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Best Western East Zion Thunderbird Lodge

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One place among the collection of National Parks and National Monuments shines above all the others. Zion National Park, in Utah, 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 is often said to be the most beautiful place in America. "Spectacular" is uttered time and time again as eyes are raised to view the vast monoliths of the best of Utah's National Parks. Zion unveils its eight layers of sandstone, displaying what has taken two-hundred-million years to carve and mold. This spectacular corner of Southern Utah is a masterpiece of towering cliffs, deep red canyons, mesas, buttes and massive monoliths. Zion's fame is due to more than its beauty, but also its incredible geology hiking, backpacking and scenic drives. In the center is Mount Carmel Junction, located at the east side of Zion National Park and only 60 miles from Bryce Canyon, 45 miles from Cedar Breaks, 9 miles from an entrance to the Grand Staircase 85 miles from Grand Canyon and 11 miles from the Coral Pink Sand Dunes.                            

The enchantment of nature is abundant in Utah, where nearly eighty-percent of the state is land administered for public use by federal and state agencies. Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, 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 visit 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. Nowhere in America is the land so spectacular, the air so clean and the water so pure as it is in this corner of Utah.  Experience Zion National Park and the some of the best scenery on earth in one short and spectacular vacation.

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 the most traveled hikes in Zion National Park.

From the North: Travel I-15 south, past Beaver. Exit on Hwy 20. Follow US-89 to Mount Carmel Junction. Take U-9 to Zion's east entrance.
From Arizona: Travel 89A through Fredonia, Arizona and Kanab Utah. Follow US-89 to to Mount Carmel Junction. Take U-9 to the east park entrance.
From the South: Travel I-15 north. Take exit 16 and travel through Hurricane. Make a right on U-9 at the second traffic light in LaVerkin. Continue on U-9 to the south entrance of the park. U-9 through Zion National Park is always open and is also called the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway.