Kanab (pop. 5,200, elevation 4,970 ft) is the town that sits at the junction of three major parks: Zion National Park's east entrance 38 miles west, Bryce Canyon 80 miles north, and the Grand Canyon's North Rim 80 miles south. On most Southwest road trip itineraries, Kanab is the natural overnight stop that eliminates backtracking between parks. The town also sits inside Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument's orbit, 25 minutes from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and is the closest town to The Wave at Vermilion Cliffs, one of the most photographed geological formations in the American West. This guide covers everything you need to plan a stay.
Location
Kane County, Utah, junction of US-89 and US-89A
Elevation
4,970 ft (1,515 m), desert plateau
Population
~5,200
Nearest airport
St. George Regional (SGU), 81 miles / ~1h west
From Las Vegas
165 miles · ~3 hours via I-15 N and US-89 E
Zion east entrance
38 miles · ~40 min via US-89 West
Bryce Canyon
80 miles · ~1.5h via US-89 N and UT-12 W
Grand Canyon North Rim
80 miles · ~1.5h via US-89A South (limited services 2026)
Dark sky
Kane County certified International Dark Sky Community
Film history
"Little Hollywood": 200+ Westerns filmed 1930s-1970s
Why base camp in Kanab
Most visitors on a Utah-Arizona road trip drive right through Kanab without stopping. That is a mistake for a specific type of trip: if you are combining Zion, Bryce Canyon, and anything on the Arizona Strip (North Rim, Lake Powell, Page), Kanab eliminates large amounts of backtracking. It sits almost exactly in the geographic center of that triangle.
The practical case: a Zion-Bryce trip based out of Springdale (Zion's gateway town) requires a 2-hour drive to reach Bryce Canyon. Based out of Kanab, the same two parks are both under 1.5 hours away. Kanab also tends to have lower accommodation prices than Springdale, and more availability during peak season.
The town itself is small but not empty. There are several decent restaurants, a handful of independent shops, and the red-rock canyon walls begin immediately at the edge of town. Kanab Creek cuts through a canyon north of town. The surrounding landscape is Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument territory: ochre, pink, and rust-colored cliffs rise on every side.
Film history adds a layer most people don't know about. Kanab earned the nickname "Little Hollywood" in the 1930s, when directors discovered the landscapes were cheaper and more dramatic than California. Over 200 Western films and television episodes were shot in the surrounding canyon country, including Gunsmoke, The Lone Ranger, the original Planet of the Apes (1968), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and more recently Django Unchained. A small Western Legends museum downtown covers the era.
Getting there
Kanab has no commercial airport. The nearest is St. George Regional Airport (SGU), 81 miles west, which has regular service from Salt Lake City and limited connections to other hubs. Salt Lake City Airport (SLC) is 300+ miles north and has far more flights, but makes Kanab a long first or last driving day. Most visitors arrive by car as part of a road trip.
| From | Distance | Drive time | Route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas, NV | 165 miles | ~3h | I-15 N → US-89 E (direct, avoids Zion) |
| Las Vegas via Zion | 175 miles | ~3h 15min | I-15 N → UT-9 E (Zion tunnel) → US-89 E |
| St. George, UT | 81 miles | ~1h | I-15 N → US-89 E |
| Page, AZ | 76 miles | ~1.5h | US-89 N |
| Zion NP (east entrance) | 38 miles | ~40 min | US-89 W |
| Bryce Canyon NP | 80 miles | ~1.5h | US-89 N → UT-12 W → UT-63 S |
| Grand Canyon North Rim | 80 miles | ~1.5h | US-89A S (limited services 2026) |
Large RVs and trailers heading toward Zion: the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel on UT-9 requires an escort and a $15 fee for vehicles over 7 ft 10 in wide or 11 ft 4 in tall. If you are coming from Kanab heading into Zion's east entrance, you will pass through this tunnel. Vehicles that are too large to use the tunnel at all must enter Zion from the south entrance only.
What to see and do
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Located 25 minutes southwest of Kanab via US-89 West and Hancock Road, Coral Pink Sand Dunes is one of the more unusual places in the state: a rare active dune field of pink-orange Navajo sandstone sand, with individual dunes reaching 50 to over 100 feet tall. Entry is $15 per vehicle (Utah State Park, not NPS; America the Beautiful pass not accepted).
The park is split into two sections: an OHV area (ATVs, UTVs, dirt bikes, with rentals available from operators near the entrance) and a quieter hiking section on the eastern side. The hiking section has a short trail across the dunes and connects to larger BLM land for those who want to wander further. The sand gets very hot in afternoon sun; visit early morning for the best light and the coolest temperatures. The dune field is fed by a wind gap in the mountains that funnels sand here, and it is technically an active system, meaning it continues to grow and shift.
Toadstool Hoodoos
Free, no permit required, and about 40 minutes east of Kanab on US-89 (near milepost 19, about 8 miles west of the town of Big Water). A signed trailhead leads to a 1.5-mile round-trip walk through a badlands landscape of gray Chinle Formation shale, topped with balanced capstone hoodoos in Entrada Sandstone. The contrast between the pale, eroded shale floor and the warm-red stone caps is unlike anywhere else in the region.
Full details, including the exact trailhead coordinates and why the turning is so easy to miss, are in our Toadstool Hoodoos guide.
This is BLM land inside Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. No facilities at the trailhead. Easy trail, suitable for most fitness levels. Best in the late afternoon when the capstones glow orange.
White Pocket
White Pocket is 38 miles from Kanab (about 1.5 to 2 hours due to dirt road conditions) and requires a 4WD high-clearance vehicle. It is one of the most visually dramatic geological formations in the entire Southwest: swirling orange, red, and white Navajo Sandstone brain-rock formations, no permit required, no fee. Guided tours depart from Kanab. Full details at our White Pocket guide.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Kanab sits on the southern edge of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), a 1.9-million-acre stretch of canyon country managed by the BLM. The monument has no single visitor hub: it is a vast roadless landscape accessed via a handful of dirt roads. Cottonwood Canyon Road, which runs 46 miles from US-89 near Kanab north to UT-12, passes through some of the most remote and spectacular canyon scenery in the US. Standard cars can manage this in dry conditions; the road becomes impassable in wet weather. The Kanab BLM office, 785 N. Main St., has maps and current road conditions.
The Wave: BLM permit lottery
The Wave is a curved sandstone rock formation in Coyote Buttes North, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, 28 miles south of Kanab (most of that on House Rock Valley Road, a dirt road requiring 4WD in wet conditions). Access is strictly controlled by the BLM: a maximum of 64 people per day, split between advance online permits and walk-in permits from Kanab.
| Method | How | Permits | Odds (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Lottery | Apply at recreation.gov 4 months ahead, from any device anywhere. Draw on the 1st of the following month; confirm and pay by the 15th | 48 per day (12 groups) | Long odds on spring and autumn weekends; better midweek and in winter |
| Daily Lottery | From a phone inside the geofence (US-89 / AZ-389, Kanab to Page), two days before the hike, 6am-6pm. Results 7:15pm. Pickup and safety briefing next morning | 16 per day (4 groups) | Needs three days in the area; better midweek and in shoulder season |
Fees: $6.00 per lottery application, non-refundable whether you win or not, plus $7.00 per person if selected. Each application covers up to 6 people. The trailhead is at Wire Pass on House Rock Valley Road; the suggested route is 6.4 miles round-trip with no shade and no maintained trail (route-finding required). Carry at least 2 liters of water per person. Flash floods are a real hazard; do not enter if thunderstorms are forecast anywhere in the drainage.
The Kanab BLM office also handles permits for Coyote Buttes South (a separate permit, separate lottery) and has current information on road conditions for House Rock Valley Road and the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness.
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
Five miles north of Kanab on US-89 sits Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the United States. The facility cares for around 1,600 animals at any given time: dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, pigs, birds, and more, many with special needs or histories that make them difficult to adopt. The sanctuary is set in Angel Canyon, a dramatic red-rock canyon that the animals share with hiking trails and viewpoints.
