Name: Zion National Park
Address: Utah
Telephone: (435) 772-3256
Rating: 4.8

Home to Zion Canyon, this vast national park offers trails, climbing, camping & more.

The most popular hike in Zion is called The Narrows, where hikers wade through the Virgin River as it carves its way through the canyon.

Most Popular Hike

Zion is known for its 'hanging gardens,' where water seeping from the sandstone cliffs supports unique plant communities, most notably seen around the Emerald Pools.

Hanging Gardens

Angels Landing is a famous, but strenuous, hike in Zion National Park that involves steep switchbacks and chains bolted into the rock for safety.

Challenging Hike

The Virgin River is the primary water source that carved Zion Canyon over millions of years.

Primary Water Source

Zion is famous for its slot canyons, narrow and deep canyons formed by water erosion, offering unique hiking and canyoneering experiences.

Unique Geology

Zion National Park has a desert climate, with hot summers and mild winters, but flash floods are a risk due to the canyon's geography.

Climate

Zion National Park

Zion National Park, Utah, is distinguished by its towering Navajo sandstone cliffs, sculpted over millennia by the Virgin River. Unlike many canyon systems carved from above, Zion's unique geology allows visitors to hike within the river itself, navigating the famed Narrows, a slot canyon where walls can rise thousands of feet above. The park's hanging gardens, sustained by seeping springs, create microclimates that foster rare plant life, a stark contrast to the arid desert environment. Zion is also home to the endangered California Condor, reintroduced to the area after near extinction, soaring above the canyon rims. A lesser-known fact is the presence of petroglyphs left by the Ancestral Puebloans, offering glimpses into the region's rich human history predating European settlement. The park's vibrant colors, ranging from deep reds and oranges to creams and pinks, are due to varying concentrations of iron oxide within the sandstone layers, a geological spectacle unmatched elsewhere.

Introduction

Zion National Park is a premier destination for canyoneering, an activity combining route finding, rappelling, problem-solving, swimming, and hiking through narrow canyons. The park and its surrounding areas offer diverse canyoneering experiences, from beginner-friendly routes to advanced technical challenges. A Wilderness Permit is required for all technical canyoneering trips within Zion National Park, including popular routes like The Subway and the top-down Narrows hike. Commercial canyoneering guide services are not permitted within the Zion Wilderness itself, but licensed and permitted providers offer trips on public and private lands outside the park boundaries, granting access to over 25 different slot canyons in the Zion area.

Several companies provide guided canyoneering tours, with options ranging from half-day to multi-day adventures. These tours often include rappels, hikes, and problem-solving of natural canyon obstacles, with instructors emphasizing safety, Leave No Trace principles, and community building. Some tours cater to specific skill levels and preferences, such as those for athletic groups, experienced adventurers, or those seeking remote and exclusive locations. Transportation from local lodging can be arranged, and customized trip options with meals and added services are available. Canyoneering courses are also offered for those wanting to develop the technical skills needed to explore slot canyons independently.

Canyoneering Adventures

Angels Landing, originally known as the Temple of Aeolus, is a prominent 1,488-foot rock formation within Zion National Park, offering panoramic views of Zion Canyon from its summit. The challenging 2.5-mile trail to the top, carved in 1926, gains approximately 1,500 feet in elevation and is rated as a class 3 hike. Beginning at the Grotto drop-off, accessible via the park's shuttle, the trail ascends alongside the Virgin River before transitioning to a series of steep, paved switchbacks known as Walter's Wiggles, named after Zion's first superintendent, Walter Ruesch.

Scout Lookout serves as a turning point for hikers hesitant to tackle the final, strenuous half-mile to the summit, which involves navigating narrow paths and sharp drop-offs aided by chains. This final section, the Angels Landing Trail-West Rim Trail, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. Given the trail's popularity and inherent risks, a permit system has been in place since 2022, acquired through seasonal or day-before lotteries, to manage overcrowding and enhance safety.

Spring and fall offer the most favorable conditions for hiking Angels Landing. The area's cold semi-arid climate brings light winter snowfall and less than 10 inches of annual rainfall. The summit of Angels Landing, reaching 5,790 feet, provides 360-degree views of Zion Canyon, including landmarks like the Great White Throne and Red Arch Mountain.

Angels Landing

Zion National Park's geological story reveals approximately 150 million years of Mesozoic-aged sedimentation. The park is situated along the edge of the Colorado Plateau, where rock layers have been uplifted, tilted, and eroded, forming the Grand Staircase. This staircase effect means the bottom rock layer at Bryce Canyon is the top layer at Zion, and Zion's bottom layer is the Grand Canyon's top layer.

