Zion National Park

[Battis]

How crowded is Zion? I read stories, watch videos, and it appears to be very crowded (1st week in May).

[NSB]

It varies by season, school breaks, etc. Google will give you that info by month. I was there in Sept when the kids were back in school and it was just a tiny bit cooler than mid summer. It was busy, not packed. Beautiful place to visit.

[Battis]

I should have phrased it better. When Zion is crowded, is it still worth visiting?

[max it]

Hi Battis, better check their website; you may need reservations. We would go anytime, since there is reservations on the buses.
We love it. Several trips there overland from So. Cal. We usually stay in St. George although the Springdale site is right at the gate. We did that once. Lovely hotel, a bit spendy.
Happy Trails, Max

[Battis]

My wife made the plans awhile back and I just got around to checking it out. Looks nice but, the crowds...maybe it won't be too bad in May.

[waksupi]

I don't think you can find a national park that isn't crowded nowadays. Check your map, there are a lot of other great places that are similar in the southern part of the state.

[Battis]

Flying into Las Vegas, driving up to Zion that day (few days stay), then over to the Bryce area, then Monument Valley, then Sedona, leaving from Phoenix. That's only a few inches of driving on the map.
I'm sure things will change when we get there.

[Wayne Smith]

Be careful at Zion - If you go back into the canyons the chance of a flood is always there - and the rain that caused it is likely miles away and you never had any indications that it was there. Pay particular attention to the weather forecast for the whole area. Go in the wet season and those canyons are particularly dangerous.

[quilbilly]

As long as schools are in session, Zion isn't at its worst for crowding so May might be a little better. Nevertheless, due to its proximity to Las Vegas, the main valley of Zion will always be a bit of a circus. The heavy rains that area had over the last four months may have damaged a lot of roads throughout your area of travel. Normally, I would recommend areas just north of Zion but those areas will still have a lot of snow. We really loved Bryce and Cedar Breaks N.M. but they are way up in elevation and will get snow clear into June.

[MOshooter]

Zion is worth the visit.

I went in the Fall and it was still fairly busy then.
It was my last stop in Southern UT. that year. I rode my motorcycle from Missouri to tour the southern parks of Utah. My first stop was Moab,UT where I was able to take in Arches NP, also Canyonland, as well as Dead Horse Point. All of these locations were well worth seeing with some pretty spectacular views.
Next I rode to Capitol Reef which was very interesting, unfortunately it was raining hard, so I didn't get to take in the sights there. Onward through the mountain range, crossed the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument on the way to Bryce Canyon which was an awesome park with great scenic views.
My last stop from Bryce was MT. Zion NP and what a jewel of southern UT. I could've stayed there much longer, with all the spectacular sights and views.

If you have the opportunity, go see MT. ZION NP

[10x]

My wife and visited Zion in late August 1973 on our honeymoon. It was not crowded then and it was an incredible place to visit.
It was like traveling through a live National Geographic Arcticle

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/article/grand-canyon-national-park

[quilbilly]

If you do head up to Zion from Hurricane, Ut., Keep an eye out for the community of Grafton. The movie scenes in Butch Cassidy and Sundance... where Paul Newman and Catherine Ross were riding the bicycle were filmed just across the creek from there (accessed by bridge and dirt road). The building and site are beautiful so worth a quick stop. Beware of marauding wild turkeys.

[Wag]

Definitely worth visiting. Also, go visit Bryce Canyon. Personally, I prefer Bryce, but if you're in the area, definitely do both.

--Wag--

[max it]

Battis. Happy Trails..

[Battis]

I lived in SLC back in my skiing days (70s) but I never made it to southern Utah. Love the wide open country of the West. Here, on the East Coast, the only wide open is the ocean. The northeast is my favorite but a change is good. We average 1500 driving miles on these trips (2000 miles the last time we went to SD to ND, then back to SD). I tried to finagle a trip back to SD this time but the logistics are tough. I want to go back to the Badlands and Black Hills in the late fall, when the earth isn't 10 miles from the sun.
Still looking at Kentucky.

[waksupi]

If you do head up to Zion from Hurricane, Ut., Keep an eye out for the community of Grafton. The movie scenes in Butch Cassidy and Sundance... where Paul Newman and Catherine Ross were riding the bicycle were filmed just across the creek from there (accessed by bridge and dirt road). The building and site are beautiful so worth a quick stop. Beware of marauding wild turkeys.

Now I'm puzzled. When I was at Rancho de la Golandrinas (sp), I was told that scene was filmed there.

I had to look it up, I was misinformed! Not the first time in my life.

"One of the movie’s most famous moments, however, features Ms. Ross with Paul Newman’s Butch Cassidy riding a bicycle together as the “Raindrops” song accompanies them on the soundtrack. The scene was filmed in October 1968 in Grafton, Utah, a ghost town that sits between Zion National Park and the city of St. George."

[Battis]

Charting it out now...looks like a nice drive.

[Digger]

Years ago on my various travels , a friend and I were driving in to the park and as we arrived they had the road temporally blocked as were first in line sitting there.
Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy went driving by in front of us , my friend and I looked at each other " what the heck ?"
Later on we found out that was when they were shooting the movie " the Eiger Sanction" ...
On the way out , we pointed to the area where they filmed the scene for " Butch Cassidy".

[Battis]

Just got back from the trip. Zion was amazing with very few crowds. We drove through it then back again with no traffic issues.
Bryce was incredible. Again, no crowds and even a little snow storm.
Horseshoe Bend, Valley of Fire, Pioneer Park (St George) - beautiful country. We did about 1100 miles.
Sedona was mobbed. Mobbed. Driving from Sedona to Goodyear is about a 2 hr ride - it took us about 4 1/2 hrs due to construction.
Never made it to Monument Valley. Next time.

[Wag]

That sounds like a great trip! Southern Utah is spectacular.

Monument Valley is worth a return trip.

--Wag--