Things to Do in Kanab Utah: Under $400 for a 3-Day Adventure
This little southern Utah gem used to be known as the filming location of old westerns. Kanab may be a bit of a one-horse town but there are so many other things to do in Kanab Utah–making it a great place for affordable and adventurous activities for families.
Growing up, I would pass through Kanab on my way to Lake Powell. It was always pretty dead and known as the place we would stop for gas and cheap grocery store donuts. To be honest, when JJ told me he wanted to make Kanab a travel destination, let alone a family travel destination–I laughed in his face. Well, the joke is now on me because this little underdog of a town is up and coming and for good reason–It’s EPIC for family adventuring.
Hotels in Kanab Utah
Kanab is still a small town, so there aren’t many hotels to choose from and most are only two-star hotels or motels. But don’t let that deter you. There are still plenty of good options. Here’s what we recommend (these aren’t affiliate links, just options that we’d personally use):
- For a boutique hotel experience: Canyons Hotel $160/night
- For larger, comfortable rooms: Comfort Inn and Suites $120/night
- For Budget: Red Hills Best Western $70-$80/night
- Cabin rentals: Arrowhead Country Inn & Cabins in Mt. Carmel $160-290/night
We stayed at the BW Red Hills and would recommend it for anyone traveling on a budget. We liked the game room for the kids, free breakfast, and outdoor pool/hot tub.
Best Restaurants in Kanab Utah
BREAKFAST
- Free at Hotel
- Kanab Bakery: Fun european style ambience, pastries and quiche.
- Glazier’s Grocery: Fresh Donuts
- McDonald’s: Scoff all you want but kids always love a good Big Breakfast or McGriddle from Mickey D’s.
- Sunny Creek Coffee Food Truck: Pastries, breakfast burritos, coffee
LUNCH
- Pack a picnic lunch to take to the park
- Asava Juice and Smoothies
- Escobar’s Mexican- Can’t go wrong with a kid’s quesadilla
- Soda Fountain Cafe: Paninis, salads, ice cream, novelty sodas, Italian soda. Try the Campfire (root beer + marshmallow flavor)!
We liked the Soda Fountain a lot. It was a little overpriced but we just learned that most food in Kanab is marked up. We got the BLT, grilled cheese and pesto chicken paninis and they were delicious. My kids loved eating the mini ice cream cones–birthday cake flavor, rainbow sherbet, cookie dough and strawberry were the yummy flavors. Eating on the patio was a nice treat in 75 degree weather. Plus, while you wait for food, the drug store is a fun place for the kids to look at souvenirs or toys.
DINNER
- Wild Thyme: This place had a cool ambience and is a Kanab staple– but was honestly, not our favorite. The service was so slow all our kids had hangy meltdowns and the burgers were ordered were mediocre. We wish we had gone to Big Al’s Diner instead because it would’ve been quicker, cheaper, and yummier food.
- Peekaboo Canyon Wood Fired Kitchen – known for wood-fired pizza & burgers
- For a little international flare (surprising for such a small town), get French food at Vermillion 45 or Cuban eats at Havana Cabana
- Looking for high end? Try Sego Restaurant – the best reviewed restaurant in Kanab
Things to do in Kanab Utah
Jacob Hamblin Park: Swimming, skateboarding, scootering or the park
This place had awesome views and the kids loved the park. We grabbed lunch and had a picnic here. The windmill was quaint and it felt very old western.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes: sand-boarding, sand play, dune buggies
One time on the way home from Lake Powell, we took a detour and briefly visited Coral Pink. This was before we had kids and just jumping around back then was fun–doing flips, cartwheels, etc. Now that we have kids, including one boy who is especially obsessed with sand, we’ve been wanting to go back for a while. We heard you could rent sandboards (yeah, sandboarding is a thing!) for $25 for the day, so we decided to give it a shot. It felt like floating on top of the desert – seriously such a good time. The kids had a blast and surprisingly were able to fly down to the bottom of the steep sand hill with ease. Even JJ had a good time, despite falling… a lot. He’s a skier, so board sports are not really in his wheelhouse. We also grabbed some $2 sand toys. Hours of entertainment. I loved watching Baby B do sand yoga and the kids laugh while they dug holes and found sand beetles.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes tips:
- It gets windy at the top of the dune and sand blasting kids in the face is not fun. Go down into the dune for sand play so the hill is blocking you.
- The walk is far from the lot to the dunes especially with small kids so if you have a collapsible wagon, bring that to carry things in.
- Plan ahead for a board because they sell out quickly, especially on weekends and holidays. But if they’re sold out, just be patient and keep an eye out for people returning theirs to the visitor center. We got lucky that someone came back right as we got to the visitor center.
Belly of the Dragon is a cool roadside attraction that our kids has a blast exploring. It’s a man-made drainage tunnel constructed under the highway, but it looks like an otherworldly rock formation out of a fantasy realm. It’s fun to hike through it and it makes for a really memorable photo opp!
