Tucked against the base of the Canaan Mountain Wilderness in Hildale, Utah, this hand-built EcoCabin rises on raised columns above the high desert floor, its floor-to-ceiling window wall opening the entire front of the structure to the canyon beyond. The property is the work of Mindy Barlow and her husband, who left the region for four years of Army service before returning home in 2016 and setting out to build a basecamp that would let travelers experience the same raw beauty they’d grown up overlooking. If you’re looking for an Airbnb near Zion National Park, you’ll want to check this one out.
Photo: Ethan Abitz
Why This A-Frame on the Edge of Zion Is Utah's Most Wishlisted Airbnb Stay
What started with the sale of their trailer and a small parcel of raw land in Hildale has become Airbnb’s Most Wishlisted Listing in Utah and the most iconic Zion Airbnb cabin rental, built largely by hand alongside local craftsman Robert “Scott” Roemhild. Matador spoke with Barlow about building on protected wilderness, sleeping beneath an unusually dark sky, and what she’s learned about what travelers are really looking for.
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Matador:What’s the story behind how this property came to be?
Photo: Ethan Abitz
Mindy Barlow: My husband and I grew up in this area. Like many people who grow up with world-class wilderness right in their backyard, we were somewhat blind to it. I would say that we were naive to just how rare these towering mountain ranges are. It wasn’t until my husband joined the Army and we moved to El Paso, Texas, for four years that we finally realized how lucky we were. In the blink of an eye, our life went from stepping out our front door to explore the wilderness to having to get in a car and drive quite a distance just to reach public land. That was a big reality check and a really difficult adjustment for us.
When he finished his contract with the military in 2016, we moved back home. It was like seeing the landscape for the very first time. We were awestruck by the overwhelming, raw beauty of our hometown and instantly felt we had to find a way to share that exact feeling with others. Soon after, my husband found this piece of property in Hildale and took me out for a walkabout. Standing there, with the cliffs towering over us, the vision hit me immediately. We wanted to build something that would allow travelers from all over the world to experience the magic while striving to keep the land as untouched as possible. I looked at him and said, “If you build it, I’ll book it.”
To make it happen, we risked everything. My husband convinced me to sell our trailer across town, which I know doesn’t seem like much, but for our then 6-year-old son and us, it was all we had. We took our little family and moved in with my husband’s parents, whom we’ll be forever grateful to for supporting us, and used the small funds from that sale to purchase the raw land.
Most importantly, I want to note the support we had from our community. So many people came together to bring this project to life. The person who has truly helped our vision become a reality is Robert “Scott” Roemhild. Scott has been right there with us, hand-building these cabins almost from the beginning. His ongoing dedication and craftsmanship brought the dream to life, and we are forever grateful to him. Today, the property stands as a genuine labor of love. It’s a minimal, luxurious basecamp designed to let people unplug, reset, and experience the awe of the Canaan Mountain Wilderness.
The cabin is built on columns to protect the hillside vegetation and uses reused materials throughout. How important was the environmental side of this to you from the start?
Photo: Ethan Abitz
Building on columns to protect the hillside vegetation and using reused materials throughout was basically the foundation of the entire project. In a delicate high desert ecosystem like Southern Utah, you can’t just bulldoze your way into a landscape and claim you appreciate it. And that was kind of the state of the property when we first found it. A chunk of the hillside had been dug up. We were told one of the previous owners wanted to make it level to build a home. Luckily for us, they only got to a small section of the hillside before they changed their mind. So building the A-frames on raised columns allowed us to leave the remainder of the natural hillside topography, native juniper trees, and fragile desert vegetation as intact as possible. Merging our vision of low-impact architecture with salvaged or reused materials was our commitment to respecting the land.
The convertible window wall opens the whole front of the cabin — do people sleep with it open?
