Zion Human History Museum - People of the Canyon

Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)

A stop on Zion Canyon, a free self-guided tour.

This building opened in 1960 as the park's visitor center and became the Zion Human History Museum in 2002. Inside, the story is people.

Ancestral Puebloan peoples farmed and hunted in this region for centuries, from early Basketmaker groups to farming villages that lasted until about 1300 A.D. The Southern Paiute, including the band known as the Parrusits, lived along the river after them, gathering seeds, hunting and growing crops. Their descendants remain connected to this land today.

In the 1860s Mormon pioneers arrived. Isaac Behunin farmed the canyon floor from 1863 and is credited with naming it Zion. President William Howard Taft protected the canyon in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument, and in 1919 Congress made it Zion National Park.

Step out onto the back patio for one of the best views of the West Temple and the Towers of the Virgin, glowing red at sunset. Check nps.gov for the museum's current hours.

Getting here: Continue north on the Pa'rus Trail and take the short path to the museum, or ride the shuttle one stop from the Visitor Center.

Did you know?: The West Temple, the great peak behind the museum, is the highest exposure of Navajo Sandstone in Zion.

Photo op: From the museum patio, frame the West Temple and Towers of the Virgin with the green valley in front.

Nearby: Restrooms and water at the museum; check current hours.

More on Wikipedia: Zion National Park · Southern Paiute people · Ancestral Puebloans · William Howard Taft

Zion Human History Museum - People of the Canyon

Stops on this tour