Zion National Park

Zion National Park is located in the southwestern United States near the city of Springdale UT. This National Park is one of the most popular Park spaces in the United States, primarily due to the fact that is located 2 1/2 hours from Las Vegas which ultimately will allow for more people to travel from a vacation starting point then you would typically see at a National Park. The remote nature of most national parks will create lower tourism rates than in other areas because of the significant drive time that it takes to get there from most populated areas. Because Zion is located only a short distance from Las Vegas, a significant amount of people who are tourists to Las Vegas will choose to take the opportunity to also visit a National Park while they are on vacation. The overwhelming majority of these tourists will choose to arrange a tour by a professional company that operates out of Las Vegas so as to avoid the encumbrances of driving across the desert in an unfamiliar vehicle. In addition to this, most professional tour companies are also going to give you a better understanding of the primary features that visiting Zion will offer you, and what not to miss. With that said, here are a few of the primary Facts about Zion Canyon National Park that are worth knowing.

The park itself is named for the Hebrew word Zion which means a place of peace and relaxation. There is an area in Zion National Park called weeping rock. This is an area where the water that is oozing from the rock surface is has taken more than 1000 years to travel through the stone itself from a natural underground spring. There is a ghost town called Grafton near Zion which hosted the filming of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. The Virgin River runs through the park and is credited with its creation. This River holds 4 native fish species called the Virgin River spinedace, the speckled dace , the flannelmouth sucker and the desert sucker. In March of 2009 over 124 thousand acres of Zion were declared as wilderness , which ultimately protects it against any future development and assures the preservation of the natural beauty of the region. The California Condor is one of the birds that is found in Zion, and there are currently 288 bird species known in the park. The world’s longest tunnel is over a mile long and is located in Zion. This tunnel was opened and dedicated on July 4th 1930. In 2002 the Olympic torch passed through Zion National Park on the way to Salt Lake City UT. One of the world’s largest free standing arch is located in Zion. Kolob arch measures 287 feet in length. There are more than 900 species of plants that exist in the park and there has been a human population in Zion for over 8000 years. If you would like to learn more about Zion and the unique features that make it so interesting, contact us to arrange a tour.