Dreamland Safari celebrates 25 years in Kanab

A business that began with a pair of local four-wheel-drive enthusiasts taking visitors into the backcountry around Kanab is celebrating a quarter-century in business.

Dreamland Safari Tours marks its 25th anniversary this year, tracing its begin­nings to 2001, when David and Marilyn DeVooght founded the company as interest grew in scenic tours of the Kanab area.

The company changed hands in 2011, when Wil­liam and Meghann James took over. During the next nine seasons, Dreamland expanded its offerings as outdoor tourism continued to grow around Kanab.

Current owners Paul Gagner and Sunny Stroeer purchased Dreamland in March 2020. Just 10 days later, they suspended op­erations as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the country.

Five years after celebrat­ing Dreamland’s 20th anni­versary amid the pandemic, Stroeer said reaching 25 offers a very different per­spective.

Owners Sunny Stroeer (left) and Paul Gagner. Photos courtesy of Dreamland Safari Tours.

“It’s pretty humbling to look back on the last five years and think about how much we’ve learned, grown and evolved since,” she said.

Stroeer credits Dream­land’s longevity to an ap­proach that has remained consistent through three sets of owners: small groups, experienced local guides and taking visitors into places they may not be able to reach on their own.

“The need for guides who really know this landscape deeply, and who can show it to guests safely and re­spectfully, has only grown,” she said.

Today, Dreamland offers trips throughout Southern Utah and Northern Ari­zona, from shorter sightsee­ing excursions to full-day hikes, overnight camping and backpacking trips. Stroeer said she is particularly proud that many guides who were with Dreamland when she and Gagner pur­chased the company remain with it today.

Dreamland will cel­ebrate its anniversary locally throughout No­vember. Events in­clude a November 7 anniversary party with live music and liba­tions at Best Friends Mercantile, free guided outings to Upper Peek­aboo and the Mansard Trail and a giveaway for a Dreamland “Stay & Play” package for two valued at more than $1,500. The Up­per Peekaboo outing is already full, while space remains for the Mansard Trail outing.

Looking ahead, Stroeer sees growing value in the decid­edly offline experience Dreamland provides as technology, including artificial intelligence, increasingly shapes everyday life.

She hopes the next 25 years allow the company to remain focused on what she believes guiding, hik­ing and backpacking are ultimately about: “connecting with one another, with the land and with what it means to be human in this fast-paced world of ours.”