What's area's appeal? 'They think it's heaven'

ST. GEORGE — It doesn't take much of an invitation for Mayor Dan McArthur to break into song or poetic verse about the virtues of his hometown.

"I've lived my whole life here," says McArthur, beaming a smile that shows he's about ready to crack a joke. "Well, not all of it . . . yet."

Mayor Dan, as many in town call him, was born and raised in St. George, and he loves to draw a crowd into singing one of his favorite tunes, "Are You From Dixie?" by former Dixie College music professor Roene De Fiore.

If you're the curious sort, and the mayor hopes you are, you can listen to and sing along with him as he shares his rendition of the tune on the city's Web site, sgcity.org.

And even though there aren't any more cotton fields growing here, there's still plenty of red sand and thousands of new residents who are longing to say they're from Dixie, too.

"There's a tremendous influx of people. By far the majority are not retired, they're working construction, in the medical field, in the schools, everywhere," said local historian and author Doug Alder, who also served as president of Dixie College for 13 years before going back to teaching history there. "Our town is growing very diverse, and it's becoming one of the most dynamic places to live anywhere."

So what is it about St. George that draws people here?

"It's a subjective rather than an objective thing, isn't it?" says Scott Hirschi, who grew up here and now works as the county's economic development director. "This is one of those difficult situations where it's sort of like defining beauty. You can't really put it into words, but you know it when you see it. It's a personal thing."

For Hirschi, a longtime runner with several St. George Marathons under his tennis shoes, it's the lure of Dixie's red rock cliffs and vistas that bring a smile to his face. And he has lots of company when it comes to living and loving the outdoor life around St. George.

Plenty of walking and biking trails; community parks within walking distance of neighborhoods; access to public lands; and numerous lakes, rivers and pools to play in all make Utah's Dixie an outdoor lover's paradise.

One of the newest draws for tourists and locals alike is Sand Hollow Reservoir and State Park, which opened about three years ago with boating, fishing, off-road riding trails and camping facilities. Nearly 280,000 people played there in 2005, and after last year's record rainfall, park rangers expect another busy season this year in a full reservoir.