Zion National Park from Las Vegas and St. George: Driving, Shuttles and Day Trips
Zion National Park sits in southwest Utah, and the part almost everyone comes for, Zion Canyon, lies right next to the small town of Springdale. That is where Angels Landing and The Narrows begin, and where the park’s South Entrance and Pedestrian Entrance stand, at the north end of town. By the National Park Service’s own directions page, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas is 170 miles away, St. George Regional Airport 49 miles, Cedar City Regional Airport 60 miles and Salt Lake City International Airport 300 miles.
So for most visitors the question is not whether Zion is reachable but how to arrive without wasting the day: which entrance to use, where to leave the car, and how the free shuttles work once you are there. This guide covers the drive from each gateway, the shuttle system as the park schedules it for fall and winter 2026, and what a day tour from Las Vegas does and does not take care of.
Distances to Zion at a glance
| From | Distance on the park’s directions page | Nearest part of the park |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas | 170 miles | Zion Canyon, via Springdale |
| St. George Regional Airport | 49 miles | Zion Canyon, via Springdale |
| Cedar City Regional Airport | 60 miles | Kolob Canyons, then Zion Canyon |
| Salt Lake City International Airport | 300 miles | Kolob Canyons, then Zion Canyon |
The National Park Service notes that many of Zion’s visitors come from Las Vegas, Salt Lake City or the other parks nearby. St. George Regional Airport has flights from Salt Lake City and Denver; Cedar City Regional Airport has flights from Salt Lake City.
Which part of Zion you are driving to
Zion covers nearly 150,000 acres, and the park has more than one front door. Before you plan the drive, decide which part you want.
- Zion Canyon is the heart of the park, beside Springdale. Angels Landing, The Narrows, the Emerald Pools and Zion Lodge are all here. The South Entrance and the Pedestrian Entrance are at the north end of Springdale.
- The east side is reached from Mt. Carmel Junction. The East Entrance is 13 miles west of the junction on State Road 9, and from there the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway drops through a tunnel into Zion Canyon.
- Kolob Canyons is a separate district in the northwest corner, at Exit 40 on Interstate 15. It is 40 miles from Zion Canyon and 17 miles south of Cedar City, and the park describes it as about an hour from Zion Canyon.
- Kolob Terrace Road starts in the town of Virgin, 13.5 miles west of the Zion Canyon Visitor Center.
If the trip is about Angels Landing or The Narrows, you want Zion Canyon. Kolob Canyons is a separate stop, about an hour’s drive away.
Driving from Las Vegas
From Las Vegas the drive ends in Springdale. Once in town, follow the main road north to the South Entrance, or park in town and walk in through the Pedestrian Entrance.
A few things to know before you set off:
- There is no reservation to enter. You do not need a permit or reservation to enter the park or to ride the shuttle. You pay the entrance fee at the gate, by card (preferred) or cash: $35.00 for a private vehicle and everyone in it, valid for 7 days.
- Non-US residents pay more. Each non-US resident aged 16 and older pays a $100 nonresident fee on top of the standard entrance fee, unless admitted with an Annual or America the Beautiful Pass. Our tickets and permits guide has the full table.
- Even driving through costs the fee. The park’s fee page is explicit: if you enter Zion, even just to pass through, you need a pass.
- Arrive early. In summer all available parking in Zion is often full by 9:00 am. From early February through late November the park can be very busy, with waits at the entrance stations.
Zion is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, so an early start costs nothing in access. The Zion Canyon Visitor Center information desk keeps 8 am to 5 pm hours.
Parking at the visitor center and in Springdale
The Zion Canyon Visitor Center has the park’s largest lot, with over 350 spaces. Parking there is free and first-come, first-served once you have paid the entrance fee, and Shuttle Stop 1 is just north of the lot. On a summer day it fills fast.
If it is full, do not circle. The park’s advice is to park in Springdale and come in on the town shuttle:
- Springdale parking is paid, on streets and in lots throughout town, with spaces set aside for large vehicles.
- The Springdale Line shuttle is free. It stops at 9 locations in town, including the park’s pedestrian and bike entrance at Zion Canyon Village, and runs about every 10 to 15 minutes.
- The Pedestrian Entrance can be faster than queuing at the vehicle gate on a busy morning. On foot you pay the per-person fee of $20.00 (youth 15 and under are free), or show your vehicle pass if you already bought one.
Keep your pass with you. You do not need to display it in the car, but you must show it if you leave the park and come back in, whether you drive or walk. That matters if you drive in, then move the car to Springdale and walk back in through the Pedestrian Entrance.
