Cedar City



Grain Towers



Cedar City is a unique place known for a range of attractions along with a renowned theater company, mesmerizing landscapes and offers great recreational opportunities.

This beautiful city is situated in the state of Utah, United States which is just 400 kilometers south of Salt Lake City.This enjoys being the county seat of Iron County of the state.The city is home to some of the most prominent attractions in form of Southern Utah University along with marvelous natural scenic beauty and memorable festivals such as Shakespearean Festival, the Neil Simon Theater Festival etc.
With a population of about 13,500, it emerged as one of the largest communities in Iron County.This beautiful city is located in front of Coal Creek of south-central Utah.This is surrounded by the majestic mountains with a height of about 10,000 foot and a desert from the west side.
The early history of the region will take you to the yesteryears of 1851 when a group came to establish an iron work.These people used to work under two militia companies under the control of Major Matthew Carruthers and Peter M.Fife and Captains Henry Lunt.Later on the Small fort style houses were built around the base of the hills.The settlement was given the name as Fort Cedar due to the abundance of trees to which they called ‘Cedar’ trees.
With the downfall of the iron work in 1858, the economy of the city was largely dependent on the work related to agriculture along with iron mining.With the introduction of standard transportation routes to Cedar City in the year 1923, it became an important gateway for the activities related to tourism, agriculture and mining.
Cedar city offers some of the fascinating and natural wonders which one could not afford to miss during the visit to the city.The must see attractions include Cedar Breaks National Monuments, Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah Olympic Park, George S Eccles Dinosaur Park etc.
Cedar Breaks National Monuments is a large and colorful amphitheater like structure formed due to erosion of variegated Pink Cliffs.This is formed due to continuous sedimentation, uplift and erosion for millions of years.This marvelous structure spans about 3 miles and around two thousand feet deep.

It also exhibits a range of flora and fauna which is a distinguishing factor that is attracting tourists from all over the world towards this marvelous site.Mule deer, porcupines are some of the most common animals such as marmots, red squirrels along with chipmunks and gophers. Mountain lions also live in the area but are very rarely seen.
One can also go for several other attractions such as George S Eccles Dinosaur Park which exhibits the imitation of prehistoric creatures living and are very well complimented with excellent sound effects.Dead Horse Point State Park is another must visit attraction of the area known for the spectacular views of the Colorado River.
Cedar City offers a range of accommodation options in form of some chain hotels like Holiday Inn, Super 8, Best Western and Ramada. It also offers some of the cheap hotels such as Shilo Inn –Kanab, Hampton Inn and Suites Ogden, Cedar Breaks Lodge, Hilton Salt Lake City Airport and many more to suite the varying budget of the tourists.

Author: David H. Urmann