Zion National Park is one of five national parks in Utah, famous for its breathtaking scenery and incredible hiking. Known for its towering red cliffs and rugged canyons, Zion draws in millions of visitors to see its stunning landscape. There are numerous hiking trails that take you to panoramic vistas, some of which will quite literally take your breath away. And you definitely want to make sure and get to those if you only have 2 days in Zion National Park.
Because of its beauty, Zion is one of the most popular national parks on the west coast. In fact, it’s one of the most visited national parks in the country. And there is a lot to see here.
Getting to Zion National Park
While the nearest airport to Zion National Park is the St. George Regional Airport, the best airport to fly into is the Las Vegas Airport. From Las Vegas, it’s a little under 2.5 hours to drive into Zion. There are also a lot of national parks near Las Vegas, so it’s a better place to start a road trip in my opinion.
The St. George Regional Airport is a smaller airport with only a few airlines that fly into it, so you’ll find fewer and more expensive flights. If you’re not worried about a budget and the timing works out, then St. George might work for you.
If you want to go from Salt Lake City to Zion, you have a few options. You can drive from the Salt Lake City airport which will take you just under 4 hours to drive down to the park. Or, you could take an additional flight from Salt Lake City into St. George. You can even join a Utah yoga retreat that leaves from Salt Lake City that explores Zion and Bryce Canyon.
If you’re doing a Utah + Arizona road trip, I recommend flying into Las Vegas. You’ll follow I-15N all the way to the park.
Getting Around
One of the reasons I like flying into Las Vegas is because there are lots of car rental options and stores for supplies. Regardless of where you fly in, you’ll need a car rental to explore Zion. You don’t need a 4×4 for the park and will have no issues with a regular car.
Park Info:
- Entrance fee: $35 per private vehicle (includes up to 15 people)
- Park Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Other Hours: For the visitors center, gift shops, nature center, etc–most open around 8-9:00am and close between 5-7:00pm.
For entrance into Zion, you can buy your ticket when you arrive at the booth. You can also purchase an ‘America the Beautiful Pass’ here as well!
America the Beautiful Pass – If you plan on visiting several national parks within the year, consider buying the America the Beautiful Pass. It costs $80, good for a year and gives you entry to over 2,000 federal recreation areas in the USA. Definitely worth it if you plan on exploring more than 2 parks in a year!
Shuttles at Zion National Park
There are two shuttles within Zion–the main Zion Canyon Shuttle and the Springdale Shuttle, which are both free to use. The Springdale Shuttle will take people from Springdale to the Visitors Center (great for people staying in Springdale). They can then get on the Zion Shuttle to the different stops throughout the park.
Parking: Parking is available at the Visitor’s Center, Nature Center or Museum. If the lots are full, you can always park in Springdale and take the other shuttle over.
There are 9 stops along the Zion Canyon shuttle route with varying degrees of hikes. From stop 1 to stop 9 takes about 45 minutes. There are Easy hikes, Moderate hikes, Strenuous hikes and no hikes at all, in which case you’d get off the shuttle at the museum. The shuttle stops are:
- Visitor Center
- Museum
- Canyon Junction
- Court of the Patriarchs
- Zion Lodge
- The Grotto
- Weeping Rock
- Big Bend
- Temple of Sinawava
!Important! There is a shuttle season that is different every year. For the most part, the shuttles will be in operation during the end of spring to the end of fall. When the shuttles are operating, Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is NOT open to vehicles and you must take the shuttle.
Itinerary
There are a lot of different options when it comes to exploring Zion National Park. And it really depends on what you want to see and how strenuous you want the hikes to be.
There are two hikes that you don’t want to miss: Angel’s Landing and The Narrows. They both happen to land on the ‘strenuous’ spectrum. If you are up for it–these are definitely worth it to see incredible Utah landscape!
Angel’s Landing
Angel’s Landing is a very scenic hiking trail with lots of greenery in the valley below. I was able to take in this view while wheezing over the edge for air. It’s a great hike, but definitely hard for the non-hikers.
There are 4 parts to Angel’s Landing:
- Long winding switchbacks
- Straightaways with slight incline
- Short, steep, narrow, harder switchbacks.
- The “This is where it gets REAL” part.
Part 4 is what will turn your legs into jelly, your palms into a sweaty mess and make your heart race a bit. This hike is not for the faint of heart nor for those who are afraid of heights.
The Narrows
Although labeled as ‘strenuous’, The Narrows (I found) was a nice and different sort of hike. There is no incline but what makes this a bit difficult is that the hike is through the Virgin River. The water is cold and the rocks are slippery but the canyon walls are vast and incredible. It’s a hike like no other and one that is surely not to be missed!
Things to know
- Water is available at the Visitor Center, Museum, Zion Lodge, The Grotto and Temple of Sinawava.
- There are two shuttles–Make sure you get on the Zion shuttle for hikes and trails.
- Do not wait for the last shuttle. Chances are, they will be very full and if you aren’t able to get on one, you’ll end up walking 9 miles back.
- Permits are needed for backcountry travel and are now needed to hike Angel’s Landing.
For more information and park updates, check out NPS.
What to Bring
Water. Always water. We traveled with a full water bottle and a 2 liter camel pack inside our backpacks and filled them up whenever possible. Salty snacks and snacks in general. Sunscreen. Sunglasses. Antibacterial Gel. Small First Aid kit. Backpack. Good hiking shoes.
For The Narrows: all of the above plus shoes for water. They tell you not to use water shoes, but I did and was fine. They also tell you that you need to rent all this water proof gear because the water is too cold, but I didn’t and was fine (though, I went in summer). A walking stick would be useful but not necessary. I survived without one, but almost ate it several times. It also gets cooler in The Narrows, so a jacket is nice to have at the beginning.
Where to Stay
Because of its popularity, there are a lot of hotels around Zion National Park and a few options within the park as well. Springdale is the closest town to Zion and where you’ll find many accommodation options. Whether you’re camping or staying in a lodge/hotel, making reservations in advance is required or strongly recommended.
Camping
Zion has 3 campsites within the National Park:
- South Campground – ($20/night) fills between 9-noon with assignments starting at 7am (according to their site).
- Watchman – ($20/night) is also popular with about 186 spots, takes reservations and was sold out when I looked 2 weeks in advance of our trip. There are also a few walk-in tent sites.
- Lava Point – Has 6 primitive camp sites, though it’s further than the others by an hour and 20 minutes. Reservations required. Free.
For more options around Zion, check out these Utah camping spots.
Lodges + Hotels
There are several hotels and lodges in Springdale that are on the route of the Springdale Shuttle. These would be ideal as you wouldn’t have to worry about parking and could connect to the other shuttle easily.
- Cliffrose Lodge
- Flanigan’s Inn
- Bumbleberry Inn
- Hampton Inn & Suites
- Holiday Inn Express
- Driftwood Lodge
What’s Nearby
- Yant Flat – A hiking trail that leads to the ‘candy cliffs’ of Utah–orange and grey patterned rock formations.
- Bryce Canyon National Park – A national park with orange hoodoos–tall rock spires with trails around them.
PIN IT FOR LATER
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