Zion Mountain Ranch bills itself as a luxury cabin at the mouth of the National Park. Some of the key claims for me were that it had views of bison from the porch, that it had nice amenities like a jetted tub in each room, flatscreen tvs for the kids, and a stocked kitchen. This is my honest review of those claims, having just stayed there for 7 days. I paid $3,000 for our week, which in Gatlinburg (our point of comparison) at Heaven’s Cabin got us a stocked game room with air hockey, a pool table, board games, fireplaces in each room, smart tvs, giant porch vistas, hot tub on the porch, jetted tubs in each room, and a stocked kitchen with every amenity possible. This is not what you’re getting at this cabin. The following is a review of cabin 123, a 2-story 2 bedroom cabin. This ranch is run by lovely people and a good staff. If we ever had any issues or needs, maintenance and staff were quick to help and pleasant. The views from the check in desk were of the broad plains and they were very pretty. The animals at the restaurant, Cordwood, which is attached to the check in desk, were delightful. They did in fact have several Great Pyrenees, including a puppy, chickens, roosters, pigs, and horses. Reviews suggest they come up to your cabin. I was in cabin 123; they are about a 10 minute walk from there and you can’t see anything but the horses from this location. A few things need to be corrected on their site and in the reviews for people planning their trips. First, you can’t see the bison from your cabin. They’re in a lower pasture that’s about a 5 minute drive — not walk — away. They mention that’s possible on their website but it’s conflicting info from pictures. Perhaps the most important thing to know for Mt Zion hikers is that the cabin IS *technically* close to the edge of the territory that is the national park line but you are NOWHERE near the park. We left at 5am daily to hike Mt Zion and it took 3 hours every day to get to each intended trailhead. This is because you have to go through the park entrance, where people haven’t all bought their passes, then wait for one way roadwork, then wait for the one way tunnel. Then you have to wait in line for a shuttle and then walk to the trailhead to start hiking. If you stayed in the town of Springdale itself, you wouldn’t have this trouble. Springdale is where the shuttle runs. It’s a 40 minute drive to town from the cabin for restaurants, supplies, and to get to the shuttle and a 40 minute drive back. The only place to eat anywhere within an hour is to go back down the mountain another 40 or to eat at Cordwood, which we liked a lot but required either a reservation or a wait. About the cabin itself: the jetted tub in cabin 123 didn’t work in either room. The machine (it has a plug in machine) that makes the bubbles had been duct taped together and, while the bubbles in half of one of the tubs would start to work, if you got in the tub, they’d stop. Maintenance couldn’t get it to work and confirmed the upstairs tub’s parts had been ripped out of the wall, where there was just a rectangular hole next to the tub where the parts might once have been. None of the TVs worked except the living room. Bedroom TVs would turn on but there were no channels or streaming options in either room. The front desk sheepishly admitted it was true but said you could borrow some DVDs. You could log into Netflix in the living room. Our flatscreen in the downstairs bedroom was from roughly 2002. This matters little to people there to hike all day and collapse at night, but we planned to hike half days and rest afternoons and our dream was for the kid to watch his anime shows upstairs while we enjoyed quiet conversations downstairs and that didn’t happen because what was promised didn’t function. I also dreamed of a long jet tub soak after the Narrows but that wasn’t to be. Some of the reviews mentioned a stocked kitchen. We were able to function fine but it’s basic at best. If your plan was to offset the cost of the cabin with meals made in kitchen, that will be hard. It had a dorm fridge (3 tiny shelves, 1 small freezer section big enough for 4 pack of breakfast sandwiches) and a microwave and coffee pot. There were 3 forks, spoons, and knives, 4 bowls, 4 plates. They provide the coffee and sugar each day. There’s no oven, pans, cutting knives, cutting boards, or other prep tools except one can opener. I had planned to make lunches and breakfast there; we were only able to do stuff like pb&j sandwiches and oatmeal from the microwave. I was also willing to pay a lot of money not only for the amenities but also the views. The master had a good view of the plain. The lower just looked at dirt and pine trees. The beds were comfortable, the pillows thin and worn. The bedding was fine. There were several cobwebs in the half bathroom. The window ledge where you can put your soap and razor and shampoo is thick with dust and cobwebs in the first floor bath. They do change towels each day but they take them without giving you other ones. They don’t replace them unless you call. Our second night after a long dirty hike, we all bathed and were surprised to find we didn’t have a way to dry off. The front desk responded as quickly as they could but they have a huge property and it took an hour. The soaps they provide are the basic generic kind. In sum: if you can get this cabin for a week for about $1k, it’d be fine. The location to go to other places like the North Rim Grand Canyon and Bryce and Antelope were good. As a home base for Mt Zion, it’s complicated and ads about 2 hours of driving to whatever you have planned that day. If you’re looking for the shiny amenities it promises on the site, you’re not going to get those, at least in cabin 123. If you wanted a stocked kitchen, animals near the cabin, views of the bison from your upstairs room, that’s probably not going to happen. What you get here is a basic but fine cabin, even if it needs a good deep clean. Few to no frills. Nice people. Good restaurant. Pretty sunset. If you can get a great deal (not $3k) on it for a few days to visit other places besides Mt Zion park, go for it.

