If you’re anything like the millions of people who visit Zion Canyon every year, the worst part of it is the drive. Depending on where you’re coming from, you might spend days driving from your home just to reach the outskirts of the national park itself. This is one of the factors that contributes to sagging national parks tourism every year. In a nutshell, the parks are just difficult to get to. This is why it makes so much sense to start your tour in Las Vegas, a little secret that thousands of travelers every year have figured out. Many people who are booking Las Vegas vacations factory in a few extra days where they can also visit Zion Canyon. To others simply want to tour Zion Canyon alone, and use Las Vegas simply as the starting point for their adventure. Many people are unaware that Zion Canyon is only 2 ½ hour’s drive from downtown. This makes it one of the most accessible national parks from a major city that has airline traffic in the world. Because of this accessibility, Zion Canyon has become one of the most popular national parks destinations in the country. Where other national Parks have difficulty attracting tourists, the popularity of Zion has become so great that the national park service is now considering ways to alleviate the congestion and traffic on the way. There are times when the waits for parking are very long, and other times when the traffic going in and out of the park is quite slow. This is simply due to the sheer volume of people who are traveling from Las Vegas to Zion Canyon in order to see the spectacular sights of one of the most beautiful national parks in the country.
One tip that we can give to travelers that want to see Zion is that you should let the driving be done by a professional tour company instead of attempting to do it yourself. Many people who were unaware of driving in the desert are going to be fooled by the 2 ½ hour drive. Even though it doesn’t seem very long, driving through the desert is quite different than driving to populated areas. There isn’t any cell service for the majority of the trip, and nothing in the desert is going to look any different than anything else. This simply means that because the trip doesn’t have a lot of visual cues, it seems a lot longer than it really is. When you factor in your car might be a rental and you’re unfamiliar with it, you have a recipe for dangerous situations. Nobody wants to get lost in the desert, especially if they’re on prepared. This is why it is so much better to let the planning and driving up to the professionals. If you only have a short time, just visit Zion. If you have a few days longer, tape one of our multi-day tours that also visits several other national parks.