Cedar City and Southern Utah Golf Beyond St. George: Four Extra Stops for Your Golf Trip

Cedar City golf means one course: Cedar Ridge, the City of Cedar City's municipal 18, about 58 minutes north of downtown St. George, Utah on I-15. Beyond it, Southern Utah golf outside Washington County comes down to three more stops: Thunderbird at Mount Carmel Junction on Zion's east side, and Beaver Dam Lodge and Palms Golf Club just over the Arizona line on the way to Mesquite, NV.

None of these is a reason to plan a golf trip on its own. Each can earn a day on a St. George golf trip if the season and route are right. Here's what the records hold on each, and when each one fits.

Four stops beyond St. George at a glance

Drive times are from downtown St. George on our routing. Palms' record notes that routing is conservative and suggests about 45 to 50 minutes in practice. Thunderbird's time depends on Zion traffic and the tunnel.

Cedar Ridge: Cedar City's only golf course

Cedar Ridge is a daily-fee public course run by Cedar City's Leisure Services. It sits on the east bench of Cedar City against red hills, at 200 E 900 N. Visit Cedar City says it is the only ball-golf course in Cedar City, Brian Head, Parowan or Enoch; everything else there is disc golf.

GolfNow and another directory put its opening at 1963, though other directories say 1962 or 1974. The designer isn't confirmed.

Cedar Ridge tees

It's a par 72 of modest length. The No. 1 handicap hole is the 380-yard 7th from the Blue tees. The par 5s on the Utah PGA card are 1, 4, 15 and 18, with the 15th the longest at 563 yards. The course's own site says five par 5s, but the Utah PGA card shows four.

Cedar Ridge fees

From the rate card effective March 1, 2025, which was still the latest posted when we checked in October 2026:

The rate is flat all year, with no seasonal pricing published. Carts are $18 per rider for 18. Passes are on the same card: $715 for a 5-day season pass, $900 for a 7-day pass, $325 for a 20-round punch pass and $225 for a March to October range pass.

There's a full-length practice range (buckets $4, $8 or $11), a chipping area and a putting green. Rental clubs are $14 for nine or $25 for 18, and staff lessons run $50 to $60 per half hour. Walking is allowed and pull carts are available.

The altitude is the point

Cedar Ridge sits at about 5,810 feet, against roughly 2,800 feet in St. George. Two things follow.

First, it runs much cooler. St. George's normal highs are 96°F in June, 102°F in July and 100°F in August, which is why Cedar Ridge is best as a summer or shoulder-season escape from the heat. Visit Cedar City lists summer hours of 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Second, the ball carries noticeably farther than in St. George. Our golf at altitude guide covers how elevation plays across the area.

When not to go

Winter. The course is officially open year-round as long as there's no snow on the greens, but at this elevation snow closures are likely from December to February. GolfPass lists its season as February 1 to December 1. Call 435-586-2970 before driving up in those months.

Booking Cedar Ridge

Tee times go through foreUP, up to 7 days in advance. If you're combining it with other Southern Utah sights, its record suggests pairing it with a Cedar Breaks or Brian Head day trip, or a summer evening at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Thunderbird: a short nine on Zion's east side

Thunderbird Golf Course sits at the junction of UT-9 and US-89 at Mount Carmel Junction, run with the Best Western East Zion Thunderbird Lodge. It's a 9-hole executive course: holes 1 to 4 are par 3s and 5 to 9 are par 4s, for par 31.

Opened in 1957 per GolfNow, it sits at about 5,200 feet in a mountain valley, with shade, water and, on the very short 5th, a bunker a 2011 visitor measured at about 2 feet wide. Next door is the Thunderbird Restaurant, known for homemade pies. Like Cedar Ridge, it is a summer course: the lodge markets it as an escape from the St. George and Las Vegas heat.

Three cautions before you plan around it:

• Status. We found no 2025 or 2026 confirmation that it's operating. Call 435-648-2188 first.
• Price. No current rates are published; the lodge page only says "low green fees".
• The route. From St. George the direct road runs through Zion National Park, about 66 miles and 112 minutes on our routing. You'll pay the park entry fee, and the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel has oversize-vehicle restrictions.

It's worth it only as part of a Zion east-side or Bryce trip. Don't drive to Kanab for golf instead: its Coral Cliffs course was reported closed around 2015, even though some directories still list it as open. For golf on the St. George side of the park, see golf near Zion National Park.

Beaver Dam Lodge: nine par 3s on the way to Mesquite

Beaver Dam Lodge is a nine-hole, all-par-3 course along the Beaver Dam Wash in Arizona, under century-old cottonwoods. It's 39 minutes and 29.5 miles from downtown St. George on our routing, the closest of the four stops.

• The course. Par 27, 1,049 yards from the Blue tees and 957 from the White. A March 2025 reviewer says a flood took out the other nine holes of what was once a larger layout. Greens are bermuda and fairways winter rye, per GolfPass.
• The setting. It's part of a lodge and RV resort with a bar. The lodge was built in 1931, and John Wayne, Howard Hughes and Jack Benny stayed there.
• Booking. Walk-up. There's no working course website or online booking, so call 928-347-2222.
• Price. No current published rate.
• Weather. It sits at about 1,820 feet. The NOAA normals from the Beaver Dam, Arizona station put the January high near 62°F, against 54°F in St. George.

Treat it as a short-game warm-up or a family nine, not a destination round. Pair it with a Mesquite tee time further down I-15; the nearest Mesquite hotels on our map are 13 to 14 minutes away. More short courses are in par 3 golf in St. George.

Palms Golf Club: Mesquite's course in Littlefield, Arizona

Palms Golf Club is sold as a Mesquite course and run by Mesquite Gaming, the CasaBlanca and Virgin River operator, but it sits just across the state line in Littlefield, Arizona. William Hull designed it, and it opened in 1990.

It has two personalities. The front nine is resort golf, with wide fairways, water and more than 200 palms. The back nine climbs into desert canyon with big elevation changes, and it's the reason to play. The 15th drops 114 feet from tee to fairway, with canyon views.

Fees. There's no official rate card. The online booking engine, sampled in October 2026, showed $86 on some fall weekdays and $134 on weekends and busier days, $109 from about November 19 through early January, and $76 to $95 from about 1 p.m. as a twilight rate. The cart showed as included. Rates are dynamic and change.

Booking. Online up to 120 days ahead on the same engine as CasaBlanca. CasaBlanca Resort advertises 20% off room-and-golf packages that include Palms.

Watch-outs. The course closed for overseed from September 11 to October 2 in 2025, and 2026 dates weren't published, so expect a mid-September to early October closure. An August 2025 reviewer said signage between the canyon holes is poor, so ask staff for directions. And because Arizona doesn't observe daylight saving, confirm which clock your tee time is on.

The nearest hotels on our map are the Best Western Mesquite Inn (9 minutes), Virgin River Casino & Lodge (10) and Eureka Casino Resort (11). The rest of the Mesquite courses are in our Mesquite golf day trip guide and Mesquite, Nevada golf courses.

Which stop fits your St. George golf trip

In summer, the trade is clear. St. George golf moves to dawn when highs pass 96°F, and our summer golf in St. George post covers the deals there. An hour north, Cedar Ridge gives you a cooler full round for $32 to $50. In winter, flip it: head south toward Mesquite, not north.

For how these fit around a full week of St. George golf courses, start with the St. George golf trip guide.

Plan it on the map

Cedar Ridge and Thunderbird sit off the edge of the 3D map of St. George golf, while Beaver Dam Lodge and Palms are on the Mesquite panel. Open each pin for its record, then line your extra stop up with the drive and the season before you commit a day to it.