewing Art in the Maynard Dixon Landscape.) The Bingham Family Trust purchased the property from second owner Milford Zornes in 1998.
From the property’s Thunderbird Gallery, visitors can stroll along a gravel path leading to a short stairway alighting at the Dixon summer cabin and studio, both shaded by large cottonwoods and surrounded by flagstone patios, blooming garden beds and a wide, grassy lawn. A lovely woodsy smell greets guests as they pass through the small breezeway into the cabin, decorated with antiques, collectibles, Native American rugs and, of course, many reproduced pieces of both Dixon’s and Hamblin’s work. Hamblin, who died in 1992, was an acclaimed portrait and landscape painter in her own right.
Visitors are encouraged to wander throughout the property, including to the loft bedroom. Here it’s easy to envision Dixon’s two sons, from his first marriage to documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, staying when visiting their father. Next door, the light-filled studio is so meticulously re-enacted, it feels as if Dixon and Hamblin simply stepped out to take a hike in the nearby mountains. Other buildings on the property include the garage (the only building on the property when Dixon and Hamblin purchased it in 1938), the Cool House and the Bunkhouse, built by Dixon’s son Daniel in 1941, and now used as lodging for the many artists who spend time painting in Mt. Carmel.
To view a large collection of Dixon’s paintings, consider driving about 300 miles north to Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Provo, which owns the world’s largest collection of the landscape painter’s work.
When you go: Don’t skip the short hike up the hill from the Dixon home and studio to the Memorial, the final resting place of both Dixon’s ashes and the property’s second owners, Milford and Patricia Zornes. Stunning views from this high point span the valley from Orderville to the north and Mt. Carmel to the south. The view makes it easy to see why Dixon and Hamblin had such fond affection — and found so much artistic inspiration — from this special place.
Maynard Dixon is renowned for his work depicting the landscapes of the American Southwest. He made Mt Carmel his summer home where he enjoyed the solace of Southern Utah's landscapes.
A visit to Maynard Dixon's desert home and art studio in its restored glory is sure to shed some light on the artist's grande contribution to American art.
01
Base Camp Kanab
From the vermilion, white and pink cliffs and wide expanses of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, to the twisting sandstone bottlenecks of Buckskin Gulch, even the vertigo-inducing views of Zion National Park if you've never been, this six-day itinerary will show you why Kanab is the perfect base camp for adventure.
Highlights
- Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument
- Lake Powell
- North Rim Grand Canyon
- Zion National Park
02
Southwest Silver Screen
See silver screen cowboys and real ones, too. This five-day itinerary will take you to famous film backdrops and to the real Old West.
Highlights
- Moab-Area Film Locations
- Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
- Goblin Valley State Park
- Snow Canyon State Park
03
Larger Than Life: Winter in Southwestern Utah
This desert is dramatic. In a really good way. Experience the towering heights of Zion, the depths of Buckskin Gulch, the dunes of Snow Canyon, the sunset over Gooseberry. Southern Utah’s wilds are wearing their winter splendor.
Highlights
- Zion National Park
- Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
- Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
- Mountain Biking on a Red Rock Mesa
- Hike Zion's Most Iconic Trails
What's Nearby
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Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Coral Pink Sand Dunes are open for hiking and kid-friendly playing. About 90-percent of the dunes are open for OHV riders, an attraction for which this state park has become ever popular.
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Zion National Park
Whether you are trying to catch your breath while climbing the trail to Angel's Landing or watching the shadows constantly change the mood of the Court of the Patriarchs, Zion National Park is always ready to quench your appetite for outdoor wonder.
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Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, located just five miles north of Kanab, is the nation's largest sanctuary for homeless animals and provides adoption, spaying/neutering, and educational programs. The organization has also been the world’s leader in the no-kill movement for 30 years.
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Coyote Buttes South
Coyote Buttes South was made for experiencing nature in its most pristine form. As compared to the North Coyote Buttes, home of the world-famous Wave, the South has much fewer hikers seeking a permit. Yet the land here is visually stunning and completely enthralling.
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Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend in Arizona is one of the most photographed natural wonders in the Southwest, and a great day trip from your base camp in Kanab, Utah.
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White Pocket
White Pocket will impress even the most adventurous explorer with its abundant colors and a varied landscape.
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Movies Filmed in Utah: Plotting a Cinematic Drive-Through
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15 Non-Technical Slot Canyons
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Chasing John Wesley Powell: Six Places to Explore Utah's Green and Colorado Rivers
One hundred and fifty years ago a one-armed Civil War veteran set off with nine mountain men on a scientific expedition to map one of the last blank spaces left on the U.S. map: The Green and Colorado rivers. Much of the river remains wild today. Follow Powell's journey here.
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