Virgin Trading Post/Fort Zion

Such a fun club in a sleepy little town.
Restaurant by day, popup nightclub by night!
Check it out when DJ Mesa is spinning!

10 stars not 5. The owners and staff are amazing and the food??? WOW is the word that comes to mind. So delicious!

great place to stop by and check out merchandise.
for a small price you can also check out their petting zoo.
their food is reallyyyy good, granted not the healthiest
but for the taste and portions FAR worth the price.
definitely try out their buffalo burgers.

This place looked cool from the outside, however their gift shop is overrated, they need to step up the merchandise in the store. No Zion shirts, but

This is such a fun place for families! We had a quick lunch on our way out from Zion and the place actually has good food. I had a rib special and my family had different kind of burgers. They were a little greasy but tasty. Portions are huge and the prices were really reasonable compared to food in DT Zion.
The restaurant is adjacent to a souvenir shop and has a little farm with donkeys and alpacas whom you can feed for a $ 1.00

I cannot believe I did not review this place earlier. I LOVED IT HERE!
We stopped on the way in and out of the park and then before leaving home because it was so awesome and I fell in love with the donkey (which I nicknamed Shrek). I think he loved me too!
I’ll get to that in a bit…
Yes, the Trading Post looks like a tourist trap and it is, but one of the best I have ever been to!
Once you get past the cute little «town» they have set up with tons of great photo ops, the store itself is fairly large. Each time we visited, we were welcomed in and the employees were incredibly nice and helpful. While the store is filled with mostly standard touristy stuff and snacks, we did get some incredible fudge along with some other cool stuff to bring home.
There is also a restaurant, but we didn’t eat in any one of our visits.
The real highlight for me was the petting zoo. For a buck you gain access to llamas, ponies, deer and the most awesome donkey ever, Shrek. Spend a few more buck and you can get carrots and feed them all. Of course 99% of my carrots fed my new boyfriend. Anytime I would leave to see other animals he would stomp his feet and «talk» me into staying with him, which was a pleasure.
From what I understand, all of the animals are rescues of various sorts.
You should definitely check this place out. Please give some ear rubs to Shrek from me when you do!

This is one of our favorite stops because we love the llamas at the petting zoo and taking pictures at the cute old western town, but we decided to eat at the restaurant and were pleasantly surprised. The burgers & fries are fabulous as well as the homemade ice cream (especially the prickly pear flavor)!

We stopped here on the way to Zion National Park. the cactus ice cream was the best we ever had bar none. I purchased a cute silver and opal ring and recently lost a stone out of it. I spoke with the owner Mrs. Anderson and she was very helpful and nice and said to send the ring back and they would have it send to the tribe who made the ring and have it repaired. Although she said it would most likely take up to 6 mos to get it back and to be patient. I will because I love the ring!!! This place is the best!

Very good ribs, chicken, and home made ice cream. An interesting trading post is also located there with many photo opp’s outside… Definitely recommend!

There HOMade ICECream are the beST! Also they have a petting zoo $ 1 for admission and carrots are 3 – 1 $. So I suggest you guys purchase it! It was a lot of fun feeding the animals! We met the owner of the place, she was very nice and super accommodating ohh she’s the one who makes the delish ice cream!!! I can’t wait to go back here!

Fun place to stop by and shop for some unique little knick-​knacks on the way to Zion National Park. For a $ 1, you can go to the petting zoo in the back and see the alpaca, llamas, and ponies they have. Add an extra dollar and you could pick 3 carrots to feed them with. My little cousin had a blast taking pictures in the cute little «town» they had set up and feeding the animals. What made it even better was knowing that all the proceeds were there to help with the care and aid of these animals.
If you aren’t interested, they have plenty of knick-​knacks that you can buy. As weird as it sounds, my cousin and I opted for the salt & vinegar flavored crickets! There were also some worms to choose from and the older lady behind the counter (who was as cute as a pickle!) told me that they just ran out of scorpions! But don’t fret! They’re FDA approved and raised very cleanly. From my opinion, they taste a little like potato chips! You should really try them!
They also have a restaurant in the back. I haven’t tried it, but I saw from previous reviews that the food was good. Maybe I should try it when I come back!
Cute little place to stop buy on the way to Zion. It isn’t a must, but if you have kids or are interested in unique little things, you should try to stop by!
Be forewarned, this place is small! You could miss it if you blink!

Stopped by here for some ribs on our way into the park and we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food! Ribs were tender, fries were flaky and crunchy and who can beat $ 9.99 for a rib dinner? Service was great and we left full and happy, Ambiance felt odd though, reminded us of that part in twin peaks with the red curtains and zig zag floors. Perhaps it was because we were the only ones eating, and faint old time western music wafted in the background. Despite it all, some of the best BBQ we had out there so if your heading into the park and need a solid home cooked meal stop by. Just beware of doppelgangers.

