Zion National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. This did not used to be the case, as visitor rates at national parks nation wide were depressed over the past few years to the point of being considered for defunding based upon a lack of interest. This situation was changed by a large scale marketing campaign that raised awareness of national parks and their proximity to cities that can be used as starting points. Essentially, the theory was that people thought that national parks were too far away to drive to, and as a result when they were on vacation to major cities they still did not make the trip to visit nearby parks. When awareness was raised as to how close some parks are to major cities like Las Vegas, this all changed. Zion is located about a 2.5 hour drive from Las Vegas, and because it is so close many people vacationing in Las Vegas are now taking some time away from the city to visit the park. Zion has become so popular that there is now discussion on how to reduce traffic and congestion at some of the main areas of the park, which is amazing considering that only a few years ago they were struggling to get people to drive out. Of course, tours to Zion National Park have always existed from companies like ours, and we will always make your trip to national parks near Las Vegas as comfortable and memorable as possible.
One of the main questions that gets asked about national park tours is how to dress when you are going. When you are not from the area, you are unfamiliar with the weather patterns and therefor have almost no idea how to judge them. As an example, a person who is used to living in upstate New York is going to have a perception of winter as being bitter cold with several inches of snow regularly. The thought of being outside in the month of January would never cross this person’s mind, and yet if they were visiting Zion Canyon in January of 2018 the average temperatures during the day are about 60 degrees. The low temperatures that have been happening are around 30 degrees, and maybe slightly colder than that. The temperatures that are seen in national parks in the southwestern United States are nearly nothing like the winter temperatures of other parts of the country, and many people from those colder regions are going to find Zion quite warm and pleasant in the winter. When you consider that the winter tourism numbers reduce to about 10% of what they are in the summer, you can see why so many people actually consider the months between December and February to be the best times to visit Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon and most of the other parks located within driving distance of Las Vegas. The night time gets a little chilly in winter, but the day times feel like spring on the east coast.