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Best Western East Zion Thunderbird Lodge

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Famous Zion National Park sites shine with inimitable Utah character throughout this Southwest park. While driving along the Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy, you be awed as brilliant technicolor bursts from surrounding cliffs. Starting at the far south side of the park, towering monoliths dot the landscape including: West Temple, Sundial, Temple of Sacrifice, Sentinel and one of Zion's only spires, the Watchman. Continuing east through the park, up the narrow, winding switchbacks, notice the bulbous shaped Beehives and other beautiful sites such as the Twin Brothers, Mt. Spry, Streaked Wall and the wide span of the Great Arch.

Sites on the East side of Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel.  The red tinted Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy leads to magnificent slick rock on the east side of the tunnel such as the East Temple. Watch for whimsical hoodoos peeking from the tops of sandstone mounds, hills and mountains. Don't resist the temptation to pull over along the Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy and ponder the display of sandstone and rock patterns carved through millenniums. Venture to the farthest edge of the park, the east entrance, to view the extraordinary geological wonder, Checkerboard Mesa. While on the east side of the park explore the lesser known routes in the park. This main highway through Zion is always open to private vehicles and is without a doubt one of the best scenic drives in the country. RV's need to travel between 8am and 8pm in the summer and in the winter be sure to travel through the tunnels by 6pm. 

Sites in Zion Canyon - Most windshield tourists simply drive through the park along the Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy, and experience the main section of Zion. Although the fourteen-mile drive from the south to the east entrance of the park is spectacular, make sure to also experience the six-mile shuttle ride into Zion Canyon. This short road is accessible by private vehicle when the park is less busy which is usually after October 30th until April 1st.  

Angels Landing is well known and although this is an amazing monolith, its fame is due to the daring half-mile fin that hikers dare tread, as well as the numerous big wall climbing routes on its rock-face. Climbers are often seen scaling the rock at the Big Bend shuttle stop. From the top of Angels Landing, the Great White Throne peeks its pearly crown slightly above the line of view. In Zion Canyon there are other well-known sites including the Court of the Patriarchs, Cathedral Mountain, Cable Mountain, Lady Mountain, Observation Point, Zion Narrows and the Virgin River. Both the Temple of Sinawava and the Pulpit are found at the farthest end of Zion Canyon.

Favorite Sites - The most famous site in the park must be the towering Great White Throne. The name was given by a Methodist minister, taken from a phrase in the "Book of Revelation." At the opposite end of the park is the second most famous site in the park, the geologic wonder: Checkerboard Mesa. Situated between these two sites is the man-made, Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, which is known for its ingenious 1930 engineering.

Sites in the Kolob Sections of the park - Far from the mainstream of most visitors are the Subway and the Kolob Arch. The Kolob Arch is notable for being one of the "largest free standing arches in the world." This fact is often debated however, depending on the method of measurement used. As of the last measurement I have read about, it puts Kolob Arch now in second place instead of first place, just behind Landscape Arch in Arches National Park. The Subway is a popular and remote semi-technical canyoneering route located on the Kolob Terrace that has become popular due to photographs of it rather than a site that most people see while in Zion.