Free walking tours run twice daily: 8:30am and 1:30pm. Reservations are required and fill up fast in summer; book at bestfriends.org. The tour takes about 90 minutes and visits the main areas of the sanctuary. It is completely free, though donations are accepted. Visitors can also volunteer for a day, and opportunities range from walking dogs to socializing cats.
For many visitors, this ends up being one of the most memorable parts of a Kanab stay, partly because of the animals and partly because of the canyon setting. Angel Canyon has walls rising several hundred feet and a small creek at the bottom. The sanctuary does not charge for basic access; the main cost is booking early.
Guided tours from Kanab
The two most popular guided activities out of Kanab center on the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and the East Zion canyon country, both accessible in half-day tours by UTV. These are the best options for visitors who do not have a 4WD vehicle or want a guided introduction to the terrain.
UTV Dune Cruise at Coral Pink Sand Dunes
Two-hour guided UTV tour across the pink-orange dunes of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, 25 minutes from Kanab. No experience needed; guide-driven vehicles navigate the dune crests and bowls. Appropriate for all ages. Departs Kanab.
East Zion Crimson Canyon Hike and UTV Adventure
Two-hour combination of a guided hike through Crimson Canyon (red-rock slot canyon country on the east side of Zion) and a UTV ride through the surrounding terrain. Departs from the Zion/Kanab area. Small group.
When to visit Kanab
Kanab's desert plateau climate (4,970 ft) is warm and dry for most of the year, with significant seasonal extremes. The best windows are late spring and early fall.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F / 6°C | 20°F / -7°C | Cold, possible snow, ice on higher roads |
| February | 50°F / 10°C | 25°F / -4°C | Cold but sunny days; uncrowded |
| March | 59°F / 15°C | 31°F / -1°C | Warming up; some rain; wildflowers starting |
| April | 68°F / 20°C | 38°F / 3°C | Good hiking weather; wildflowers; spring crowds building |
| May | 78°F / 26°C | 46°F / 8°C | Best month: dry, warm, pre-monsoon, moderate crowds |
| June | 89°F / 32°C | 54°F / 12°C | Hot afternoons; start hikes before 9am; still dry |
| July | 96°F / 36°C | 63°F / 17°C | Peak heat; afternoon monsoon thunderstorms; flash flood risk |
| August | 93°F / 34°C | 61°F / 16°C | Hot; monsoon continues; dramatic skies for photographers |
| September | 83°F / 28°C | 50°F / 10°C | Excellent: thunderstorms easing, crowds thinning |
| October | 71°F / 22°C | 38°F / 3°C | Best month: fall colors near Bryce; clear skies; cool |
| November | 56°F / 13°C | 28°F / -2°C | Cool; some services reduce hours; very few crowds |
| December | 43°F / 6°C | 20°F / -7°C | Cold; occasional snow; Bryce Canyon hoodoos under snow |
Monsoon (July-August): afternoon thunderstorms build most days, typically starting around 2-3pm. Flash flooding is a serious hazard in slot canyons, dry washes, and on dirt roads. The Kanab BLM office issues daily flood alerts. If you are hiking in canyon terrain, start early and be off exposed ground by noon.
Dark sky: Kane County holds International Dark Sky Community (IDSC) certification. On a clear night away from town, visibility is exceptional. The Milky Way core is visible from approximately late March through October. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and the Grand Staircase roads are among the best viewing spots, well away from town light.
Bryce Canyon bonus: October is the best month at Bryce Canyon, when the aspen groves along the rim roads turn gold and orange. From Kanab, the drive takes 1.5 hours; visiting for sunset then driving back is straightforward.
What is Kanab, Utah known for?
Kanab is known as the base camp for three major parks: Zion National Park (east entrance 38 miles away), Bryce Canyon National Park (80 miles), and the Grand Canyon's North Rim (80 miles). The town also earned the nickname "Little Hollywood" for hosting over 200 Western films and TV series between the 1930s and 1970s. It is also home to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, America's largest no-kill animal sanctuary, and sits close to The Wave at Vermilion Cliffs, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and White Pocket.
