Red Hills Desert Garden
Red Hills Desert Garden
5
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
About
Red Hills Desert Garden is Utah’s premier water-efficient demonstration garden created by the Washington County Water Conservancy District and welcoming guests of all ages since its opening in 2015. • Nearly five acres • More than 5,000 water-efficient plants, trees and shrubs • Replica slot canyon • Prehistoric fossils and dinosaur tracks • Stream with native and endangered fish • Meandering trails • Located at Washington County’s signature red hills with panoramic city views • Hosts season events and dozens of landscape workshops Open daily, 6 a.m. – 10 p.m. Free admission 375 E. Red Hills Parkway, St. George, UT 84770
Duration: < 1 hour
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Full view
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
301 within 3 miles
Attractions
92 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
414 reviews
Excellent
327
Very good
76
Average
10
Poor
1
Terrible
0
SMGrandma
Santa Maria, CA796 contributions
Sep 2021 • Solo
While in town for one night, I wanted to see something fairly close to where I was staying, but that didn’t take a lot of time. I found this garden. It was free to enter. My GPS gave me a little difficulty in locating it, as it told me I had arrived when I was at the water facility right next door. The phone number I called kept giving me the recording for the water district. So, as a small hint, don’t turn into the water district, go just beyond that to the garden.
Their parking lot seemed adequate since people are continually coming and going. It is a very pretty setting with restrooms right at the front (no hunting for those). Mostly level walkways, but several places where stairs connect various sections. It is surrounded by gorgeous red rock hills. The garden itself is very clean and well manicured. Locations for walkways are clearly marked with good signage and directional arrows. Many benches and hanging swings throughout for resting or taking photos. If you don’t want to negotiate any stairs, then you can just walk the short loop around the perimeter. You can take the stairs down into a “slot canyon” area. It was a very popular area and a handful of people were waiting to have their picture taken there. There also was a Virgen River display (it was kind of murky) about what fish swim there. Do not leave the parking lot without taking the one-way driving loop through Pioneer Park. That’s where you can see a beautiful red rock area. Plenty of parking to stop various places on the one-way loop. You are able to take trails and climb the rocks, too. The only drawback for me was that it was still very warm when I visited in early September, otherwise I would have stayed longer. I went after 6 in the evening.
Their parking lot seemed adequate since people are continually coming and going. It is a very pretty setting with restrooms right at the front (no hunting for those). Mostly level walkways, but several places where stairs connect various sections. It is surrounded by gorgeous red rock hills. The garden itself is very clean and well manicured. Locations for walkways are clearly marked with good signage and directional arrows. Many benches and hanging swings throughout for resting or taking photos. If you don’t want to negotiate any stairs, then you can just walk the short loop around the perimeter. You can take the stairs down into a “slot canyon” area. It was a very popular area and a handful of people were waiting to have their picture taken there. There also was a Virgen River display (it was kind of murky) about what fish swim there. Do not leave the parking lot without taking the one-way driving loop through Pioneer Park. That’s where you can see a beautiful red rock area. Plenty of parking to stop various places on the one-way loop. You are able to take trails and climb the rocks, too. The only drawback for me was that it was still very warm when I visited in early September, otherwise I would have stayed longer. I went after 6 in the evening.
Written September 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jay R
Albuquerque, NM60 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
So it's kinda funny that, just by chance I've visited 3 desert gardens in the last month or so. This one was so far superior that tempted to call the others weed patches! 😆 (I will not name them here) Everything is just so perfectly marked, organized and well maintained. The water streams and ponds, man-made slot canyon, paths, seating areas and vistas are such a bonus! Who knew that there were this many varieties of desert plants and cacti. Loved it!
Written October 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kate P
Bishop, CA147 contributions
Oct 2020 • Couples
We visited twice. The first time at dusk. We weren't aware it was decorated for Halloween and therefore filled with screaming children. The decorations were ingenious and e enjoyed our walk. We returned the next day so we could actually SEE the plants. We are picking out plants for our own landscaping. This garden is really worth a visit.
