Zion National Park

Zion National Park is one of the ‘crown jewels’ of the U.S. National Park Service system. It is known worldwide as a geologic wonderland of towering cliffs, deep, narrow canyons, and sweeping expanses of bare sandstone slickrock. Its focal point is Zion Canyon, a steep-walled gorge carved through hundreds of meters of early Jurassic-era Navajo sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Due to its location near the junction of three great geographic provinces of the American West (the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin, and the Mojave Desert), the Park protects a remarkable diversity of plant and animal species inhabiting several different life zones.

Zion National Park is the ancestral homelands of many indigenous tribes including the Paiute, Ute, Goshute, Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, and Pueblo tribes. The significance of the land to indigenous people and their history in the area is demonstrated through a rich tradition of oral history and knowledge passed between generations. Today, tribal nations remain deeply connected to the land, as they have since time immemorial. Indigenous people refer to the canyon formed by the North Fork of the Virgin River by several names. The Virgin River and its tributaries, as well as the wildlife and plants, are sacred. Zion National Park strives to learn from and collaborate with our tribal partners as we seek to co-steward this special place. Zion’s archeological record provides evidence of at least 8,000 years of human occupation by indigenous people and European settlers. Scientific surveys in the park have identified sites and artifacts attributed to the Archaic Adaptive Strategy, Basketmaker, Puebloan or Formative time period, Post-Puebloan time period, and European settlement.

Today, as one of the “Big Five” national parks in southern Utah, Zion is famous for its many hiking trails and activities, including camping, horseback riding, nature walks, and rock climbing. Nighttime programming has been a staple at the Park for many years, the area’s dark night skies attracting visitors from around the world. In addition to fulfilling all of the International Dark Sky Park guidelines, Zion is exemplary for its extensive public education and outreach efforts as well as its manifest commitments to protecting dark skies not only in the Park but beyond its borders.