Town guide · Southern Utah
Cedar City
Festival City, with Shakespeare in summer and high country next door
Photo: Dicklyon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Every summer and fall the Utah Shakespeare Festival brings repertory theater to Southern Utah University’s campus, in the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre and indoor stages. It won a Tony Award for outstanding regional theater in 2000.
Above town, Cedar Breaks National Monument’s amphitheater sits at over 10,000 feet, and Brian Head offers skiing in winter.
See and do
- Utah Shakespeare FestivalPlays from June to early October on SUU’s campus.
- Cedar Breaks National MonumentA colorful eroded amphitheater at over 10,000 feet; the road is snowbound in winter.
- Kolob CanyonsZion’s red-rock finger canyons, about 20 minutes south.
- Frontier Homestead State Park MuseumPioneer iron-mining history and wagons.
- Parowan Gap petroglyphsRock art in a mountain gap northeast of town.
Eat and drink
- Main Street cafésPre-show dinners near the festival.
- Ranch-country cookingLamb and Dutch-oven dishes reflect the area’s sheep heritage.
- Festival picnicsBring a picnic to the Greenshow before evening plays.
Through the year
- Utah Shakespeare FestivalJune to early October.
- Cedar Livestock & Heritage FestivalLate October: about a thousand sheep are herded down Main Street.
Day trips from Cedar City
- Brian HeadAbout 45 minutes northeast.
- St. GeorgeAbout 45 minutes south.
- Bryce CanyonAbout 80 minutes east.
Good to know
- Book festival tickets and hotels early for summer weekends.
- Cedar Breaks’ road closes in winter.
- Evenings are cool at this elevation; bring a jacket to the outdoor theater.
Parks in Southern Utah
More towns nearby
St. George
Sunny desert city of red cliffs, golf and Zion day trips
Springdale
Zion’s front porch, with a free shuttle to the park gate
Kanab
Little Hollywood, with dunes, animals and the Grand Staircase
Torrey
Tiny dark-sky town at the door of Capitol Reef