visiting-zion-national-park

Zion National Park: Travel Guide to Enjoy a Utah Masterpiece

Zion’s soaring cliffs form one of the most majestic and evocative canyons in America. In this park, located in Utah, the imposing monoliths are bright red and white and are surrounded by green forests and valleys rich in fauna. Zion deserves special attention not only for its beauty but also because, compared to many other parks, the visit requires careful planning.

It is in the mountains and offers vast and exceptional views, but to reach many of them you will have to get there by hiking. What if you want to go on a scenic drive of Zion or want to visit it only in passing? It is still possible, but you have to know exactly where to go, otherwise you risk wasting time. Here is a detailed travel guide to visit Zion National Park

PS: Do you want to know what’s worth seeing in this park? Read our guide to the best things to do in Zion National Park.

Where is Zion National Park? How To Get There? Directions

Zion Travel Guide
How to get to Zion National Park?

Zion National Park is located in southern Utah. In addition to St. George Airport, a small airport, Las Vegas International is the closest main airport to the two sections of the park (178 miles), even though Zion, like other U.S. national parks, is usually visited as part of much larger road trips that can also start from major cities in California.

The main section of the park, known as Zion Canyon, is located near Springdale, while a separate section of the park, called Kolob Canyons, is located near Kanarraville, on I-15, 40 miles away (50 minutes by car). The two sections are separate and you cannot drive from one section to the other inside the national park.

Visiting Zion National Park Utah

Below are directions for those traveling to the main section of the park coming from the west and east.

  • Coming from Las Vegas (southwest) you’ll have to drive 127 miles along I-15. You may consider also making a stop halfway at the Valley of Fire (I highly recommend it!). Then, after St. George, you’ll take Exit 16. From here you will take a short drive on UT-17 to La Verkin and then take the scenic UT-9 until you reach the west entrance to the park at Springdale‘s.
  • If you come from Salt Lake City (northwest), you will take Exit 27 (Anderson Junction) off of I-15 until you reach La Verkin. From there follow the same directions found in the previous point.
  • If you’re coming from Kanab, Page, Bryce, Moab... (East), you’ll need to take Route 89 and then turn onto Mount Carmel Junction. Then you’ll take  UT-9 and drive 25 miles to get to the park via the East Entrance. This stretch of road, especially the last 13 miles, is very nice to drive, as you will see.

Kolob Canyons, located along I-15, is easier to reach. Those coming from the south (St. George) and those coming from the north (Provo, Salt Lake City) will have to get off I-15 at Exit 40. This area is very beautiful and easily accessible, but it is not so vast and is less popular than the main section of Zion.

Zion National Park Map

In the map below, you can find the main points of reference for visiting the park. The Visitor Centers for their respective areas, and the zones into which the park is divided.

What time does Zion National Park open?

What time does zion national park open

Zion National Park is open 24 hours a day every day of the year. The Zion Canyon Visitor Center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Zion National Park Entrance Fee

Since it is a national park, you can use the America the Beautiful Pass. If you don’t have it, the entrance fee is $35 per vehicle. If you did not enter the park by car, you will pay $20 per person at the Visitor Center entrance.

Best time to visit Zion National Park

Best time to visit Zion National Park

The park is open year-round, but the ideal time to visit is from March to October when the weather is perfect for hiking. The very best times to go are autumn, with its warm colors and mild climate, as well as late spring.

Summer, being a vibrant and verdant season, draws visitors to Zion, but remember that temperatures are higher and as a result some hikes may be a little more tiring. You’re not in the desert, of course, but you’ll be hiking in the sun!

Winter also has its advantages. Not only is the park less crowded, but the colors of the canyon are even brighter and create a beautiful contrast with the white snow. Certainly the weather is much colder and can be challenging for less experienced hikers.

WARNING!

The dates vary from year to year, but approximately from April to the end of October the main road of the park (Zion Canyon Scenic Drive) is closed to car traffic, so you must park your car and use the free shuttle provided by the park. During the rest of the year, when Zion is less crowded, you can drive along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.

How To Visit the Park

How to visit zion national park

Basically, you have two ways to visit a park. Either you make a quick stop at the national park or explore it in depth, spending as much time as possible there.

Let me try to explain. Zion National Park is not ideal for a short visit like Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley or Grand Canyon, places where you have the option of taking long hikes, but can be visited quite quickly because the best viewpoints are easily reached with short trails or are located directly on the road. Zion National Park is not that kind of park, because it takes time and energy to see the best views or go on the most adventurous hikes.

Not everyone takes this into account, so we often find ourselves answering the decisive question “can I visit Zion and Bryce on the same day, given the proximity?”. I answered no both here and here, stressing the fact that if you are heading to Bryce Canyon, you have limited time to visit Zion, driving along the stunning Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway, which is an illustration of the beauty of Zion. It will not be an extended visit which, as you will see in the next point, takes at least half a day.

