The start of our road trip from Las Vegas to Washington D.C. led us to a familiar spot. After our move to Las Vegas, Zion National Park quickly became one of our favorite locations to visit. Only a quick 2 and a half hour drive leads you from sin city to incredible canyon walls. While the visitation at Zion has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, as long as you can venture more than a mile down a trail or off the beaten path a little bit, you’ll lose most of the crowd. I will detail many of our favorite things to do at Zion in future posts.

Farewell Zion

We used our road trip as sort of a farewell to Zion on our way to Bryce Canyon. The road into the park is restricted from mid-March through the fall to private vehicles unless you are staying at the Zion Lodge so we chose to drive through Springdale and up Route 9 toward the tunnel. (Be sure to check the shuttle schedule on the park website prior to visiting, as this is changing all the time due to increases in visitation.)

Canyon Overlook Trail

Immediately after exiting the tunnel, there is a small parking area for the Canyon Overlook Trail. This trail is only 1 mile, but there are long drop-offs so it is not recommended for little ones walking! (We took both of our kids in backpacks.) The views of the lower canyon from the end of the trail are just incredible! It was a wonderful farewell (for now) to our favorite home away from home. After finishing the hike, we continued our drive to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Stay At The Lodge If You Can

While we didn’t stay a night at Zion National Park on our road trip, we’ve visited enough times to know it’s ins and outs. Staying in Springdale and riding the shuttle in and out of the park is easy to figure out, but if available, stay at the Zion Lodge. We’ve stayed at the Majestic View Lodge at the very end of the Springdale shuttle stops and it is beautiful. The views at the pool are hard to beat. But, the convenience of staying at the Zion Lodge in the park is hard to beat. Because it’s in the heart of the park, the lodge is the perfect location for starting trails early without the crowds. The view of the canyon walls from the grass lawn is breathtaking. If you’re lucky you’ll enjoy a cool evening on the lawn with a family of mule deer enjoying dinner.