Is Kanab a good base for visiting Zion and Bryce Canyon?
Yes. Kanab sits almost exactly between Zion and Bryce Canyon, making it a practical overnight base for visitors doing both parks. From Kanab: Zion's east entrance is 38 miles (about 40 minutes via US-89 west), and Bryce Canyon is 80 miles north (about 1.5 hours via US-89 and UT-12). The town has a reasonable selection of hotels and restaurants for its size, and lodging prices are generally lower than in Springdale (Zion's gateway town).
How do you get a permit for The Wave in Kanab?
The Wave (Coyote Buttes North, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument) is managed by the BLM and capped at 64 visitors per day, split across two lotteries on Recreation.gov. The Advanced Lottery awards 48 places and is entered four months ahead from any device, anywhere. The Daily Lottery awards the other 16 and must be entered from a mobile device while you are inside a geofenced area running roughly along US-89 and AZ-389 between Kanab and Page, two days before the hike, between 6am and 6pm, with results at 7:15pm. If you win the Daily Lottery you must accept and pay by 8am Utah time and attend a safety briefing at a pickup location at 8:30am local time the next morning. The old walk-in queue at the Kanab BLM office was replaced by this system on 15 March 2022. Fees are $6.00 per application plus $7.00 per person if selected.
How far is Kanab from Las Vegas?
Kanab is approximately 165 miles (265 km) from Las Vegas, about 3 hours by car. The most direct route is I-15 North to UT-9 East through Zion National Park, then US-89 East to Kanab. An alternative route avoids the Zion tunnel (necessary for large RVs and trailers): continue north on I-15 to Cedar City and take US-89 south through Long Valley Junction to Kanab. This adds about 30 minutes but avoids the Zion park entrance fee if you are not stopping.
What is the best time of year to visit Kanab, Utah?
May through early June and September through October are the best months. Temperatures are comfortable (60-80°F), the skies are clear, and crowds are manageable. July and August bring intense heat (90-98°F) and afternoon monsoon thunderstorms that can make flash flooding a real risk in slot canyons and narrow terrain. Winter (November through February) is cold with occasional snow; Bryce Canyon is especially beautiful under snow, but some services in the area reduce hours or close entirely.
What is Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park near Kanab?
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is 25 minutes southwest of Kanab via US-89 West and Hancock Road. The park protects a rare active dune field of pink-orange Navajo sandstone sand, with dunes reaching 50 to over 100 feet tall. Entry is $15 per vehicle. The park is split into an OHV area (ATVs and UTVs) and a hiking area. ATV and UTV rentals are available near the park entrance from private operators. The best time to visit is early morning for cool temperatures and dramatic shadows across the dune textures.
How far is Kanab from Bryce Canyon?
Kanab is 80 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, about 1.5 hours by car. The route goes north on US-89, then west on UT-12 to UT-63 south into the park. This is a very scenic drive: UT-12 is considered one of the most scenic highways in the United States, passing through Red Canyon (free, Utah State Park, red hoodoos without the Bryce entry fee) and Tropic village.
Can you visit the Grand Canyon North Rim from Kanab?
Yes, the Grand Canyon North Rim is about 80 miles and 1.5 hours south of Kanab via US-89A. As of 2026, visitor services at the North Rim are limited following the Dragon Bravo Fire of July 2025, which destroyed Grand Canyon Lodge. The North Rim is typically open mid-May through mid-October (road closed by snow in winter). The entry fee is $35 per vehicle (National Parks Pass accepted). With limited facilities currently, most visitors do a day trip rather than an overnight stay.
Written by Diego Fresno, Travel writer and independent publisher specialising in the American Southwest. Latest research conducted on location in Page, Arizona during July 2025. Guides are verified quarterly; last review April 2026.. Verified quarterly: last review April 2026. About the author →
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