Thunder Junction's Train Is Getting a Winter Stop. December Comes First.

Ten years after opening as a dinosaur park, Thunder Junction All Abilities Park is planning an Ice Age, with a "snowy mountain" building and a new stop on the train line. Why would a desert park build a winter station?

The timing works out neatly. For nine nights this December, that same train becomes the North Pole Express, a ticketed holiday ride under the park lights, with Santa, cookies and cocoa. The expansion that went before the City Council this fall would give the train a winter-themed station it can use all year. For anyone who heads up Dixie Drive from Bloomington to Tonaquint Park, this December looks like the holiday version of the park's next ten years.

A ten-year-old park built around one loop of track

Thunder Junction sits inside Tonaquint Park at 1851 S. Dixie Drive. Its dinosaur theme covers a wheelchair-accessible playground, a climbing wall, a volcano, a splash pad and the feature that ties the whole place together: a "roaring" quarter-scale C.P. Huntington train on a 2,700-foot track. Admission is free seven days a week. Many of the staff are individuals with special needs, which the City of St. George describes as part of what makes the park special.

The park opened on Oct. 8, 2016. St. George News covered the debut and reported that then-City Manager Gary Esplin had pitched the goal of making it the best park of its kind. City staff described three years of community work and contributions behind it. Admission was free from the first day, and a train ride cost $1.

That train has done a lot of the park's seasonal work for a decade. The city's event lineup at Thunder Junction includes Spook-track-ular in October, Eggstravaganza in spring, Shamrock Junction, Hulapalooza and Awareness Days. The North Pole Express closes out the year. Phase II makes the track even more central.

What roughly $3.7 million adds to the line

The city put the expansion in front of the community at the 10-year anniversary celebration, which it scheduled for Oct. 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. with food trucks, games, music, face painting and magic shows. The Phase II groundbreaking ceremony was planned for the same event. In the city's Oct. 16 announcement, Recreation Supervisor Hannah Keller tied the anniversary to what comes next:

"We are especially thrilled that this event will help us introduce the park's next phase, and share our plans with the community."

The expansion covers 2.5 acres of Ice Age-themed equipment, rides and amenities designed for children of all abilities, including an additional train stop and new slides. The Oct. 1, 2026 City Council agenda recommended awarding construction to Mint Construction, LLC for about $3.7 million, the low bid of the three the city received. The agenda lists these pieces for Phase 2:

• An entrance building
• A snowy mountain building holding the new train stop, a restroom, storage and a water feature
• Shade structures
• Play equipment
• Playground surfacing

That list explains how the expansion is designed. The new station sits inside the building that anchors the whole Ice Age theme, alongside a restroom and a water feature, so the train becomes the way into the new section.

The money comes from several places. The agenda lists Phase II in the city's FY 2027 Business Plan and as a project under the 2023 Trails, Parks and Recreation general obligation bond. St. George News reported a $200,000 Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant for Phase 2, against a total project cost of $3.8 million. The city also runs a Phase II sponsorship page with a $1 million goal and an open invitation for local businesses and individuals to contribute.

This December the express runs on the original loop

Until the Ice Age section opens, the holiday train runs on the track the park has had since 2016. Each North Pole Express ticket covers park entry, a visit with Santa Claus, cookie decorating, hot cocoa, holiday crafts and a ride on the train. Every night runs from 6 to 8 p.m.

Tickets went on sale Monday, Nov. 16, at 10 a.m. They cost $12 per person, and children 2 and under are free. The rules are stricter than a normal park visit:

1. Buy ahead. The event is ticketed, space is limited and every ticket has to be bought in advance.
2. Expect no refunds.
3. Plan around a cap of 10 tickets per account.
4. Bring the QR code, printed or on a phone, to scan at the gate. A scanned ticket gets you a "golden ticket" for entry.

On those nine evenings, Thunder Junction closes to the general public from 6 to 8 p.m. If your usual weekday visit runs late in the day, the Monday dates matter most, since they fall on school nights when you might not expect a closure.

One more change applies before the first train night. From Nov. 2 through Dec. 1, the park's main entrance is closed. The city has opened an alternate entrance and posted signs on site to point visitors to it. The detour stays in place through the end of November, and the main gate is scheduled to reopen three days before the Dec. 4 opening night.

The rest of Tonaquint Park keeps its own hours

Thunder Junction takes up only part of the park around it. The city describes Tonaquint Park as a 33-acre shaded community park with eight tennis courts, pavilions, picnic areas, a playground, sand volleyball and loop walks that connect to the Santa Clara River Trail. Thunder Junction's pavilions don't take reservations and go first come, first served, which matters on a busy December afternoon. Dogs aren't allowed inside Thunder Junction unless they're registered service animals, so the loop walks are where the family dog can come along.

The quietest corner is the Tonaquint Nature Center, with its pond, amphitheater and gardens. On Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 9 to 11 a.m., Red Cliffs Audubon leads a bird walk there. The group describes level, maintained dirt paths and mature trees around a pond that draw woodland birds and waterfowl. The walk falls the day after the main entrance reopens and two days before the first North Pole Express night, so the same park hosts a morning bird walk and an evening ride to the North Pole within one week.

For more south-end trails, our guide to the river corridor at the end of Man O' War Road covers the Bloomington side of the river, and the Bloomington neighborhood page has more on the parks and paths close to home.

Parks like Thunder Junction help shape what living on the south end of St. George feels like, and Phase II will keep adding to that. If you're thinking about what the next few years could mean for your home nearby, Holly Gardner would love to talk it through over a free consultation, and maybe swap North Pole Express tips while you're at it.