Towering sandstone cliffs, the Virgin River and hikes such as The Narrows and Angels Landing in Utah's first national park
Zion Canyon is about 24 kilometres long and in places around 800 metres deep, its walls of sandstone rising almost sheer from a narrow, green valley floor along the Virgin River. Formations such as the Great White Throne, the Court of the Patriarchs and The Watchman line the canyon, and the park lies where three regions meet: the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert.
For much of the year the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is closed to private cars and served instead by free shuttle buses, which stop at trailheads all the way to the Temple of Sinawava. Beyond the main canyon, the Zion–Mount Carmel Highway climbs east through a long tunnel towards US 89, and the separate Kolob Canyons section in the north-west is reached from Interstate 15.
People have lived in the area for about 8,000 years. Ancestral Puebloans had left by about 1300, and Southern Paiute groups later made the region their home. Mormon settlers arrived in 1858, and one of them, Isaac Behunin, is credited with giving Zion its name.
President William Howard Taft protected the canyon as Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. The name Zion, used by the local community, was adopted after a proposal by Horace Albright in 1918, and on 19 November 1919 Congress made it Zion National Park. The Zion–Mount Carmel Highway, with its tunnel of about 1.8 kilometres and six windows cut through the cliff, opened in 1930. Today the park receives close to five million visitors a year.
The town of Springdale sits right at the park's south entrance, with lodging and paid parking, and its own free shuttle line that links the town with the pedestrian entrance. Zion Lodge, a stop on the canyon shuttle, offers lodging inside the park. The area has deep roots in Southern Paiute and Mormon pioneer history, and the park's Human History Museum is the second stop on the canyon shuttle.
Visitors usually park at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center or in neighbouring Springdale and use the free shuttles, which run up the canyon every few minutes in season. From the last stop at the Temple of Sinawava a paved path leads to the river, where hikers can wade upstream into The Narrows for an hour or much further, without a permit; the full 16-mile top-down route needs a wilderness permit. The West Rim Trail from The Grotto climbs to Scout Lookout, and only permit holders may continue along the chains to Angels Landing. Other popular outings include the Emerald Pools, cycling the canyon road, and scenic drives on the Zion–Mount Carmel Highway or in Kolob Canyons.
Spring and autumn avoid the extremes of summer heat and winter snow. Summer daytime temperatures regularly exceed 38°C, and mid-to-late summer monsoon storms raise the risk of flash floods, especially in slot canyons such as The Narrows, which also close when snowmelt makes the river run high. Winter days are typically between -1°C and 16°C, with some roads closed by snow. Campgrounds are full almost every night from mid-March to late November.
Checked against the sources on 29 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
Springdale, with places to stay and eat, sits just outside the South Entrance. Kolob Canyons, a separate part of the park, lies near Cedar City off Interstate 15. Las Vegas and Salt Lake City are the usual arrival cities, and the drive east through the Zion–Mount Carmel tunnel continues to US 89 at Mount Carmel Junction.
The largest city in Nevada, founded as a railroad town in 1905 and now known worldwide for the casino resorts, shows and restaurants of the Las Vegas Strip. Downtown's Fremont Street keeps the city's older neon heart alive, and desert landscapes such as Red Rock Canyon lie within half an hour.
ExploreA pair of sandstone slot canyons on Navajo Nation land just outside Page, Arizona, shaped by flash floods into narrow corridors of curved, banded rock. They form part of Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park and can only be entered on a guided tour with an authorised operator.
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United States · 9 nights4★ HotelUnited States · 8 nights3★ LodgeThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 29 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.
