Destination List > Zion National Park

Zion National Park

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The history...

Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to 2,640 ft (800 m) deep. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone eroded by the North Fork of the Virgin River. The lowest point in the park is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest peak is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches.

Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans, one of which was the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Anasazi (c. 300 CE). Subsequently, the Virgin Anasazi culture (c. 500) and the Parowan Fremont group developed as the Basketmakers settled in permanent communities. Both groups moved away by 1300 and were replaced by the Parrusits and several other Southern Paiute subtribes. Mormons came into the area in 1858 and settled there in the early 1860s. In 1909, President William Howard Taft named the area Mukuntuweap National Monument in order to protect the canyon. In 1918, the acting director of the newly created National Park Service, Horace Albright, drafted a proposal to enlarge the existing monument and change the park's name to Zion National Monument, Zion being a term used by the Mormons. According to historian Hal Rothman: "The name change played to a prevalent bias of the time. Many believed that Spanish and Indian names would deter visitors who, if they could not pronounce the name of a place, might not bother to visit it. The new name, Zion, had greater appeal to an ethnocentric audience." On November 19, 1919, Congress redesignated the monument as Zion National Park, and the act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson. The Kolob section was proclaimed a separate Zion National Monument in 1937, but was incorporated into the national park in 1956.

The geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area includes nine formations that together represent 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation. At various periods in that time warm, shallow seas, streams, ponds and lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments covered the area. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateau lifted the region 10,000 feet (3,000 m) starting 13 million years ago.

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Park and check out the hoodoos near the Hop Valley Trailhead.

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Grab a pic of The Watchman from the Canyon Junction Bridge. Arrive early if you want a pic at sunset.

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Visit the park at night for the amazing views of the night sky.

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Spot a Bighorn Sheep. Keep watch as they like to hang out on the cliffs.

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Stop and enjoy the magnificent views at the Court of the Patriarchs viewpoint.

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Walk down to the river at Big Bend and enjoy the stunning views. You may even see a condor soar overhead.

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Hike the 1-mile round trip trail to the Canyon Overlook for some of the best views of the park.

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Adventure through a narrow, red rock canyon at The Narrows. You don't need to do the whole hike to enjoy the views while walking through the Virgin River.

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Explore the 54-mile Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.

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Walk the paved trail to the Emerald Pools.

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Take in the views of the nearly 3,000 foot natural amphitheater, Temple of Sinawava.

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Explore the park and spot wildlife on the Riverside Walk

Did you know?

1919

established

Congress redesignated the park as a national park on November 19, 1919.

8,726 ft

highest peak

Horse Ranch Mountain is the highest peak in the park at 8,726 ft.

4.5 mil

visitors/year

Tourist have been enjoying the park since the first wagon roads were converted to auto roads in 1910.

Utah, let's explore...

Capitol

Salt Lake City

Statehood

January 4, 1896