Zion National Park

Zion is, at its heart, one enormous canyon and everything the same rock does around it. The Virgin River carved a gorge some 2,000 feet deep through a thick layer of Navajo sandstone, the fossilized remains of an ancient desert of sand dunes. Where the canyon squeezes down to its narrowest, the walls stand a thousand feet high and only twenty or thirty feet apart, close enough to touch both sides. This is one of the most dramatic slot canyons anywhere on the planet, and walking up the river through it is one of the great hikes in the country.

The walls themselves tell the story. Near the top the sandstone is white, and lower down it glows a deep iron red, stained by minerals seeping through the rock over ages. Great rounded towers and temples rise from the canyon, with names given by early visitors who thought the cliffs looked like cathedrals: the Court of the Patriarchs, the Great White Throne, the Temple of Sinawava. On the east side of the park the land opens up into slickrock, bare humps and swirls of stone dotted with twisted pines, a different world reached through a long tunnel blasted into the cliff in the 1920s.

Two of the park's most famous hikes are here on the canyon floor. The Narrows sends you wading straight up the Virgin River between soaring walls, and Angels Landing follows a knife-edge fin of rock with chains bolted in to hold onto, ending at a summit with the whole canyon spread out below. Away from those headliners, Zion rewards a slower look: shaded pools fed by seep springs, hanging gardens where water weeps out of the sandstone, and the cool green ribbon of the river running through all that red stone.

• South Entrance, at Springdale off UT-9, is the main way in and sits right by the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. In the busy season a mandatory shuttle carries visitors up the main canyon road from here, and private cars are not allowed up the scenic drive during that time.
• East Entrance, off UT-9, is open year-round and reaches the park through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, a mile-long passage cut through the cliff in the 1920s that opens onto the slickrock country on the east side.
• Kolob Canyons Entrance, off Interstate 15 at exit 40, leads into a separate northwest section of the park with its own short scenic drive and quiet, deep-red finger canyons, well away from the crowds of the main canyon.
• Most visitors reach the south entrance from Interstate 15, turning off near St. George or Hurricane onto UT-9 and following it east to Springdale. Coming from Bryce Canyon or Kanab to the east, UT-9 drops down through the tunnel to the canyon floor. Las Vegas is roughly a two-and-a-half to three hour drive to the southwest.

• Angels Landing is a 5.4-mile round-trip climb ending along a narrow rock fin with chains bolted into the stone for the final half-mile. It is one of the most famous and exposed hikes in the country, and a permit is now required through recreation.gov to hike the chains section.
• The Narrows lets you wade straight up the Virgin River through a canyon as tight as twenty feet across, with walls towering overhead. Many hikers rent a wading stick and neoprene socks or boots from outfitters in Springdale before heading up.
• The Emerald Pools Trails range from about 0.6 to 3 miles round trip and pass three pools fed by waterfalls that spill off the sandstone, a shady, family-friendly walk on a hot day.
• The Canyon Overlook Trail is a short one-mile round trip on the east side, just past the tunnel, that climbs to a dramatic viewpoint high above the main canyon. No permit is required, and it packs a big view into a small hike.

People have lived in and around this canyon for thousands of years. The ancestral Puebloan people farmed and hunted here long ago, leaving behind rock art and the traces of small dwellings. The Southern Paiute people knew the canyon as a place of gathering and living, giving it the name Mukuntuweap, which is often translated as straight canyon. The land held deep meaning for them, and their long presence here is part of the park's story and is honored today.

Mormon pioneers pushed into this corner of Utah in the middle of the 1800s, farming the narrow river bottoms and grazing stock. It was one of these early settlers who is said to have called the canyon Zion, an old word for a place of peace and refuge, feeling the towering walls made it a kind of sanctuary. The name stuck, though for a time the federal government tried to bring back the older Paiute name, and the canyon was known as Mukuntuweap National Monument when it was first protected.

That first protection came in 1909, when President William Howard Taft declared Mukuntuweap National Monument. Ten years later, in 1919, Congress enlarged it, changed the name to Zion, and made it a full national park, one of the earliest in the country. In the years that followed, crews built the road up the canyon, and in the mid-1920s engineers blasted the mile-long Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and its switchbacks through the eastern cliffs, opening a route toward Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

In the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps went to work in Zion, as they did across the national parks, building trails, planting, and shaping the campgrounds and paths still used today. Decades later, as cars overwhelmed the narrow canyon, the park brought in a shuttle system in 2000 to carry visitors up the scenic drive instead, easing the crowding and letting the canyon breathe again.