I would like to give them a 4 but I just can’t. We ordered two large pizzas. The sign said everything was homemade. The crust was not cooked through and the sauce was thick and sweet. When kids won’t eat pizza you know it’s not great. We had a burger and that WAS very good. SExcellent place for lunch. Good food quick service. Homemade salad dressing on a fresh crisp salad. Good sandwiches and homemade pie. Service was with a smile! o I would say stay away from the pizza and you’ll be fine. The chicken salads looked great. The cook was friendly. The wait staff were efficient but not so friendly.

On our way to Zion National Park we stopped at the Ft. Zion trading post located in Virgin, UT. This trading post is located on the west side of the park, a few miles from the entrance.
Ft. Zion is a gift shop/​diner/​petting zoo.
After a lot of driving, we stopped here to stretch our legs. After looking around the gift shop, we paid the $ 1 per person to enter the petting zoo. We also purchased 3 carrots for $ 1 to feed the animals. The petting zoo has a couple miniature horses, a donkey and a few llamas/​alpacas. They also have a deer, but there is no access to feeding it. We had fun with the animals.
There is also a little play area for the children, with decorated playhouses including a bank, jail, hotel, etc.
Nice place to stop for some cheap entertainment!
We also stopped down the road about 1 mile to check out the ostrich farm alongside the road.

We had lunch here and everything was awesome! All the food is home made. We even watched the lady hand roll our hamburger buns! The fries were fantastic and you can tell they cut them right before they fry them. Awesome food!

We stopped here yesterday for a late lunch. We ordered at the counter and the server brought out our food. I had a «Duke» burger, which was huge and came with fries. My dining companion had the ribs special (the server recommended it), and that was a LOT of food. Both were delicious. Then we washed up and went through the rather extensive gift shop — they have something kitschy for everyone there — and the petting farm. Yes, we are both adults, but we just had to. If you do the petting farm, get a few of the carrots they offer for 3/​$ 1. At this time they have a miniature donkey or burro or something like that, three mini horses, and three or four alpacas. They are all rescues, and the donkey was so sweet and let me pet it a lot. There are also some little «buildings» outside that you can pose in for photos. The outside looks over the top — you can’t miss it as you drive by.
Then we went back inside and had the homemade ice cream on homemade waffle cones. WOW! It was so good!
The *only* thing I can really complain about is that our server disappeared for a long time, and then when we got the ice cream, it took a while for someone to notice us, as well as a lady ahead of us who was trying to pay her bill, and a family that was seated and, I think, waiting to order.
So if you’re not in a hurry, give it a whirl and enjoy it.

We had a wonderful meal here. Loved the buffalo burgers and the fry bread tacos and the ice cream was excellent. My son loved the animals and the cool décor. They had recently hired a new waitress and she was wonderful. Such great energy and full of life! My only complaint is that the owner seemed to need a vacation. She seemed stressed and overbearing on her employees. I recommend she take some time off once the new waitress is fully trained.
A great stop on your way to Zion.

Had to stop here per recommendation from one of the Out fitter store owners on our hike from Angel’s Landing. This place surely catches your attention while driving. The owner told us to look for a Fort and we’d know we were in the right place. Sure enough we couldn’t miss it.
The place is a great place for souvenirs and grabbing a bite to eat for hungry hikers. I had to try the steak and my girlfriend had the buffalo burger or bison burger… can’t remember what it was. Both were super delicious and the prices were very reasonable. They were very generous in their servings and my girlfriend and I were both very full. So full in fact that we regrettably passed on the home made ice cream, which we will try on our return trip next spring.
The trading post itself had a lot of nice trinkets and souvenirs if you want to grab something to remember for your trip to Zion. The prices were well below the stores we encountered closer to the park. I picked up two Indian Blankets that would normally cost 50 dollars in Vegas for the price of 25 for two!!! Great price and they make excellent mats for picnicking. Overall I have to say you have to stop here if you are looking to buy some souvenirs or to get a bite to eat or even both!!! Staff here are very friendly and kind.

What can I say about Fort Zion… Well, if you want good food at a decent price I would strongly recommend you look elsewhere… The food is overpriced and mediocre at best. The burgers are like meatloaf (the bad kind of meatloaf mind you) and are greasy as can be. The ribs were as dry as the climate in the area and the buffalo chili was comparable to buffalo chips… We didn’t even want to try the ice cream since we had initially come to the place due to the reviews about the food…
I could have let some of it slide had the price of the food not been so ridiculous. The burgers were Red Robin prices but more along the lines of Burger King quality… Although I would have preferred a Whopper to the Duke…
The only bright spot was the petting zoo and buildings they have. Those were fun and worth the dollar admission. Don’t waste your money on the food though. Just go somewhere else for that!

Excellent place to eat dinner/​lunch.
Family run, absolutely a delight to talk to.
They make delicious food, and helped me with picking what gifts to buy, I can’t help but feel at home.
The southern cooking is sooo good, I came back for a second time. The ice cream they make is a must have! All from scratch including the cones!!!
I truly will miss this place. Thank you Dee, Andy and Donna for making this place awesome for me and my bf :)
Will definitely come back again!!!