One Day in Zion National Park
- nicole elizabeth
- Feb 8
- 7 min read
I've been to Zion National Park twice now, and I highly recommend that if you find yourself in southwestern Utah, make it a point to check this park out. Both times I've gone, I've unfortunately only had one day in the park, but I got the chance to do different hikes on both visits. There is so much to do and see at this park, and it's definitely up there with my favorite national parks. Hopefully, this post will inspire you to take your own trip out west to visit this breathtaking park.
Table of Contents:
About Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in southwestern Utah, made up of sandstone cliffs, slot canyons, and the valley carved by the Virgin River. This area was originally home to indigenous people and Mormon settlers who named the area Zion after the biblical term for refuge. Zion officially became a national park in 1919, and is Utah's first national park. Today, the park sees about 5 million visitors a year! If coming from out of state, as we did, I recommend flying into either the St. George Regional Airport or the Las Vegas International Airport, as these are the closest airports to the park. There are a few nearby towns to stay in if visiting the park, including Springdale, Hurricane, Kanab, and St. George. During my trips, I personally stayed in Kanab during my first time visiting and in St. George for my second time. I found that both of these towns were great for a trip that pairs Zion with Bryce Canyon and other state parks in the area.
Like most of the other US National Parks, the cost to enter Zion is $35 per vehicle or free with an annual or lifetime park pass. Certain hikes in Zion also require a timed entry permit, so make sure you do your research before visiting the park! Most permits can be found on recreation.gov. During the busy parts of the year (late Spring-early Fall), you cannot drive your car on the main scenic drive; however, there is a free shuttle system to take you to different areas throughout the park. There are two main shuttle lines: the Zion Canyon Shuttle, which is the shuttle system that operates within the park, and is the shuttle you would use to reach most of the trailheads. Shuttle information can be found at the Zion Visitor Center. The other shuttle is the Springdale Shuttle that connects parts of the town to parts of the park. Information on both shuttle systems can also be found on https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/zion-canyon-shuttle-system.htm
Arrival and First Impressions
I first visited Zion in July 2020. Knowing that even during COVID, we were visiting during peak season and the park would probably get crowded, we got there around 8:00 am. Due to the COVID restrictions at this time, the shuttle system was actually not active, so we were able to drive through the park along Route 9. To our surprise, we actually didn't have much trouble finding parking at a lot of the parking lots along the scenic drive. I've experienced both driving and using the shuttle system in Zion- during my second trip in July 2022, we didn't arrive at the park until around noon, and we had to park about 1.5 miles away from the park entrance, and walk all the way just to the park entrance, so I definitely recommend, especially if visiting during peak season, to arrive early!
Since we had the opportunity to drive all along Route 9 during my first visit, from the second we entered the park, I was absolutely taken aback by the beauty and vastness of the park! This was really one of my first times out west experiencing sights like this, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect beforehand.
Morning Hike: Pa'rus Trail
Both of my 1-day in Zion experiences were vastly different from what I did, so I'm going to touch on both. If you're trying to see more of the park in just 1 day, I recommend following this itinerary we followed during my first trip: After arriving in the park and spending some time along route 9, we headed to the Visitor's Center by the main canyon area. After stocking up on stickers and other souvenirs, we decided to walk along the Pa'rus Trail. This trail is located in the lower part of Zion Canyon and starts right at the visitor's center. This trail is also outside of the main shuttle system, so this is a trail that you do not need to ride the shuttle to access. The Visitor's Center offers plenty of parking, but it does fill up fast! The Pa'rus Trail is an extremely accessible trail, as it is primarily flat, paved, and is used for both biking and walking. This is also the only trail throughout the park that allows pets. While on this trail, we were able to get close to the Virgin River as well. The Virgin River offered beautiful green-blue water, and although at the time that we went, it was full of bacteria, so we unfortunately could not actually go into the water, it still offered beautiful scenery. The trail total is a 3.4 out-and-back trail, and is a pretty quick trail that still offers some awesome views of different parts of the main canyon.
Midday Hike: Canyon Overlook Trail
When we finished the Pa'rus trail, we then decided to do a hike to gain some elevation to truly see some of the views that this park had to offer. Since the weather was starting to become iffy as the day went on, we decided to keep the overlook trail we chose a short one, and opted for the Canyon Overlook Trail, and I can definitely say I was not disappointed by the views. To this day, this is still one of my favorite hikes that I've ever done! I think it's a great alternative if you're not up for hiking Angel's Landing, as the views are very similar, in my opinion. This hike is located on the east side of the park, just past the Zion-MountCarmel Tunnel. We'll circle back to that tunnel! Canyon Overlook overlooks Zion Canyon and has views of switchbacks, the canyon floor, and beautiful cliffs. This is another spot that the Zion shuttle does not go to, so the hike is accessible by car along Highway 9. Once you pass through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, immediately, there is a small pull-off parking lot area. This is where you want to park to access this hike; however, this parking lot is very small and also fills up pretty quickly! This trail was only a 1-mile moderate out-and-back trail, although it definitely felt longer due to the variety of terrain. The view from the top of this viewpoint was absolutely amazing!
The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel
I can't even truly express the feeling of driving through this tunnel; it truly was an experience! This is the historic tunnel that cuts through some of Zion's cliffs, connecting the Zion Canyon with the east side of the park via Route 9. The tunnel was opened in 1930 and is a little over a mile long. Immediately upon exiting the tunnel, you are met with towering sandstone canyon walls and vast views; it's truly something spectacular to see!
An Alternate Plan: Angel's Landing
My second time visiting the park, on top of driving the same scenic route as the first time, I opted to take on Angel's Landing. If you're up for the challenge, this is another great way to spend one day in the park. I have a whole separate post here about my experience hiking Angel's Landing if you want to read more in-depth about this hike. This hike easily took about 4-hours and was extremely difficult, but also extremely rewarding! I recommend that if you are planning to do this hike, make it one of the only things you do in the park this day, as you want to be able to take your time and truly experience what this hike has to offer. Plus, you'll probably be pretty tired afterwards!! Angel's Landing is only accessible via the shuttle system. You can board the Zion Shuttle system at the Visitor's Center and take it to stop #6 - the Grotto, which leads you right to the trailhead across the street. Since my last trip here, Angel's Landing is one of the hikes in Zion that implemented a permit system. Permits can be purchased on recreation.gov.
Is One Day in Zion Worth It?
In my opinion, if you are faced with the decision of only spending 1 day in Zion or completely skipping it because you don't think you'll get to see enough of the park, absolutely spend the 1day here! I wiill say, there is so much to see in this park, and it would be ideal to spend 2-3 days here, but there is still a lot to see in just 1 day. To maximize just one day here, if you're looking to see as much as possible in one day, I recommend opting for some of the shorter, easier hikes rather than a complicated, long one, such as the Narrows or Angel's Landing. However, if your goal in visiting the park is simply just to do one of these longer, notable hikes, then absolutely spend your 1 day here doing that! My next trip back, I will definitely spend at least two days here because my next bucket list hike is the Narrows. Obviously the most important thing to do when planning a day trip to Zion Nat'l Park is to figure out which trails & overlooks are must-sees, and determine the rest of the day based on those. Everybody goes to Zion for different reasons, but I feel like this one-day itinerary is a good combination of a few different things to maximize your time in the park. I hope this post gives you some ideas for your trip to Zion! Thanks for reading, and remember, there's always more to be explored :)
-nicole elizabeth
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