Overview – Zion National Park, Utah

Adventures in Zion National Park will occur and be documented beginning Spring of 2022 and continuing through 2023. Watch for some exciting, informative adventures!

Getting to Zion National Park, Utah from Las Vegas

From Las Vegas take I-15 North. Then turn right onto Hwy 17 (S. Toquerville Blvd) at Anderson Junction, Utah. Turn left onto Hwy 9. Then turn left onto Zion Canyon Road which will eventually become Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.

Navigating the Rules of Zion National Park, Utah

Unlike other wilderness areas such as Death Valley National Park, Mt. Charleston Wilderness and many others, you can’t just drive up to a trailhead in Zion National Park and start hiking due to rules designed to protect this popular wilderness area from overcrowding. So, your adventures in Zion National Park will take a little more pre-planning along with permit applications in some cases. Here’s how the system works at Zion National Park:

1. 1. Zion Canyon Scenic Drive: Closed to private vehicles during the shuttle season. The shuttle is free, and can be accessed at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. You must park and ride the shuttle to destinations along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, the main access to many of the popular trailheads in Zion National Park. When the shuttle is not in service you can drive into Zion National Park as long as the parking areas have space available. For example, January 2 to February 18, 2022 the shuttle was “not in service”. February 19 to March 13, shuttle hours were listed. See the most current shuttle schedule here. For more shuttle information and routes to specific trailheads see the Zion Park Information Guide.
   2. Angel’s Landing, Spring 2022 Example:  Register between January 3-20, 2022 for the seasonal lottery for spring hiking permits for April 1 – May 31, 2022. If you don’t have a permit, you can’t hike Angel’s Landing. For the latest lottery registration dates, rules, application and process visit the Zion National Park permits page

As you can see, there are unique rules to navigate BEFORE you head into Zion National Park. The information and links above will get you started, so you don’t make a trip to Zion only to discover that you can’t go to your desired destination!

Please note that the policy and procedures for Zion National Park are in a state of change. And, conditions in the park change from time to time. The information above is meant to help you become aware of the rules and what documents to look for. You’d need to navigate multiple pages on the Zion National Park page of the National Park Service website to get the general landscape of what to look for that I’ve provided in the few paragraphs above. Here you an example of the situation during one window of time: Upcoming Winter or Spring. Look for the updated information on the Zion National Park page of the National Park Service website.