There are two popular stories on how Brian Head got its name. It has been determined that it was first called Monument Peak. In the first story, it is said that a wife of a United States Governmental official came to visit the area and did not like the name Monument Peak. She went home, wrote some letters to officials, and the name was changed to Brian Head Peak.

In the second story, it is said that while John Wesley Powell was on a topographical expedition, he saw the peak towering above all other mountains in the area and named it after William Jennings Bryan, an American lawyer and politician who once ran for the Presidency.

In the early days, there was a hotel/dance hall in the Brian Head area. A lady by the name of Millie ran the establishment, so it was nicknamed "Millie's Mansion." On the 24th of July, Utah's Pioneer Day, there would be a large celebration at Millie's. Many people from Parowan, and all the sheep and cattle herders from miles around would meet at Millie's and dance for two or three days.

The spirit of hospitality and gathering at Brian Head continues today. Brian Head Ski Resort was started in 1964 when Nevada resident Burt Nichols analyzed ski terrain and snowfall amounts at various mountain locations and decided to develop a ski area below Brian Head Peak.

As the ski facility grew to six chairlifts over twenty years, the resort impacted a large acreage of both private and national forest land. A large hotel and several condominium complexes were constructed in the 1980s at Brian Head and in Parowan as the popularity of the resort grew in its major markets of Southern Nevada and California.

The large hotel built in the 1980's which was originally known as the Brian Head Hotel closed in June of 1997 for extensive renovations. When the hotel re-opened there was a full service day spa, an indoor pool with fireside jacuzzi, and a workout facility with a sauna and steam room. The hotel was renamed to reflect a new sense of direction and décor that everyone hoped would bring back the nostalgia of the old Union Pacific circle tours and the traditions of hospitality started at the original Cedar Breaks Lodge, which burned down in the early 1950's.

Come and visit some of the most beautiful scenery in Southern Utah and stay at Cedar Breaks Lodge & Spa.