There’s no shortage of amazing vistas, views, landscapes in St George and Southwest Utah. We’ve traveled all over Washington County and Greater Zion photographing the landscape and these are our tops picks for photo locations. Each of these places has something special that goes above and beyond the handful of similar views to be something truly spectacular for photos.

1.Yant Flat – There are so many BLM land hikes in and around Greater Zion, but this one has a ton of different looks all tied into one spot. Though the trail head is a bit of a drive out, the hike from the parking is only a little over a mile. Finally poke through the trees, you’re greeted with a breathtaking stone vista falling away into the valley before you. The high rock outcropping has easy scramble access, and makes for great shots, but what’s equally as great is the petrified sand dunes that are ‘similar’ to the look of the wave.

2. Nearby Sand Hollow State Park – Just above sand hollow state park, there’s a stack of rocks that overlook the landscape. This is our secret spot, few people make the very short drive up, but those that do are greeted with great views of both the lake and the surrounding mountains.

3. The Narrows – While a bit on the obvious side, any list we could put together for photographing Zion would have to include the Narrows. Few hikes offer the otherworldly views that a trek up this riverbed offers.

4.Joshua Trees – St George is home to the northern Most Joshua Tree forest. Out past gunlock state park, the scattering of these Suessical trees dot the desert floor. The drive out is worth it when you find ourself photographing something that is almost the complete contrast to the rest of Washington County.

5. Water Canyon – This Hike has it all – sparely populated, amazing views, easy accessibility, and a great canyon mid-point or end point. While the drive from St. George is a bit on the long side, the hike alone is worth the time. You can find out more about this hike on our featured blog post “The Best Hike in Utah You’ve Never Heard Of”

6. Dixie Rock – Overlooking downtown St George, Dixie Rock is essential a desert playground. Here you can find great city vistas and also small caves to climb inside and photograph.

8. Snow Canyon Overlooks – I went back and forth about which of these photo ops to list and decided to put them both down. The first is the incredibly accessibly “snowcanyon overlook”, which can be reach by turning off the road just before the park entrance and parking on the ridge. This is one of my favorite spots to shoot. The second location is a much longer, moderate hike up from the Red Mountain Trailhead which is North of the park. At the end of this rocky hike is to a truly amazing overlook of the entire canyon.

7. Utah Under Canvas – This place might want to seem ‘above instagram’ but in reality, it was made for it. Way out near a little used entrance to Zion, Under Canvas takes shape as a hillside dappled with canvas tents, harking back to a more organic style of travel, but offering all the modern amenities. We have snapped a ton of great photos here, and the reason it made the list is that it was a bucket list photo destination for Jade which totally delivered. To tips are to snap at dawn with the sun is soft across the entire campsite and late at night with long exposures.

8. Zion Canyon Overlook – There are a lot of great, hefty hikes that lead to amazing views of Zion. This is not one of them – this is a easy 30 min hike out from your car to a spectacular view of the national park. While photographs from Angels Landing and Observation Point are stunning, this view is on par with a tenth of the effort – which means you can bring out more gear or props without worrying out tweaking your back from the climb.

9. The Crack – We discovered this public spot while out on a canyoneering day trip. Located at the end of Zion, Lamb’s Knoll is a short hike from the parking lot which leads to a rock face that is a favorite for climbing tours. Explore the area to find easy to access walls or pop into the ‘out point’ and squeeze into the crack.

Honorable Mention:

• Gunlock State Park Waterfall – First of all, this waterfall isn’t always going off but when it is – it will stop you in your tacks. It’s awesome. This is one of the best sights to see in Zion, but it’s only ‘honorable mention’ here because I’ve yet to figure out how to photograph it in the ‘right’ way. Good luck if you head out – I think the answer might be a drone.

Our New Photospots

• Quail Creek – One of my favorite Utah Instagram account is @ZionAdventurePhotog. It seems that she knows every nook and cranny of Great Zion. It was while reading her feed on day that I stumbled up this water feather at Quail Creek. I’m always looking for photo locations that go outside the red/orange rocks and this is high on my list to explore next time.
• The Subway – Like the Narrows, there are plenty of images of the subway online, but I still don’t have ‘my’ image of the subway. I’m planning out next trip to Zion in the fall when it’s easier to get a hiking pass, just to photograph this spot.