The Zion Canyon shuttle
Once you are in the park, the free Zion Canyon Line is how you reach the trailheads. During the shuttle season you cannot drive your own car on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive at all, not even before the first bus or after the last one.
How it works:
- Free, no ticket. You do not need a permit, ticket or reservation to ride.
- 9 stops. The line runs from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center (Stop 1) to the Temple of Sinawava (Stop 9), with trailheads for the Emerald Pools, Scout Lookout and Angels Landing, Weeping Rock and The Narrows along the way, plus Zion Lodge.
- Frequent. Buses come about every 5 to 10 minutes.
- Slow. The ride from the visitor center to the Temple of Sinawava takes about 45 minutes, so a round trip takes about an hour and a half.
- Rules. No eating or smoking on the bus, only capped bottles of water, and no pets.
The schedule the park posted on October 4, 2026, reads:
| Dates | First bus from the visitor center | Last bus from the visitor center | Last bus out from the Temple of Sinawava |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 13 to October 24 | 7:00 am | 6:00 pm | 7:15 pm |
| October 25 to November 28 | 7:00 am | 5:00 pm | 6:15 pm |
| November 29 to December 25 | No service | No service | No service |
| December 26 to January 2 | 8:00 am | 4:30 pm | 5:45 pm |
In most years the shuttles run daily from March through November and again for the holiday season near the end of December. When they are not running, you can drive the Scenic Drive yourself, but on busy days in December, January and February the park closes the road for the day once there are no more legal parking spaces.
Do not leave it to the last bus. If the last shuttle is full, or you miss it, the park warns you may have to walk nine miles back to the visitor center. At busy times the wait for a shuttle can be longer than an hour.
From St. George
St. George is the nearest city of any size, and St. George Regional Airport is 49 miles from the park. You can drive to Springdale and use the same parking and shuttle routine, or leave the car further out.
SunTran, the bus service based in St. George, runs a Zion route that links St. George, Washington, Hurricane, La Verkin, Virgin and Springdale. The park’s directions page puts it simply: you can park in any of those communities and ride to Zion National Park. Check SunTran’s own timetable before relying on it, and remember that parking rules are strictly enforced in the towns along the way, especially in summer.
From Salt Lake City and Cedar City
From the north, Salt Lake City International Airport is 300 miles from the park and Cedar City Regional Airport 60 miles. Coming this way, Kolob Canyons is the first part of Zion you reach: Exit 40 on Interstate 15, 17 miles south of Cedar City.
Kolob Canyons is worth a stop on the way. A five-mile scenic drive leads to viewpoints and trailheads among narrow box canyons and 2,000-foot cliff walls, and there are over 20 miles of hiking trails. Everyone has to stop at the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center to show a pass or pay the entrance fee; your Zion pass covers both districts. Then continue south to Zion Canyon, 40 miles away.
From the east and from Bryce Canyon
From Bryce Canyon or the Grand Canyon’s North Rim you arrive from the east, through Mt. Carmel Junction and the East Entrance 13 miles further west. From there the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway winds down into Zion Canyon.
This is one of the great drives in the park system. The 25-mile road, completed in 1930 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, climbs through Pine Creek Canyon and the 1.1-mile Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, whose galleries were cut to frame views of the canyon. It is also slow: the park notes that speeds are usually under 30 mph.
Check the size of your vehicle. From June 7, 2026, the park enforces size and weight limits on the whole highway between Canyon Junction and the East Entrance, not just the tunnel. A single vehicle that is longer than 35’-9”, wider than 7’-10”, taller than 11’-4” or heavier than 50,000 lbs may not use it, and the measurements include mirrors, bike racks and other attachments. Vehicles that are too big must go around. To Bryce Canyon, the park’s suggested alternative via Highway 20 north of Cedar City is roughly 150 miles and 2.5 hours, 63 miles longer than the highway through the park but only about 42 minutes slower.
Bicycles cannot ride through the tunnel either; cyclists need a ride in a vehicle.
Day tours from Las Vegas
If you would rather not drive 170 miles each way, a day tour from Las Vegas does the driving. What changes when you go with a tour:
- The bus does not drive the canyon. The park’s rules for commercial road-based tours say they may not use the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive shuttle stops or parking areas, except to drive to Zion Lodge with a reservation. During the shuttle season, then, a tour group without a lodge booking reaches the upper canyon on the free park shuttle, like everyone else.
