Zion National Park
National parks
Utah's first national park, famous for the towering red-and-white sandstone cliffs of Zion Canyon carved by the Virgin River. Open year-round near Springdale.
The park
Zion National Park protects a landscape of deep sandstone canyons, forested plateaus and the Virgin River in southwestern Utah. It was Utah's first national park, and the main entrance sits at the south end of Zion Canyon in the town of Springdale. The park covers roughly 229 square miles and climbs from about 3,700 feet in its southwestern corner to 8,726 feet on Horse Ranch Mountain in the northeast.
It was not always called Zion
The park was first protected in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument, taking the Southern Paiute name for the canyon. In 1918 it was enlarged and renamed Zion, and it became a national park the following year.
The renaming was a marketing decision, and openly so: the argument made at the time was that a Paiute name would be unfamiliar and hard to pronounce, and would put visitors off. It is worth knowing that the canyon's older name was set aside deliberately rather than lost.
The geology
Zion Canyon is the work of a small river given a very long time. The Virgin River cut down through Navajo sandstone — the compressed remains of an enormous desert dune field — and because that rock is strong enough to stand vertically, the river carved a slot rather than a valley. The result is walls rising as much as two thousand feet from a canyon floor that is, in places, only a few hundred feet wide. The park spans a considerable range of elevation, which is why its plant life shifts from desert scrub near the entrance to conifer forest on the plateaus.
Hiking and canyoneering
Zion is a premier destination for both. Two routes dominate the conversation: Angels Landing, a chain-assisted climb along an exposed sandstone fin, now managed through a permit lottery to control numbers; and the Narrows, where the trail is the river itself, walked upstream between walls that close to a few dozen feet apart. The backcountry holds hundreds of technical slot canyons, which is why the guiding industry in Springdale is as developed as it is.
Getting around
For most of the year the scenic canyon road is closed to private vehicles and served instead by a free shuttle running through the canyon and the town of Springdale. Planning around the shuttle rather than around a car is the single most useful thing a first-time visitor can do.
The hazard that catches people out
Flash flooding, not heat or exposure. A canyon this narrow concentrates water, and the storm that fills it may be falling miles away over ground you cannot see from where you are standing — so a clear sky overhead is not evidence of safety. This is the specific reason the Narrows closes on forecast and why guides take the warnings as seriously as they do.
Doing it from St. George
Most visitors treat the gateway town as the only option and pay for the privilege. It is not, and the drive is short enough that basing an hour away costs you a morning start rather than a day.
See also a Zion day trip from St. George, the Zion shuttle, Angels Landing and the Narrows.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called Zion and not Mukuntuweap?
It was renamed. The original designation used the Southern Paiute word for the canyon. Officials swapped it in 1918, reasoning that a name visitors could not pronounce would cost the park traffic. Marketing, in other words — and a deliberate choice, not an accident.
How dangerous is flash flooding here?
It is the park's defining hazard, and it does not announce itself. Narrow canyons gather water from an enormous area upstream, so blue sky directly overhead proves nothing about what is heading toward you. Treat posted warnings and closures as instructions rather than suggestions — they are issued on forecasts, not on what you can see.
Can I visit Zion as a day trip from St. George?
Easily. The Springdale entrance is under an hour away, and a great many visitors base in St. George rather than in the gateway town, where rooms are limited and priced accordingly. Doing it that way also gives you somewhere to eat that is not competing with the entire park's traffic.
Why do conditions vary so much inside the park?
Because of how much height it covers. There is roughly a mile of vertical range between the low southwestern corner and the high country in the northeast, which is enough to carry you from desert scrub to conifer forest without leaving the boundary. What the weather is doing at the trailhead tells you very little about the plateau.
Is there an entrance fee?
Yes. Zion charges a standard entrance fee per private vehicle, with lower rates for motorcycles and for visitors arriving on foot or by bicycle, and young people enter free. An annual Zion pass and the interagency America the Beautiful pass are both accepted. Check the National Park Service site for current rates before you travel.
Is there a shuttle system?
Yes. The park operates a free shuttle through Zion Canyon and the neighboring town of Springdale. Schedules vary by season, so check the park's shuttle page before you visit.
Is the park open year-round?
Yes, Zion National Park is open all year, though facility hours and shuttle schedules vary seasonally.
Address
1 Zion Park Blvd.Springdale, UT 84767
Contact
- Website: https://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm
- Work Phone: 435-772-3256