On The Road to Zion Canyon Scenic Drive

Zion National Park is one of the country’s favorite and Utah’s first national park, established in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson. It’s popularity is attributed to the dramatic landscape of colorful canyons, high cliffs, mesas, and forested plateaus.

In fact, a park volunteer told us in the first several months of the season, with covid restrictions relaxed, more people have visited Zion than Yellowstone National Park! For that reason alone, we were warned to arrive early - apparently 7:00 am wasn’t early enough to avoid the crowds!

After an ambitious morning of hiking, we asked one of the rangers for a driving suggestion around the park. He recommended either Kolob Canyons or the Kolob Reservoir at the north end of the park. Either one would be a beautiful drive, but we opted for the Reservoir, after being told the endangered California Condor like to hang out there! We were not disappointed!

Kolab Reservoir Road is the least traveled of the main roads through the park. From the stunning canyons to the lush greenery, during most of the drive there we were the only ones on the road! It was a bumpy drive, but a beautiful one nonetheless!

With its varying landscape and elevations ranging from roughly 3.700 feet to 8.700 feet, the wide elevation change at Zion National Park creates a comfortable home for over 78 species of mammals, 291 species of birds, 37 species of reptiles and amphibians and 8 species of fish.

The changing elevations and temperature ranges also create a conducive environment for more than 1,000 species of plants, from Birch and Pine trees to cacti and wildflowers.