Written October 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kasey J
Vine Grove, KY89 contributions
Jul 2021
This was a huge surprise! I couldn't believe that it was a free attraction. We loved checking out all of the desert plants. It is a very nice area to visit. We visited on a hot summer day...the temperatures were 108 that day. Bring lots of water. There are seated areas under some shade.
Written July 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
renobobs
Reno, NV61 contributions
Sep 2021 • Couples
Very nice desert garden facility. All plants were identified and had a QR code on their tag as well for further explanation. The gardens were well maintained, pathways very walkable and the best part, it was free.
Plan on one-two hours to tour.
Plan on one-two hours to tour.
Written September 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura L
Hudson, NH1,265 contributions
Jul 2020 • Couples
This is a great place to stretch your legs if you are headed in or out of Vegas. We stopped here on the way back from our Utah adventure, last stop Kanab. It’s a pretty garden with varied fauna, cactus, and desert flowers to explore for a half hour+. Free and clean bathrooms, and right off the highway up a hill in the red rock.
Written July 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Russell B
Centerville, UT32 contributions
Mar 2021 • Couples
We had a wonderful time walking around the gardens and the improvements where great. We enjoyed all the QR codes to help you learn more about the plants. Great place to get garden ideas for your desert garden. Can’t wait to bring grand kids here. Great fun for the whole family. About 90 minutes is a sufficient amount of time to explore the gardens. Would like to visit later in the spring to see some of the plants in bloom.
Written March 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christine R
St. George, UT27 contributions
Mar 2021
I know St George thinks that this is an opportunity to educate people about dessert habitats, but honestly, the park as it was before, was a wonderful place to bring family and friends, and didn’t need improvement. Therefore, this formal garden is pretty much a waste of money. It’s a little like the pioneer cemetery in Grafton that was “improved”????? with granite headstones and plastic flowers. Was this RAMP money? What a waste! That’s why I voted against it. Those of us who live here can learn the same by going to one of the excellent nurseries in the area.
Written March 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ski&brew
Keene, NH367 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
Many flowers were blooming. Well organized and plants marked. and get this, the same plant shows mu many time sand it labeled many times, I might actually remember something except that there were so many plants I will never remember what I saw. It is free and you should go.
Written May 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lorna B.
Bechtelsville, PA884 contributions
May 2023
We visited here recently as part of a two-week-long road trip from our home in southeastern PA out to visit UT’s national parks. We really enjoyed walking around this beautiful garden, which features desert plants set among gorgeous red rocks at Pioneer Park. This site was easy to find and to traverse, with paved sidewalks meandering through the various areas. I love desert gardens, and this one had a lot of color when we visited in early May. There was plentiful free parking, clean restrooms, and no admission fee. The only negative was the traffic noise due to its location right on a busy street. Still, we spent a very pleasant hour exploring this site and the adjacent Pioneer Park’s scenery.
Written July 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We really want to see this place before we go to our next destination, but we have 32 ft. travel trailer. Do you have a big parking lot to fit our trailer & F-250 truck, pulling our travel trailer? Thank you!
Written July 13, 2024
No, I’m pretty sure it’s a walking path only. Around the area of the desert park you may be able to ride bikes. A mountain bike.
Written October 13, 2019
RedHillsDesertGarden
St. George, Utah
The Claret Cup Cactus is the first to bloom in the spring, usually in mid to late April. May is when most of the other varieties are flowering.
Written May 9, 2019
RedHillsDesertGarden
St. George, Utah
Yes, on a leash. There are doggie bags at the entrance as needed.
Written October 28, 2018
Is there a cost associated with this visit?
Written May 14, 2018
RedHillsDesertGarden
St. George, Utah
We do allow pets as long as they are on a leash and you clean up after them.
Written December 24, 2017
RedHillsDesertGarden
St. George, Utah
No. Red Hills Desert Garden is free and open during daylight hours.
Written October 11, 2017
My mother-in-law can't walk very far. Are there paved paths to accommodate a wheel chair or do you need to be able to walk it?
Written December 3, 2016
RedHillsDesertGarden
St. George, Utah
Yes, the majority of the garden paths are paved and wheelchair accessible.
Written December 3, 2016
Showing results 1-10 of 10
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingScroll back to Red Hills Desert Garden information