The American southwest is home to a large concentration of national parks and protected spaces, and as a result will see a large amount of visitors planning trips that will begin in a nearby city. If you are not a resident of California, Nevada, Utah or Arizona, you are probably going to have to fly from your home to a starting city in order to begin your trip, as these parks are generally a minimum of four hours drive from even the closest major city. There is also limited facilities surrounding the parks when it comes to restaurants and hotels, so the idea of starting at a major city that you can call home base before setting out on your journey is a wise move. The two major cities that support commercial airline traffic and have ample hotels and restaurant choices are Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, and most people will agree that Las Vegas is a more logical choice simply due to the fact that it is a tourist attraction in it's own right. For this reason, it is quite common for those who are planning tours of national parks to start in Las Vegas, and then also add a few extra days to the trip just to explore Las Vegas as well. Using Las Vegas as a starting point gives you many choices as far as national parks you can visit within a short driving time. While the majority of these parks are around 4 to 5 hours drive, the most popular park in the area is actually only 2.5 hours away. Zion Canyon has grown quite popular in the last few years, probably due to the close proximity to Las Vegas and the ability to visit in one or two days. Zion itself is an amazing
The American southwest is home to a large concentration of national parks and protected spaces, and as a result will see a large amount of