If you still want to visit Zion within a short time frame, there is another option, which is to visit Kolob Canyons, but that would change your itinerary completely. As it was mentioned earlier, Kolob Canyons cannot be reached by taking UT-9, but are is accessible from I-15, the fastest route between Las Vegas and Bryce. The views of Kolob Canyons are remarkable and easy to get to, so it’s a perfect solution. In this case, don’t take the UT-9 on your way to Bryce Canyon.

How many days to spend in Zion National Park?

How many days to spend in zion national park

Let’s be clear, it takes days, not hours, to visit Zion comprehensively and enjoy all its splendor (views and paths)! However, often on road trips you don’t have that much time. If that is the case, an adequate visit to the main section of the park (Zion Canyon) requires at least half a day.

In theory, you can manage to do it in 3 hours, but the more time you spend on the trails, the more you will enjoy the visit. You have to take into account that from April to the end of October you have to use the shuttle to move around the park, which limits your ability to move around independently and can extend the time even further.

Those who want to visit both Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyons will have to set aside the whole day or most of the day, depending on the next stop.

How To Get Around: Shuttles and Scenic Roads

As you may have gathered, there is a very important question: how can you get around the park?

Zion Canyon Scenic Drive

zion scenic drive
Scenic Drive

Let’s start with Zion Canyon. Running through this section is the 6-mile-long Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, along which all of the park’s main trails start. As mentioned above, during the low season you will be able to drive on this road independently with your rental car. To get there, simply drive to Canyon Junction, turn off of UT-9 at the junction (for the exact location, see here), a stone’s throw from the Virgin River Bridge.

From April to the end of October, however, you will not be able to drive on this road. Instead, you will have to use the free shuttle service departing from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. The shuttle has 9 stops along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, and each serves as a reference point for various trails.

Zion Canyon Shuttle

zion shuttle

The Zion Canyon Shuttles depart from the Visitor Center every 7-10 minutes during the high season and take about 40 minutes to cover the entire route and reach the last stop (Temple of Sinawava), where the Riverside Walk begins, leading to the famous The Narrows. Besides this, the main stops are Zion Lodge, The Grotto, Weeping Rock and Big Bend.

Shuttle frequency and start time vary from month to month, so check here for updates.

The bike scenic drive
Before entering the Visitor Center you can also rent a bike from Zion Outfitters or other Springdale bike rental shops to ride on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive – definitely an option for those who enjoy more athletic activities.

Where to park?

There is free parking near the Visitor Center, but it fills up very quickly in the morning: you can check the number of places available on the electronic billboards along the street, near the West Entrance (Springdale) tollbooth. What should do in the very likely event that you find the parking lot full? There are three options:

  • come back later, keep circling around until you find a spot.
  • leave the Visitor Center and look for a spot on the streets of Springdale, but most of the parking is not free.
  • if you are staying at a hotel in Springdale, ask the staff if you can leave your car in the hotel parking lot. Usually there are a few spaces available for guests who do not want to move their car (in my experience, at least at Zion Park Motel this is the way it works!).

Springdale Shuttle

Okay, let’s say you had to leave your car at the hotel parking lot or you found parking in Springdale. Either way, you might be a long way from the Visitor Center! Don’t worry: there is the Springdale Shuttle that makes 9 stops along the entire Springdale extension on UT-9 to the Visitor Center for free. The southern terminus is Majestic View Lodge: it takes about 10-15 minutes to get from here to the Visitor Center.

Again, the frequency of the shuttles is 7-10 minutes during the high season, but it varies month to month.

Take your ticket or card with you!

Normally, to enter a national park you just need to buy a ticket or present the American the Beautiful Pass at the tollgate, after it is no longer required to show your ticket or pass. Usually no one takes the ticket or pass with them while hiking; instead, most people leave it in the car.

Well, this does not apply to Zion because, as you may know, you can also get to the Visitor Center on foot or by the Springfield Shuttle. For this reason, since it’s hard to tell if you have already presented the entrance ticket, the rangers at the Visitor Center ask everyone for the entrance ticket.

Take it with you because even if you explain to them that you left it in your car (as we did), they might be strict and make you pay the entrance fee again. It didn’t happen to us, the ranger was understanding, but it’s good to come prepared.

Other Zion Scenic Roads

mount carmel highway
Zion-Mt. Carmel Junction Highway

The Zion-Mt. Carmel Junction Highway is another scenic road in Zion National Park. As such, visitors pay a fee to travel on UT-9 in both directions. Unless there is a sudden road closing, this road can be driven all year round. For more information, please refer to our in-depth guide.

kolob canyons
Kolob Canyons

Kolob Canyons Road can be driven all year round, but you are required to pass through the Visitor Center (directions are well marked after the highway exit at the junction with Kolob Canyon Road) to show your entry ticket before driving to the beautiful canyon viewpoint at the top.

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