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Zion National Park

One place among the collection of National Parks and National Monuments shines above all the others. Utah's Zion National Park portrays the type of beauty that stops us in our tracks, gaping in awe. Nature's extreme forces and the violence of Mother Nature have created perfection in the heart of Utah's Color Country. Years of raging storms pitting ice, water and snow against rock have produced wondrous creations protected by the National Park Service and kept pristine for all the world to enjoy. Zion National Park is the glory of  Utah!

Zion National Park in Utah ... is Spectacular!
Zion is often said to be the most beautiful place in America. "Spectacular" is uttered time and time again as eyes raise to view the vast monoliths of the best of Utah's National Parks. Zion National Park unveils its eight layers of sandstone, displaying what has taken two-hundred-million years to carve and mold. This spectacular corner of Utah is a masterpiece of towering cliffs, deep red canyons, mesas, buttes and massive monoliths. Zion's fame is due to more than beauty, it can also boast on its geology, hiking, backpacking and some of the best scenic drives anywhere. In the center is Mt. Carmel Jct., located at the east side of the park and only 60-miles from Bryce Canyon, 45-miles from Cedar Breaks, 9-miles from an entrance to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 85-miles from Grand Canyon and 11-miles from the Coral Pink Sand Dunes.

Directions to Zion National Park From the North: Travel I-15 south, past Beaver. Exit on Hwy 20. Follow US-89 to Mount Carmel Junction. Take SR-9 to Zion's east entrance. From Arizona: Travel US-89A through Fredonia, Arizona and Kanab Utah. Follow US-89 to Mount Carmel Junction. Take SR-9 to the east park entrance. From the South: Travel I-15 north. Take exit 16 and travel through Hurricane to LaVerkin. Continue on SR-9 to the south entrance of the park. SR-9 through Zion National Park is always open and is also called the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway.			Canyoneer, Shaun Vernon, rappels above the Zion Narrows, the the most  famous hike in the National Park System. Visitors should experience at least a portion of the grand daddy of all slot canyons - Zion Narrows.
	Zion National Park Lodging Lodging and services are available in East Zion. The main road through Zion, the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway (SR-9) is open year-round, and is not a route the Zion Canyon Shuttle takes. Zion Canyon is deep inside the park. Towering 3000' walls form a slot canyon, forged by the violent rush of torrent water over millions of years. From late March to late October access through the six mile stretch of road is via the Zion Canyon Shuttle, the rest of the year the canyon is accessed in private vehicles.

Utah National Parks and Monuments - The enchantment of nature is abundant in Utah, where more than eighty-percent of the abundant state is land administered for public use by federal and state agencies. Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument share a common sanctuary in the vast desert of Southern Utah. To their audience they reveal spellbinding allure, capturing the hearts of the world's visitors. Millions of people come to Utah's National Parks and Monuments each year, where they experience the medley of stone grandeur carved and sculptured by fierce torrents of water and weather. No where in America is the land so spectacular, the air so clean and the water as pure as it is in this corner of the Southwest. Experience Zion National Park and some of the grandest scenery on earth in one short and spectacular vacation.

Zion National Park Landmarks - Impressive Zion National Park landmarks literally fill Zion Canyon, such as Cathedral Mountain, Temple of Sinawava and the Great White Throne; each living up to its namesake. Zion National Park is indeed the showcase of the West. What are considered to be the "best Utah hikes" are located in Zion National Park. The top contenders: East and West Rims, Angels Landing and Emerald Pools. The Zion Narrows, the granddaddy of the slot canyons, is perhaps the best trail in the United States. The easy and short Weeping Rock Trail and Riverside Walk are short, scenic and the most traveled hikes in the park.

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