- The entrance fee is charged to the vehicle. Commercial tours pay by vehicle size: $35 plus $20 per passenger (capped at $70) for 1 to 6 passengers, $70 for 7 to 15, $80 for 16 to 25 and $190 for 26 or more. Check whether your tour price includes it.
- The nonresident fee still applies. The $100 fee for non-US residents aged 16 and older applies to nonresidents on commercial tours, commercial use authorization groups and concessioner tours too. A tour priced without it will cost a foreign visitor $100 more at the gate unless they hold the $250 America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass.
- Re-entry is the driver’s job. If you walk out into Springdale for lunch, the driver has to collect re-entry stickers for the group. Without one, you pay the $20 per person fee to come back in.
When comparing day tours, the useful number is not the length of the day but the time in Zion Canyon. With a 45-minute shuttle ride each way to the far end of the canyon, a short stop leaves room for a walk to the Lower Emerald Pool or along the Riverside Walk, not for Angels Landing. Our tours compared guide sets the Las Vegas trips beside the other options.
Combining Zion with Bryce Canyon
Tours from Las Vegas that cover both Bryce Canyon and Zion travel between the two parks on the east side. Note that the large-vehicle limits on the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway apply to tour vehicles as much as to RVs: a coach that is too big for the highway has to use the longer route around, through Cedar City. Smaller vans fit, and get the tunnel and the switchbacks on the way.
Hiker shuttles and taxis
You do not need your own car once you are in the area. Commercial taxi and hiker-shuttle services can be hired for point-to-point drop-offs and pick-ups at designated parking areas, pullouts and developed areas in the park, as long as they hold a commercial use authorization from Zion. They are the usual way to reach trailheads outside Zion Canyon, including Chamberlain’s Ranch for the top-down Narrows, a 1.5-hour drive from Zion Canyon on paved and dirt roads.
Staying the night instead
Zion is a long day from Las Vegas, and many visitors stay at least one night close by.
- Zion Lodge is the only lodging inside the park, with 76 hotel rooms, 6 suites and 40 historic cabins. It is also the only place in the park to buy food. The lodge sits on the shuttle route, so you can walk or ride to nearby trailheads.
- Watchman Campground is open year-round.
- Springdale has hotels within reach of the Springdale Line shuttle, which takes you to the Pedestrian Entrance without needing your car.
Staying over also lets you enter the canyon before the crowds, when parking at the visitor center is easiest.
A day in Zion Canyon from Las Vegas, planned around the shuttle
If you drive from Las Vegas and back in a day, everything depends on the shuttle and the parking. A realistic plan:
- Leave Las Vegas early, aiming to be at the South Entrance before the visitor center lot fills; in summer that is often by 9:00 am.
- Ride to the far end first. It is about 45 minutes to the Temple of Sinawava. Walk the paved, 1-mile Riverside Walk to where The Narrows begin; wading on beyond needs closed-toe shoes and no permit.
- Work back down the canyon. At Zion Lodge, the Lower Emerald Pool is a 1-mile round trip with 80 feet of elevation gain; the Upper Emerald Pool is a moderate three-mile round trip with 360 feet.
- Watch the clock. Check the last bus out from the Temple of Sinawava for your dates, and allow at least an hour for the queue on a busy afternoon.
Angels Landing does not fit this kind of day unless you already hold a permit and start early: the National Park Service puts the hike at 5.4 miles round trip, 1,488 feet of climbing and around 4 hours for most hikers.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Zion National Park from Las Vegas?
The park’s directions page gives 170 miles from Harry Reid International Airport. Zion Canyon itself is reached through Springdale, where the South Entrance is.
Do I need a reservation to drive into Zion?
No. You do not need a permit or reservation to enter the park or to ride the shuttle. You pay the entrance fee at the gate: $35.00 per private vehicle for 7 days, plus $100 for each non-US resident aged 16 and older.
Can I drive my car through Zion Canyon?
Only when the shuttle is not running. During the shuttle season, private vehicles cannot use the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. You can still drive the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway, Kolob Terrace Road and the Kolob Canyons Scenic Drive year-round.
Is there public transport to Zion?
From St. George, yes: SunTran’s Zion route connects St. George, Washington, Hurricane, La Verkin, Virgin and Springdale. In Springdale, the free Springdale Line shuttle takes you to the park’s Pedestrian Entrance.
Where should I park?
At the Zion Canyon Visitor Center if you arrive early, with over 350 free spaces. Otherwise, park in Springdale for a fee and take the free Springdale Line shuttle to the Pedestrian Entrance.