Paria Painted Hills: These are beautiful hills with layers of sandstone and in the right light, they look almost rainbow. We attempted Paria around sunset with the kids and got halfway until we realized we were almost out of gas and had to turn around! It’s about 30 minutes down Highway 89 then another 6 miles on a bumpy dirt road, so it takes a while to get there. Plan accordingly with extra time and make sure your gas tank is full!
One of the Most Popular Things to Do in Kanab Utah – Peekaboo Canyon
Peekaboo Canyon: Jeeping, hiking, off-roading, sand play
Kanab’s best-known hike is probably The Wave, which requires a permit that books out months in advance. But Peekaboo Canyon is right up there at the top of the list of our favorite things to do in Kanab Utah. You need 4WD to get there but the hike itself is less than a mile and was easy enough for my 18 month old to walk. This slot canyon looks a lot like the world famous Antelope Canyon but is way cheaper (Antelope is $90/person for a hiking tour) and way less crowded. We felt like we were Indiana Jones in the scene of the Last Crusade where he rides his horse through a slot canyon into Petra. It was totally amazing and the rays of light that hit different areas of the canyon made it a perfect place for photography. My kids loved the deep sand and running through the winding red cliffs.
If you don’t want to pay $360 for the UTV tour, read this post about how to visit Peekaboo Canyon for under $200.
Little Hollywood Museum: Novelty gifts, nostalgia, old Hollywood western movie sets, chuckwagon dinner shows
Back when Westerns were all the rage in Hollywood, Kanab was a popular destination for filming on location. Stars like John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and Clint Eastwood all filmed movies here. Nowadays, all that’s left of that era is the Little Hollywood Museum. The’ve assembled some of the old film sets into an Old West style village on their property and it’s free to visit. They also have a shop with some novelty gifts, movie posters, t-shirts with Clint Eastwood’s face, and a lot of nostalgic Route 66 stuff for some reason (the nearest town that Route 66 actually passes through is Flagstaff, AZ). We only did the free museum but they also have a chuckwagon dinner and a show that looked fun.
Moqui Caves: a short hike to a cool sand cave
This a longtime local roadside attraction that could either be done as a pitstop on your way to Lake Powell or as an activity during your stay in Kanab. There’s two aspects to Moqui: one is the natural history museum that’s built into the cliffs and features Native American artifacts and fossils, the other is a short hike to a sand cave. We went in the evening, so the museum had already closed, but we just wanted to do the hike anyway. When we parked across the highway, it looked a little intimidating for kids. There isn’t really a trail – you scramble up the cliffside and walk along what looks like a sheer cliff to get to the cave, which is visible from the road. We were going to give up on it when we saw some other families with kids hiking down and figured it must not be that bad. Sure enough, once you get up there, the cliffs are not that steep and it’s a relatively easy walk to the cave. Once you’re in the cave, it’s fun to play in the sand and peek in and out of all the holes.
Utah National Parks
One of the best things to do in Kanab Utah is treat it as your basecamp for visiting multiple national parks, from Zion & Bryce Canyon to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Kanab is nearest to the East entrance of Zion, which is the lesser-trafficked side of the park. We hiked the Zion Canyon Overlook for some incredible views. Read more about that here!
If you’re heading to the West entrance of Zion, be sure to check out these other fun things to do in St. George Utah!
SO Many More Things to Do in Kanab Utah!
There’s actually quite a few more things to do in Kanab Utah that we wanted check off our Utah Bucket List but ran out of time. We could’ve used another day or two to do everything, so we’ll have to come back another time!
- The Wave – this world-famous rock formation requires a permit and a strenuous 6-mile hike, so we’ll save it for when the kids are a little older
- The Great Chamber – another spot that requires 4WD. I was planning on doing it the day we rented a Jeep but the kids were tired of being in the car. Peekaboo Canyon took a few hours (going slow with little kids) and I imagine this would too. But without little kids, you could easily do both in a day.
- Wire Pass / Buckskin Gulch – the longest slot canyon in the world!
- North Rim of the Grand Canyon – only 90 minutes from Kanab
Kanab is definitely one of Utah’s hidden gems, so make sure you add it to your bucket list! We highly recommend it. And remember to download your free copy of The Ultimate Family-Friendly Utah Bucket List for more ideas for family-friendly adventures.
How We Spent Under $400 for 3 Days & 2 Nights on Our Kanab Adventure:
- 2 nights at the BW Red Hills – $80/night
- Breakfast – free
- Lunch & dinner – I don’t include these in the total because eating habits vary so much from family to family. We don’t eat out every meal and buy a lot of our food at the grocery store, which we would be doing at home anyway.
- Jeep rental and self-guided tour of Peekaboo Canyon instead of paying for an expensive UTV tour – $189
- Sandboarding at Coral Pink Sand Dunes – under $30
- Moqui Caves – free
- Little Hollywood – free
- Paria – free
- Jacob Hamblin Park – free
I hope this convinces you to go to Kanab and have a great adventure!
xoxoBrittany
Our family is on a mission to experience the best our home state of Utah has to offer and help other families find affordable, kid-friendly adventures in the process. You can follow us on Instagram @theminivanbucketlist or download our free printable The Ultimate Family-Friendly Utah Bucket List with the top 100 things to do in Utah, both kid-friendly and more adventurous.
