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Sites to see in Zion National Park

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.                

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.			Zion Photo: The Great White Throne is one of the largest sandstone monoliths in the world and is the most well known landmark in Zion National Park, in fact it is usually used as the symbol for Zion.
	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.

Angels Landing is well known and although this is an amazing monolith, it's 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. At the far end of Zion Canyon is the Temple of Sinawava and the Pulpit.

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.

Kolob Sites - Far from the mainstream of most visitors are the Subway and the Kolob Arch. The arch is known as 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 it puts Kolob Arch now in second place instead of first place, just behind Landscape Arch in Arches National Park. The Subway is a 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.

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