Park rangers care for the special places set aside by the American people to conserve and experience our heritage. This page will help you learn how to steward and enjoy Zion.
Experiencing this desert oasis can be a magical, but it can also be dangerous if you're unprepared. Zion is shaped by forces to be reckoned with and respected. Planning ahead can you prepare to face or avoid scorching heat, frigid cold, or roaring flash floods.
When you're ready, Zion offers many experiences to enjoy. You can follow the paths where dinosaurs, indigenous people, and pioneers walked, gaze up at cream, pink, and red sandstone cliffs that soar into a brilliant blue sky, and explore Wilderness in narrow slot canyons. The park's unique landscapes, plants, animals, and history will enchant as you encoutner their rich past while enjoying the excitement of present day adventures.
Your safety is your responsibility. Use this information to help inform happy, healthy visits at Zion National Park.
Maps & Basic Information
Parking
Lots fill early year-round. When you are in Zion Canyon, you can park in Springdale and ride the free Zion Canyon Shuttle System to enter at our pedestrian entrance. You do not have to drive to enter Zion from Springdale.
No matter where you are in Zion, only use designated parking areas. Parking outside of designated spots can harm plants, animals, and history.
Zion is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year round. Park visitor center hours change seasonally. Check hours before you visit.
When the Zion Canyon Shuttle System is operating, Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is only accessible by shuttle. If you want to use a personal vehicle on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive at a time of year when the shuttle is not running, check the Zion Canyon Shuttle Schedule.
Conditions change quickly. Check the forecast before you enter the park, dress in layers, and bring plenty of water no matter when during the year you visit. Flash floods are always possible, and it is essential to know what to expect before entering canyons. Trails and roads roads are sometimes not open due to rockfall, flooding, or weather.
Zion offers a guided and self-guided Junior Ranger booklet for visitors who are four years old and older. Check facility hours and get a Junior Ranger books for free at visitor centers, the Zion Human History Museum, and the Nature Center.
Zoom in on our map and tap the points that mark entrances, shuttle stops, visitor centers, trailheads, campgrounds, and other facilities.
For more maps, including the park brochure, large print publications, and backcountry hiking, camping, climbing, and canyoneering information in our Wilderness Guide, read Zion publications.
Everyone who visits Zion needs to have a park pass. You can buy a weekly pass (the cheapest pass we are authorized to sell) at the park entrance, or you can show an annual or lifetime pass.
If fee stations are not open when you enter the park, please pay when you leave or speak to a ranger with a cash register at a campground or visitor center.
Large vehicles like almost all motor homes, recreational vehicles (RVs), and travel trailers cannot travel through the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel unless a ranger stops traffic so that the driver can drive over the tunnel center line. Most cars or SUVs can drive through the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel at any time, but some pick-up trucks are too large to fit through the tunnel without traffic control.
Know when rangers will be present because you cannot drive a large vehicle or trailer through the tunnel (i.e. drive across Zion) unless they stop traffic for you.
Learn about the landscapes, plants, animals, and history that define Zion.
Need to Know
Your safety is your responsibility. Be prepared for your day ahead, and whether you ride a shuttle or drive your own car in Zion Canyon, be prepared for crowds.
Parking fills early year-round.
Park only in designated parking areas. Illegally parked vehicles can harm park plants and animals and may be ticketed or towed.
In general, fewer people visit Zion on weekdays than weekends. Consider arriving early or after 3 p.m. to avoid the busiest times of day.
Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration and watch for signs of heat stress.
Stay on trails and avoid walking in the road.
Go Before You Go. Use restrooms at trailheads and shuttle stops before venturing out on trails.
B.A.R.K. in the park. Pets are only allowed in campgrounds, on paved surfaces, and the Pa’rus Trail. Plan ahead if you will visit with a pet.
Ride your bike on the road or the Pa’Rus Trail. Bicycling is not allowed on any other trails in the park. If you are riding in the road, you must stop to let buses pass you.
Follow Leave No Trace practices everywhere in the park and be sure to pack out all your trash.
Every hiker needs a permit to visit the Left Fork of North Creek (the Subway).
Calendar of Events
Park rangers share their knowledge with free talks throughout the year. Look at our calendar to see when and where you can join a program during your visit.
Some programs require you to sign-up at a visitor center ahead of time, so be sure to read the details before you plan to attend.
Zion National Park
1 Zion Park Blvd.
Springdale,
UT
84767
Phone:
435-772-3256
If you have questions, please email zion_park_information@nps.gov.
Listen to recorded information by calling anytime 24 hours a day.
Rangers answer phone calls from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. MT, but a ranger may not answer if they are already speaking with someone else.
