We recently spent two weeks near Zion National Park. There was so much to see and we still didn’t see it all!
Where We Stayed
For the first eight nights we stayed at WillowWind RV Park in Hurricane, Utah. This park is about half an hour from the entrance to Zion, but close to shopping and other amenities. The sites are all paved, but a little close depending on the site you choose.
There is a pool, laundry, pull-through sites for big rigs, cable tv, and if you ask for it, satellite-friendly sites. We enjoyed our time at this quiet park.
For our second week, we moved ten minutes closer to Zion. Zion White Bison Glamping and RV Resort is in the small village of Virgin. This new resort was so amazing, I had to write an entire blog post about our experience staying there with our family. Check out our time there here.
Tips for Visiting Zion
There is so much to see and experience at Zion National Park that I thought I’d share with you a few tips we learned after going there multiple days.
- The earlier the better – Arrive before 8:00 a.m. for free entrance to the park. If you have the America the Beautiful or National Park Pass (same thing/two names), then you do get in for free at any time of day. However, if not, it will cost you at least $35/car.
- Along with getting in for free, getting there earlier will give you a better shot at parking, especially if you need the oversize lot. I will say that we used the oversized lot because we have an F-350 dually. Sadly, there were small vans and cars in this lot who were clearly not oversized.
- Hike early – If you are planning on doing a hike, especially the most popular like Scout Lookout and Angels Landing (which you do need a permit for), we found that getting an early start made for a much more enjoyable experience.
- Pack plenty of water and snacks. Once you are in the park, there are places to refill your water bottles at The Grottoes and Zion Lodge stops. The lodge also has a restaurant and gift shop with snacks. But it is best to start your day with your own provisions.
Biking Zion National Park
Along with hiking early, you can also bike the Zion 16-mile loop. We rode on an early weekday morning, and pretty much had the place to ourselves. The rule is that you stop and put one foot down when the shuttles pass, but other than that, there was minimal traffic.
Conclusion
There is so much to Zion National Park that it will take two posts to show you everything! Next time it will be all about the magnificent hikes and how to use the very efficient shuttle system to navigate your way around both inside and outside the park.
One More Thing
I was blessed to be able to visit Zion while still going the breast cancer recovery. Here’s our story of how we live full-time in an RV and deal with these challenges.
We’re Mike & Jennifer Skinnell, and together we are The Rambling Quilter. We travel the country full-time in our 42 ft. fifth-wheel pulled by our F-350. Jennifer writes our blog, travel articles, contemporary romance, cozy mysteries, and “Don’t Wait – Our Full-Time Journey Through Breast Cancer”. Our blog is purely for information and entertainment purposes. However, if you’d like to support Jennifer’s writing career, her author link to her books is below.