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Zion National Park
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The Ultimate Southwest Vacation includes Zion National Park, Utah!

Stay in Mount Carmel Junction, the heart of the parks, and visit the treasures of the Southwest.

Zion Park 12 miles
Grand Staircase 9 miles
Sand Dunes 11 miles
Dixie Forest 22 miles
Cedar Breaks 45 miles
Red Canyon 47 miles
Coyote Butte 57 miles
Bryce Canyon 60 miles
North Rim 85 miles
Toroweap 90 miles

In these pages you will find insiders information on Zion National Park lodging, adventures and hikes. This detailed guide includes road maps, park maps, pictures, trail beta, backpacking, history, fees, geology, flora, fauna, campgrounds, things for kids to do and even information on Zion's hidden treasures.

Making summer memories in the Utah National Parks and National Monuments.

Utah!

Zion National Park Map

Directions to Zion National Park
From Salt Lake City: 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 Las Vegas: 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.

Oversized Vehicle Information
Zion Canyon Shuttle Information

Bighorn Sheep are rarely seen in Zion National Park, but when they are it's on the east side of the park.

Keeping Cool in the Hot Desert of Zion Park

The tiny little least chipmunk can be seen rushing about in rocky areas as well as the wooded areas. Other common mammals include the beaver, the porcupine, striped skunk and the black-tailed jackrabbit, a hare that can jump at 35 mph. The long ears of the jackrabbit help keep the animal cooler by providing a large surface area of radiating body heat. The warmed blood is circulated and cooled in the thin tissue of the ears. The smaller desert cottontail is slower moving with a busy white tail. The cottontail will hold very still when it feels it is in danger and then dart out looking for safety.

Fauna in Zion National Park

The large diversity of animals in Zion Park

Zion National Park is a small park, measuring only 147,000 acres, but eighty-five percent of Utah's plant and animal species live in Zion. Utah is a large state, 84,900 square miles, compared to the tiny acreage of Zion.

Zion Park is located in the Great Basin Desert where, when it rains, it does so in volumes. The soil cannot absorb the moisture quickly, leaving the terrain dry. A desert is an arid place that receives, on average, less than 10 inches of rain or snow a year. The few snows in the winter help maintain a better balance, but still the hot dry days lead to evaporation.

The Great Basin Desert is called a cool Desert due to at least half of its moisture coming from the winter snow. Many of the Animals have learned to adapt to the high temperatures and the scarcity of water by being active at night or burrowing into the ground during the hottest parts of the day. To appreciate the diversity of these creatures, one must understand they are quite adept at living through the winter as well as the hot summers.

Seventy-five species of Mammals are found in Zion National Park alone. The Mule Deer is a common site in the park compared to the secretive and nocturnal Mountain Lion. The lion is so reclusive that there has never been even one reported attack in Zion National Park. The coyote and the Gray Fox can be seen once in a while, while squirrels scurry all about. The Rock Squirrel and the White-tailed antelope ground squirrel are quite common in Zion Park.

When looking at the mule deer you will see the characteristic big ears. The antlers of the mule deer branch and then branch again once more. In the winter, the mule deer shed their antlers and within a couple of weeks will begin to grow a new set. Deer are seen often in Zion National Park feasting on the grass.

Bighorn Sheep in Zion National Park

Bighorn sheep are rarely seen, but have been sighted in Zion National Park along the switchbacks and the rocky slopes on the east side of the park. Once an abundant animal in the Southwest, but due to human impact, bighorn populations became endangered and finally extinct. Many of the the Southwest's parks are trying to reintroduce the bighorn. The male weighs in at around 300 lbs or a little less than the ewe. Both sexes have the characteristic curved horns on their heads. In Zion Park the Bighorn have been seen in groups up to eighteen. Their habitat is desert environments and steep rocky slopes like that found in Zion National Park. Ideal conditions exist in the valley behind Crawford Mountain (Bridge Mountain) and lower Parunuweap where the Bighorn live now. The sheep's diet consists of shrubs and grass and they can go without water for more than 5 days. There is evidence of the Bighorn Sheep living in the park long ago. The Petroglyphs in Zion's Petroglyphs Canyon show drawings of the Bighorn (Longhorn Sheep or Mountain Rams) showing the animals were there long ago. The Bighorn Sheep are the most common wild animals pictured in the ancient petroglyphs in Utah. The ancient people were dependent on these magnificent animals for food and the sheep were apparently abundant. Their curved horns were used for costume, bows and tools. The Bighorn sheep in the park are just starting to flourish again after they had become extinct due to human impact by early settlers. In fact, in 1950 it is thought that there were no more Bighorn Sheep living in the park. Extreme efforts have been taken to reintroduce the Bighorn to the park. Take care of these beautiful animals if they are seen, there are fewer than a hundred of them living in the park today.

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The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer; but when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again. -- William Beebe Photo: Pine Creek Waterfall © Photography by Tanya

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