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Found in Washington, Iron, and Kane Counties in southwestern Utah, Zion National Park encompasses some of the most scenic canyon country in the United States. Within its 232 square miles are high plateaus, a maze of narrow, deep, sandstone canyons, and the Virgin River.
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Click and drag to explore the 360° panorama of Zion National Park.
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Mukuntuweap National Monument
This landscape has been a refuge for thousands of years. Originally designated by President Taft in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument—the Southern Paiute name for "straight canyon"—the site was later renamed Zion and re-designated as Utah’s first National Park in 1919.
LIFE Photo Collection
A new valley of wonders
The park's preservation was spurred in part by artist Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh, whose 1903 paintings of the canyon were exhibited at the St. Louis World’s Fair, introducing the "New Valley of Wonders" to the world.
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Towering sandstone cliffs
The red and white sandstone cliffs of southwestern Utah tower hundreds of feet above the Virgin River, which meanders through their network of narrow canyons. The heart of Zion National Park is a secluded canyon that lies amidst this striking landscape.
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The park encompasses Zion Canyon, a steep-sided gorge carved by the North Fork of the Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado River. The canyon is 15 miles long and reaches a depth of 2640 feet.
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The soaring sandstone cliffs, the deep ravines, and the seemingly hidden river valleys have been important to both Indigenous people and European American settlers for thousands of years.
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The Kayenta Trail is the most popular in the park and links many of the other Zion Canyon hikes together. The 2 mile trail ascends from the Zion Park Lodge, past Mount Moroni, to the Emerald Pools.
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Angels Landing Trail is just 2.5 miles long, but it leads all the way from the Virgin River to the summit of the tall rock formation known as Angels Landing - a climb of 1500 feet.
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About 2 miles along the Angels Landing trail, a series of 21 steep switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles, climb 250 vertical feet. This trail was actually carved by Walter Ruesch, Zion National Park’s first superintendent, in 1926.
By Ralph CraneLIFE Photo Collection
The biomes of Zion National Park are home to different animals. Mule deer, bighorn sheep, and Canyon Bats are common sights. Rarer are the endangered California Condor, Mexican spotted owl, and usually nocturnal mountain lions.
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Zion National Park proudly combines natural wonder and human history. Zion will be forever be a testament to the America's commitment to protecting its wildest places.
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