• The towering sandstone of Zion began as a vast field of desert sand dunes some 180 million years ago, later buried, hardened into stone, and then lifted and carved back open by the river. The sweeping curved lines you can see in the rock are the frozen faces of those ancient dunes.
• The Virgin River may look small, but it is a hard worker. It can carry off tons of sand and rock in a single big flood, and it is this steady, patient cutting that carved a canyon 2,000 feet deep.
• The chains on Angels Landing were first strung up in 1926 so hikers could climb the exposed fin. The route was named for a minister who reportedly said that only an angel could land on such a peak.
• Because Angels Landing grew so crowded and so risky, the park started a permit lottery in 2022 to limit how many people climb the chains each day.
• Zion is a place of hanging gardens: where water trickling down through the porous sandstone hits a harder layer, it seeps out of the cliff face, and ferns, wildflowers, and mosses grow straight out of the vertical rock.
• The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, finished in 1930, is more than a mile long and was one of the longest of its kind in the country when it opened. It is so narrow that large vehicles must be escorted through one direction at a time.
• The elevation change across the park is enormous, from about 3,600 feet in the low country to over 8,700 feet on the high plateaus, which means the park holds everything from desert to cool forest.
• The Kolob Canyons section in the northwest holds Kolob Arch, one of the largest freestanding natural arches in the world, hidden deep in the backcountry.

• An entrance fee applies (per vehicle, good for seven days), and interagency annual passes are accepted. Check the park website for current rates.
• A shuttle is required in Zion Canyon from around mid-March through late November: during that season no private vehicles are allowed on the main scenic drive, and you ride the free park shuttle up the canyon instead.
• The Zion Canyon Visitor Center near the south entrance is open year-round and is the best place to start, get shuttle information, and check current trail and river conditions.
• Springdale sits right at the south entrance, about a mile from the visitor center, with lodging, restaurants, and gear shops that rent wading sticks and gear for The Narrows. A town shuttle connects Springdale to the park entrance in the busy season.

Yes. Zion charges a per-vehicle entrance fee that is good for seven days, and interagency annual passes are accepted. Check the National Park Service website for the current rate before you go.

For much of the year you must ride the shuttle. From around mid-March through late November, private vehicles are not allowed up the main Zion Canyon scenic drive, and everyone rides the free park shuttle instead. In the quieter winter months the road usually opens to cars again. The shuttle keeps the narrow canyon from being choked with traffic, and it stops at all the major trailheads.

Yes, for the chains. Since 2022 the park has required a permit, awarded through a lottery on recreation.gov, to hike the final exposed section of Angels Landing where the chains are. You can still hike the lower trail up to Scout Lookout without a permit and enjoy a big view from there. Angels Landing is a steep, narrow ridge with long drops on both sides, so consider your comfort with heights and exposure honestly, and skip it in ice, storms, or high wind.

The Narrows is wonderful but demands respect, because it is a slot canyon and flash floods are a real danger. A storm miles away, even one you cannot see, can send a wall of water down the canyon with little warning, and there is nowhere to climb out in the tightest sections. Always check the flash-flood potential and the river conditions with the park before you go, never enter if flooding is forecast or the water is high or muddy, and turn back if the weather changes. The cold water and slick rocks also make a sturdy wading stick and good footing important.

Summer in Zion is genuinely hot, often well over 100 degrees on the exposed trails, and the heat on places like the Angels Landing chains can be dangerous. Carry far more water than you think you need, start early, rest in the shade during the hottest hours, and know the signs of heat exhaustion. The canyon floor near the river stays cooler, but the open, sunny hikes are where people get into trouble.

Spring and fall are the sweet spot, with mild temperatures, good water levels, and cottonwoods that turn gold in autumn. Summer brings long days but real heat and the biggest crowds, and it is monsoon season, when afternoon storms raise the flash-flood risk in The Narrows. Winter is quiet and beautiful, with a chance of snow dusting the red cliffs and cars allowed back up the canyon, though some higher trails may be icy.

You can see the canyon highlights and walk a shorter trail or two in a full day using the shuttle. To hike The Narrows or Angels Landing and not feel rushed, give it two days. Add more time if you also want to explore the east side beyond the tunnel or drive out to the quieter Kolob Canyons section.

Ride the shuttle up Zion Canyon and stop at the classic overlooks, walk the easy Riverside Walk to the mouth of The Narrows, and visit the Emerald Pools if you want a shaded, gentler hike. If you have the permit and the nerve for heights, Angels Landing is the headliner. On the east side, the short Canyon Overlook Trail just past the tunnel gives a huge view for little effort.

The historic Zion Lodge sits inside the canyon and books up far ahead, and the park has campgrounds near the south entrance that fill quickly in the busy season. Just outside the south entrance, the town of Springdale offers hotels, inns, restaurants, and gear shops within walking distance or a short shuttle ride of the park. Reserve early for anything in or right by the park during spring, summer, and fall.

Pets are quite limited in Zion. They are allowed in developed areas and on the paved Pa'rus Trail, but not on the shuttle or on the other park trails, so they cannot go up The Narrows, Angels Landing, or most of the canyon hikes. Never leave a pet in a hot vehicle, bring plenty of water, and check the park website for the current pet rules before you come.