Kanab, UT: A Great Place To Stay With Animals & Make Best Friends

If you’re an animal lover like myself, I highly recommend staying in Kanab, UT.

Sure, you might find others who are there to see minor sites like Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, but we know the real reason to stay there.

That reason is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Kanab Airbnb

There are accommodation options bookable through Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, but I’d recommend an Airbnb instead for a more personal experience. We don’t often write in detail about our Airbnb experiences and we never review them on here, but if you’re looking for a fantastic place to stay in Kanab, UT look no further than the Henderson family’s small farm and lodge which you can find on Airbnb here.

Besides comfortable furniture, plenty of parking, thoughtful touches and a beautiful reservoir only 3/4 of a mile away, there are ANIMALS!! And you’re welcome to go in to their pens and give pets and snacks.

I went out and said “hi” to Esther and Almond (the goats), the buns (sadly I can’t remember both of their names – one is Mandarin), Brookie (the pup) and the girls (the chickens) each and every day. We keep in touch with the Hendersons and they’ve since added another baby goat to their family.

We even got to give Almond her bottle sometimes.

I was doubly blessed to also get invited into their home (not a usual service available) to meet their birds (Cashew and Pistachio), kitten (Calypso), hedgehogs (Cruise and Rootbeer) and unnamed, wild to be domesticated, tiny lizards (you know little boys and what they find outside).

It was affordable, beautiful and full of animals? It’s the best place to stay in Kanab if you ask me.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

On our final full day in Kanab, I booked in for a tour of Marshall’s Piggy Paradise. I didn’t know anything about Best Friends Animal Sanctuary other than a few suggestions that I go, so I was too late to book the full 90-minute tour that I would’ve preferred. So if you’re planning to go to Kanab and want to visit Best Friends, check for your tours ASAP.

The tour was fun – I got to meet and pet several Vietnamese Pot-bellied pigs and give some belly rubs! If you want even more animal time, consider signing up to volunteer while you’re there – be aware though that some sign up for that role over a year in advance.

The welcome center has a gift shop and it’s wonderful with so many options to choose from to support the sanctuary. There are over 1,600 animals there at any one time, so they need all the support they can get! Shout out to Milo’s mom (Jan) who helped me choose my final purchases. There’s even a kitty corner where you can hang with some adoptable kitties.

There’s a café onsite that serves vegan food for lunch if you’re looking to make a day of it. We didn’t get there or the memorial areas, but there really is so much to explore at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

You can drive around the property and there’s even a hike or two you can enjoy. We went for a hike to the secret lake on our final day as we left Kanab for Flagstaff.

And if you find yourself in the Kanab area you might as well stop by those other places I mentioned too – Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Coral Pink Sand Dune State Park – I hear they might also be almost as popular!