Zion Canyon
Photo: Vulturesong, CC0 (cropped)
This tour follows the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive from the Visitor Center to the Temple of Sinawava, where the canyon walls close in around the Virgin River. Plan on about five hours with short walks at most stops, more if you hike farther.
For much of the year the Scenic Drive is closed to private cars and the free park shuttle is the way in. The stops here follow the shuttle stops in order, so you can hop off, explore and catch the next bus up canyon. Check nps.gov for current shuttle schedules, entry rules, trail closures and permits before you go, because they change.
Along the way you will meet the Ancestral Puebloans and Southern Paiute who lived here, the pioneers who farmed the canyon floor, and the builders of the park. Carry plenty of water, wear shoes with grip, stay on trails, and keep your distance from wildlife and cliff edges. Summer heat and sudden flash floods are real dangers here.
11 stops on this tour:
Zion Canyon Visitor Center - Gateway to the Canyon
Pa'rus Trail - Walking with the Watchman
Zion Human History Museum - People of the Canyon
Canyon Junction - Where the River Meets the Road
Court of the Patriarchs - Three Stone Fathers
Zion Lodge - A Hotel Rebuilt in 100 Days
Emerald Pools - Waterfalls in the Desert
The Grotto - Base Camp for Angels Landing
Weeping Rock - The Cliff That Cries
Big Bend - Giants All Around
Temple of Sinawava - Where the Canyon Narrows
Plan your visit
- Route: 11 stops · about 9.9 miles · by park shuttle and on foot
- Time: about 5 hours at an easy pace, with stops
- Start: Zion Canyon Visitor Center (directions)
- Cost: free tour; the site itself charges an entrance fee
Stops on this tour
- Zion Canyon Visitor Center - Gateway to the Canyon
- Pa'rus Trail - Walking with the Watchman
- Zion Human History Museum - People of the Canyon
- Canyon Junction - Where the River Meets the Road
- Court of the Patriarchs - Three Stone Fathers
- Zion Lodge - A Hotel Rebuilt in 100 Days
- Emerald Pools - Waterfalls in the Desert
- The Grotto - Base Camp for Angels Landing
- Weeping Rock - The Cliff That Cries
- Big Bend - Giants All Around
- Temple of Sinawava - Where the Canyon Narrows
More tours nearby
- Grand Canyon South Rim (93 mi) - Rock layers almost two billion years deep, Mary Colter
- Area 51 (141 mi) - A day-long desert loop from Las Vegas past secret bases, ghost towns, and the Extraterrestrial Highway.
- Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings (252 mi) - Drive the green table from the visitor center to Cliff Palace, reading 700 years of Ancestral Puebloan life in pithouses, towers and cliff alcoves.