Place of beauty and peace located close to the east entrance of Zion. We stayed 3 nights as a party of 5 in cabin 205. 1 room and bathroom for wife and me. Another room for FIL. A room with 2 bunk beds for teens. Another full bath for the 3 of them to use and a 1/2 bath for the overflow! Full kitchen with pretty much all we needed for dishes, utensils and cooking. Had a grill on deck which we used as well. Spent our downtime on property sitting on deck with a drink in hand and enjoying the surroundings and sights. Great night sky! Also went to main lodge to enjoy the horses, bison, dogs, pigs, and chickens. Beautiful garden that they grow so many different things for the restaurant. We ate there once. Good food. Possibly understaffed as placing order and getting bill took a bit but food did come out right after ordered. Also spent one evening at firepit listening to Lakota share stories and interpretation of Native American history/life. Value of the property vs. staying in Springdale on westside of Zion was great in our opinion. We were able to do a quick breakfast, take off to beat the crowd in Zion (be there when they open!), do our thing, come back and enjoy a drink and dinner on our time. Local grocer in Orderville had most things we needed. We also had bought a cooler in Vegas when we landed and bought other groceries on way. Much more economical and healthier to eat this was. Laundry in cabin was huge! Detergent was provided. Bryce a hair over an hour out and we were able to do that as well with no problems. Would certainly stay here again. No complaints on staff or cleanliness as I read on previous reviews. Stick vacuum on site if you drag in dirt, etc.

Absolutely amazing place!! We stayed here two nights while visiting Zion and could not have been more pleased with everything. The cabin was perfect, The food was delicious, and the views were incredible! Also, The location is near the East entrance to the park, so you don't have the traffic like the South entrance (Springdale).

Just writing this review on our last night at the ranch after 4 wonderful days exploring Zion park and the local area. For us it was the ideal location, east of Springdale and the eastern entrance to the park. It is beautifully quiet and the accommodation was perfect for our needs as we didn’t want to be in busy Springdale. I wasn’t sure what to expect but we were given a 2 bedroom lodge so ideal for us with a bedroom and bathroom each. Each main room had a gas stove and the whole Lodge a heating and air conditioning system. Tastefully decorated throughout in a rustic style, but with modern touches. Huge bath tubs and lovely walk in showers. Cordwood, the On site restaurant was good, I’ve reviewed it separately. Staff all very friendly and helpful. They only lose half a star for me as the kitchen equipment was severely lacking. I appreciate that it’s not supposed to be fully self catering, but some modern crockery, cutlery, glassware and a corkscrew wouldn’t go a miss. Highly recommended.

Very comfortable cabin with fabulous view! Great place to unplug and enjoy nature up close and in person. Enjoyed a great trail ride, Zion National Park (just minutes away), Bryce Canyon, and the Coral Sand Dunes. The trail ride was fabulous! Very quiet atmosphere, not touristy! Cordwood Restaurant has fabulous food. We highly recommend the Bison Burger and the fish. Our cabin had all the basic necessities to relax and enjoy with a bonus of a fabulous soaker tub! Regularly had deer and rabbits right out our windows. The star filled skies make the nights extra peaceful.