The formations within Zion, part of the Grand Staircase, were deposited in environments ranging from shallow seas to deserts. The area was once a relatively flat basin near sea level, accumulating sediments that transformed into limestone, mudstone, shale, and sandstone. Mineral-laden waters acted as cementing agents in this lithification process.

Uplift, still occurring today, raised Zion from near sea level to as high as 10,000 feet. This uplift steepened the gradients of rivers, leading to rapid downcutting and the formation of slot canyons like the Zion Narrows. The Virgin River carved Zion Canyon, removing thousands of feet of sediment. Erosion continues to shape the landscape, with sediment-rich floodwaters undercutting cliffs. Landslides have also dammed the Virgin River, creating temporary lakes and flat-bottomed valleys. Volcanic activity, particularly concentrated along the Hurricane Fault, has also played a role, with lava flows blocking rivers and creating lakes.

Geological Formation

Zion National Park, a red rock desert oasis in southern Utah, spans approximately 230 square miles and is known for its diverse plant and animal life. The park boasts over 1,000 plant species, 70 mammal species, and over 200 bird species, alongside reptiles, amphibians, and fish specific to this region. Desert Bighorn Sheep are frequently spotted on the red rocks, including mothers with their young.

The park's climate sees peak temperatures in July, potentially reaching 115°F. Spring months, particularly April and May, offer milder temperatures and minimal rainfall, ideal for outdoor activities and camping. During early May, temperatures typically range from the low 80s during the day to the mid 50s at night, requiring light jackets in the mornings and lighter clothing in the afternoons.

The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, a 12-mile route connecting the south and east entrances, offers views of unique geological formations, including the Great Arch. A notable feature along this highway is the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, constructed between 1927 and 1930, measuring 1.06 miles in length, 22 feet in width, and 16 feet in height. An escort is required for buses, RVs, trailers, or dual-wheeled trucks at an additional cost of $15, on top of the park entrance fee.

Desert Oasis

The Virgin River, a vital component of Zion National Park's landscape, has carved the park's iconic red sandstone canyons over millions of years, most notably creating "The Narrows," a world-renowned hiking destination. Designated as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the river's 165.5 miles within the park and adjacent Bureau of Land Management Wilderness support a unique and thriving ecosystem. The river's natural processes, including seasonal flooding, meander migration, and plant succession, remain unimpeded, fostering exemplary riparian corridors and rare plant communities like the cottonwood gallery forests along Shunes Creek.

The Virgin River and its tributaries provide critical habitat for four native fish species: the Virgin spinedace, flannelmouth sucker, desert sucker, and speckled dace. The Virgin spinedace, found only in the Virgin River system, holds national significance. The river's geologic setting, high flows, sediment loads, and water quality act as natural deterrents to exotic species, preserving the integrity of the native fish populations. The Zion stonefly, an important element of the food web, also thrives here.

These steep-walled canyons foster cool, moist microclimates, creating hanging gardens on vertical sandstone walls that host a complex biotic community, including several plant and animal species unique to the Virgin River system. These hanging gardens can support up to 26 plant species, including seven that grow nowhere else on Earth. The river's geology, situated along the western margin of the Colorado Plateau, features Navajo sandstone exposures, towering sandstone cliffs, and narrow slot canyons, contributing to a diverse landscape that supports unique ecological communities.

Virgin River Ecosystem

Zion National Park, designated as an International Dark Sky Park in 2021, preserves 588 square kilometers of wilderness in southern Utah, offering some of the darkest and clearest skies. The park's commitment extends beyond meeting basic requirements, demonstrating dedication through public education and advocacy, ensuring the celestial wonders remain visible for generations. Zion reduces its light footprint by turning off lights when not in use, utilizing outdoor lights only when necessary, shielding outdoor lighting to point downward, and using warm-colored light bulbs.

Visitors can connect with the night sky, whether avid astrophotographers or first-time Milky Way viewers. The park protects its dark skies by minimizing artificial light, ensuring a truly dark environment after sunset, so preparation is essential. When the Moon is above the horizon, its light will wash out fainter features of the night sky, including the Milky Way. The darkest nights occur during the week leading up to a New Moon.

Essential items for stargazing include layers of clothing, snacks, red lights to preserve night vision, and star maps, as cell service is unreliable. Binoculars or telescopes enhance the experience. Zion's efforts to protect its dark night skies also benefit nocturnal animals and insects that rely on darkness to hunt or hide, preserving the natural circadian rhythms of plants and animals negatively affected by light pollution.

Zion National Park

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Most Popular Hike

Hanging Gardens

Challenging Hike

Primary Water Source

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