A Day Trip from Las Vegas to Utah: Donkeys, Dinosaur Tracks and Brigham Young

🚗 Up the Interstate

We left Las Vegas early and headed north-east, with a quick iced latte at Batch 702 in Mesquite, Nevada, to keep us going.

🫏 The Donkey Sanctuary, Mesquite

Our first stop was a small donkey sanctuary on the edge of Mesquite. Entry is free and donations are welcome. It was a gentle, happy start to the day.

🥗 Lunch in St. George

Over the border in Utah we had lunch at Aubergine Kitchen: a Chicken Harvest plate, an exotic dip plate and a strawberry lemonade. It was fresh and filling and great value.

👣 The Dinosaur Discovery Site

The highlight for me was the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site. These are real Early Jurassic footprints, left exactly where they were found, inside a cool, air-conditioned hall. Seeing the tracks in the rock is genuinely spine-tingling. We picked up a book about the fossil hunter Mary Anning in the gift shop.

Photo: 5of7, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

🏠 Brigham Young's Winter Home

Later we joined a free guided tour of Brigham Young's restored 1870s winter home and office, with the Tabernacle a couple of blocks away.

One thing to note: Mesquite and St. George are in different time zones for part of the year, so double-check tour times.

📋 Tips for a Utah Day Trip

• ⛽ Fuel up before you leave Nevada.
• 🦖 Allow 60–90 minutes for the dinosaur site.
• 🗿 Look out for the Beer Mug Muffler Man on the way home.
• 🛒 Pick up supper supplies before the drive back.

Have you done a day trip into Utah from Las Vegas? Share your ideas below!