ZION NATIONAL PARK—along with Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon—is one of five national parks spread across the southern width of Utah.  Zion is located in the extreme southwestern corner of Utah, and is therefore more easily accessible from Las Vegas, the nearest significant city.  Four times larger, at 147,000 acres, Zion is also two to three times more heavily visited (nearly 3,000,000 visitors annually) than its nearest sister Utah park, Bryce Canyon.  It is also at least 1,000 feet lower at the rim, more than that deep in the heart of Zion Canyon.  Zion is located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert.  As a result, the park encompasses four life zones:  desert, riparian, woodland and coniferous forest.  Originally inhabited by Anasazi and Fremont Native Americans and later by Paiute subtribes, the area was settled by Mormons in the 1860s.  Initially protected as Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909, its name was changed in 1918 to Zion, an ancient Hebrew word meaning place of refuge or sanctuary.     

Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, striking monoliths, rivers, slot canyons and natural arches.  Geographical features have names like The Narrows; The Watchman; Great White Throne; Angels Landing; Checkerboard Mesa; The Three Patriarchs; and Temple of Sinawava, which refers to the Coyote God of the Paiute.  Animal life includes mountain lions (or cougars), mule deer, golden eagles, and bighorn sheep, as well as many smaller species.  Cottonwood, willow, juniper, yucca and various cacti are among the plant species living within the park. 

Utah highway 9 from Springdale clips across the southeastern corner of the park, and a couple other paved routes provide access to the Kolob Plateau and Kolob Canyons sections of Zion.  The Zion Shuttle—the only vehicular access to Zion Canyon Scenic Drive for those not registered at Zion Lodge—provides access to the canyon and several trails leading to the canyon rim, as well as to the trail to (and—mostly via wading—through) the Virgin River Narrows.  Much of Zion can be viewed from the roadways and shuttle stops, but this is a park that—to be truly experienced—begs to be hiked.  The vast majority of those with time and fitness to take Zion’s trails experience a park that lives forever in their memory.