During our family trip out West, Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort was home base. This 4,000 acre ranch next to Zion National Park is about a 90 minute drive from St. George airport and 3 hour drive from Las Vegas. So yes, it is remote, but that’s part of the beauty. We stayed in a cabin, though there are many different lodging options, including camping, glamping or even Conestoga Wagon! This is a special place. Here are some of our favorite things about the ranch.

Joe – The Zion Ponderosa Ranch was a perfect spot to explore the Southern Utah area and three National Parks: Zion, Bryce, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It’s hard for anyplace to match the beauty of these mountains and canyons but the ranch made an exceptional attempt.  The ranch backs up to the Eastside of Zion. It is about 75 minutes from Bryce and about 2 hours from the Grand Canyon. We easily visited all three of these parks and still had plenty of time to experience and enjoy the many activities available at the ranch.

I enjoyed the vacation house we rented for the week which allowed the whole family to stay together. The ranch has a secluded gated area set aside for home owners who have built vacation homes on the property. While the area is secluded it is a short distance to all of the other activities and buildings on the ranch such as the pool, recreation barn, restaurants, horses, hiking etc. You can also drive a short distance to the main resort area. The views and the quiet from the multiple decks of the house was amazing. In fact the views from practically anywhere were beautiful. But one of the most spectacular sites we saw was the night sky. My wife and I got up most nights around 2 AM to walk out on the deck to see the show. The stars and planets were so bright they lit-up the deck.

The resort is family friendly with plenty of kid stuff to do (which I’m sure the kids will report on later). Having all this located in one place was convenient and it had us staying at the resort all day a couple of the days. The pool/hot tub days were very relaxing which we needed after some of the hikes we did in the National Parks.

Cindy – Had a great time in Utah on our visit there last month. Our accommodation during that visit was awesome. We stayed at a ranch and rented a house on the property. It was a very spacious house with plenty of room for a family of nine. Lots of huge windows and a wrap around deck to take in all the amazing views that surrounded us. The daytime views were beautiful, but when night came the sky was incredibly spectacular!!! As soon as it got dark, we would go out on the deck and just stare in amazement at the night sky. My son-in-law, Jack, would bring out his iPad and with a special app would point it at the sky and it would show the location of planets, stars, and constellations. My husband and I would get up between 2 and 4 AM every night to take a peak again at the sky. We could see the Milky Way! This is a sight I will never forget, a sight I cannot see from my deck at home.

A view from the rental house deck

April – I don’t know if I can pick one favorite thing! Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort was a great place to stay because of the spacious and comfortable rental house that catered to our large group and because of all the amenities – the pools, restaurant, and a huge menu of activities to choose from ranging from the adventurous (ziplining and ATVs) to the all-ages (mini golf and tennis) kept everyone entertained. In a remote part of Utah, Zion Ponderosa Ranch was a perfect spot to rest and play in between visiting the nearby parks like Zion and Bryce. It was nice to lounge with the family in the house surrounded by amazing views and to hop over to the ranch to try out new activities. I loved watching the kids enjoy new experiences. I was glad to get to try horseback riding for the first time. I’ll admit to being a little nervous at first the but the cheerful, knowledgeable and confident staff and their well trained horses made the experience easy and fun!

JJ – wow. Just wow.

That’s all I could really say after my thrilling experience at the Zion Ponderosa. As I listen to my Cat trying to Morse-Code the neighbor Cat, it reminds me of the horse riding back at the ranch. Those days were the best days of the trip! MJ did WAY more than I did. Despite being 4 years older than her, she is quite the daredevil! I like that she’s always trying something new. She has a lot of personality that I don’t. And thats why I love traveling with her. Anyway, before I trail off, (Wait a second, TRAIL off! 😂) let’s get talking about my Favorite part of the trip… HORSE RIDING!!! That was an epic experience with animals and both me and MJ developed quite the emotional bond between us and our horses. In the picture I’m in the T-Shirt on the second to right horse (Blanca) AND MJ on the rightmost horse (Pepsi). Anyway, this has been a lot of typing (At least for a person with my controller-based hands). So see ya next blog posts guys!

Bye for now…

Sunny – All of the amenities, from the zip line to the horseback riding, is all made even more special by the attentive, knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff. Many are college-aged young adults interning for the summer and their excitement and love for their job really shows through. Having access to so many activities right at our home base was also really nice.

Jimmy – I loved everything. I loved having the whole family together. I liked the stargazing and Jack’s story about the time he stopped off at “Jupiter.” Loved the hot tub and watching The Simpsons. And shout out to my mule, Daisy. She was a bit stubborn… And shout out to our host and hostess!

MJ – Horseback riding with Pepsi! It’s not everyday you just fall in love with a horse!! He was so awesome and loveable and loyal to me. I also liked rock climbing, even though I did get scared and slipped. Oh well. I’ll try again next time.

Jack – For me it was bourbon with Pepsi!! And after I got banned from the stable shots of tequila with Jimmy and wine with everybody else. Also I thought that being on the quieter east side of the park was nice, no lines to get in and places to pull over and explore before intersecting with the busiest trails along the Virgin River. The resort’s pool was large and well maintained and great spot to escape from the heat for a couple of hours. The staff were all very friendly and helpful.

Wendy – I could not pass up spending a full day at this ranch, even though it meant skipping one of the parks (Bryce). First of all I loved the secluded, comfortable cabin with its large living spaces where we could play cards and watch tv and talk and eat together. I could have happily sat on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful vistas all day, but as others have mentioned, this place offers so many fun activities to channel your inner cowgirl/equestrian/athlete. It was exhilerating to go horseback riding in the morning (love you, Tonto!) followed by a refreshing afternoon at the pool and water slide, followed by an evening wagon ride and Dutch oven dinner under the big Western sky with the fam. I wish Jack and I could have stayed the full week, not only to see Bryce but also to listen to MJ and J’s karaoke performance in the ranch recreation center.