Panguitch is the county seat of Garfield County, set in the upper Sevier River valley along US-89 at 6,624 feet. Its historic downtown and blocks of 19th-century red-brick homes make it one of the best-preserved pioneer towns in southern Utah.

With full services just 24 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, and Panguitch Lake and Red Canyon close by, Panguitch is a natural home base for exploring the region.

Panguitch was settled in March 1864 by 54 families led by Jens Nielson, who built a fort along the Sevier River. That first winter, seven men set out across deep snow to Parowan for flour, laying quilts on the drifts to keep from sinking, a story the town still celebrates with its annual Quilt Walk Festival.

Settlers abandoned the town during the Black Hawk War and returned in 1871 under George W. Sevy. The name comes from a Paiute word meaning “big fish,” and Panguitch was incorporated in 1899. Its distinctive red-brick homes were built from locally fired brick, and the Panguitch Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.