The convertible window wall opens the whole front of the cabin, and yes, people really do sleep with it open. It’s easily our guests’ favorite feature and probably the main reason we were voted Airbnb’s #1 Most Wishlisted Listing in Utah. During the spring and autumn months, sleeping with the floor-to-ceiling window wall wide open is an amazing wilderness immersion experience. There is nothing quite like falling asleep to a cool desert breeze and waking up to the morning sun on the brilliant canyon walls, right from your bed. That said, during the peak heat of summer or chilly winter nights, guests typically close it up and use our climate control units to stay comfortable. Even closed, the clear wall keeps you connected to the view during the day and the stars at night.
Direct BLM trail access from the deck is rare this close to Zion. What’s the hiking actually like from the property?
Photo: Ethan Abitz
In many ways, having direct BLM trail access from the deck feels like having your own private national park. The property directly backs up to protected BLM public land. That means you don’t have to get in a car, fight for parking, and stand in a shuttle line to experience the Canaan Mountain backcountry. You literally step off your deck and immediately begin exploring canyon washes, sandstone formations and ridges, and natural vegetation. These trails have a raw, undeveloped nature to them. They aren’t manicured paths. They’re simply tread by the people who’ve chosen to connect with nature by wandering the land. There is something truly grounding and connecting about walking those same paths. It’s wild, rugged, and uncrowded. If you’re lucky, you might even discover petroglyphs made by the ancient people who walked this land long before our time.
The desert here gets genuinely hot in summer and cold in winter. What’s the best time of year to visit?
We experience all four seasons here, and each has its own dose of magic. Many enjoy the spring and autumn months for their crisp evening air and delightfully mild daytime temperatures. It’s perfect for hiking during the day and coming back to soak in the private eco spa or cozy up next to the fire pit. The summers do get hot, so we encourage our guests to do their hiking early in the morning and enjoy the nearby watering holes and lakes throughout the day. With all of that said, our winters are underrated. Waking up to dustings of white snow contrasting with the stark red mountains is a truly wonderful experience. Zion National Park is also very quiet at that time of year. So, explore the national park uncrowded, then return to your EcoCabin basecamp to sweat it out in the eight-person cedarwood sauna. Some would argue that it just doesn’t get much better than that.
Stargazing comes up in almost every review. What’s the night sky actually like out there?
Photo: Ethan Abitz
Hildale is a gem of a town, tucked away from the light pollution of major cities. Because of this, our night sky is delightfully dark. On the darkest nights, the sky from the observation deck feels massive and wonderfully alive. On a dark night, the Milky Way is clearly visible to the naked eye, stretching across the canyons. Guests often tell us they’ve never seen that many stars in their lifetime. Being able to bridge the gap between human and universe is a humbling honor.
Beyond Zion, what else is worth doing in the area that guests might not know about?
Most have heard of Zion National Park, but our landscape on the southern end of the mountain range has a wealth of hidden gems. Water Canyon Trailhead is a 10-minute drive from the cabin site. It’s an impressive hike with a flowing creek that rivals hikes inside the national park. Coral Pink Sand Dunes is 20 minutes away for those interested in sandboarding on a totally different geological landscape. Gooseberry Mesa, also 20 minutes away, is a world-class mountain biking destination. The local community has some great flavor, too. You can drop in at Water Canyon Winery just down the road to enjoy locally crafted wine, or gather at Edge of the World Brewery, which has a new location coming soon, for a great meal and a craft beer.
How has your approach to hosting changed over the years, and what have you learned that you didn’t expect?
Two things have surprised me most as a host. The first was finding what people are looking to reconnect with. Over time, I’ve become incredibly passionate about understanding how deeply travelers crave a connection with a genuine human being as their host, rather than an anonymous property management agent or an automated chatbot. That understanding is the reason I still personally handle and maintain communication with every single one of our guests. I have intentionally refused to outsource that piece of the business. The second is how deeply people crave a true disconnect from technology and the relentless hustle and bustle of everyday life. In a world where we’re constantly glued to a screen, creating a space where people are willing to leave their phones behind to bask in nature and under the stars has been incredibly rewarding. Because of this, we created a new motto: “Put down your phone, grab your favorite drink, and take a deep breath.” 