 Located in Southwestern Utah, Zion National Park is Utah's oldest and most visited national park receiving around three million visitors each year. Zion is an ancient Hebrew word that stands for place of peace and refuge. As you visit the immense canyons, beautifully sculptured rock formations, soaring cliffs and breathtaking landscapes you will agree that Zion National Park certainly lives up to its name. Zion canyon was formed over centuries of erosion caused by tributaries of the Virgin River which left behind the beautiful eroded canyon walls and monoliths.
Zion National Park was originally inhabited by the Anasazi people; their abandoned cliff houses and rock art are scattered throughout the park. After the Anasazi, the Paiute Indians occupied the canyon. The first Mormon settlers arrived in Zion Canyon in 1858 and called their new home Zion Canyon. In 1872 John Wesley Powell surveyed the area and recorded the canyon's Indian name, Mukuntuweap.
 One early visitor to Zion Canyon was an artist named Frederick S. Dellenbaugh; he spent part of the summer of 1903 painting in Zion Canyon. His paintings were exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. In January of that same year Dellenbaugh published an article about Zion National Park in Scribner’s Magazine. The article, "A New Valley of Wonders," described Dellenbaugh’s first view of the Great Temple, which stands at the entrance to Zion Canyon: "One hardly knows just how to think of it. Never before has such a naked mountain of rock entered our minds. Without a shred of disguise its transcendent form rises pre-eminent. There is almost nothing to compare to it. Niagara has the beauty of energy; the Grand Canyon of immensity; the Yellowstone of singularity; the Yosemite of altitude; the ocean of power; this Great Temple of eternity."
In 1908 a Federal Land Survey of Zion National Park was conducted, prior to that time the magnificence of Zion National Park had been enjoyed by only a few privileged Native Americans and early Mormon pioneer settlers. The survey findings were so impressive that they were presented to President William Howard Taft. In July 1909, Taft declared more than 15,000 acres of the main canyon through Zion a National Monument called Mukuntuweap. During its early years as a National Monument Zion had fewer than 1000 visitors. This was due to the park’s remote location and because the underdeveloped roads made it difficult to get to.
By March 1918 the monument had grown to more 76,000 acres and the name was changed to Zion National Monument . By November of 1919 the federal government had upgraded the area to National Park status. However, the new National Park still did not see an increase in the number of visitor’s willing to make the difficult journey. During this time, Stephen Mather was the director of the National Parks Service. Mather was awed by the beauty of Zion National Park and visited Zion at least once each year from 1919 to 1929. Mather often brought influential traveling companions along on his annual pilgrimage to Zion Canyon . During his trip in 1921, his companions included a writer from the Saturday Evening Post and a famous naturalist. The three began discussions of a tourist circle during a visit to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park . The tourist circle, which came to be known as the Grand Circle , takes visitors from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Zion Canyon.
Mather began working with the people from several communities located in the Zion National Park area to get the nearby roads paved. He also worked with a local photographer who took and colorized photographs of Zion Canyon for use in advertising. Mather also worked to get a 5,613 foot tunnel built through the sandstone cliffs of Zion Canyon. The Zion/Mt. Carmel Tunnel and highway created a viable roadway to be used for touring of the Grand Circle.
The Union Pacific Railroad also saw the potential of the Southern Utah/Arizona area and created a subsidiary business called Utah Parks Company. The Utah Parks Company spent more than $1,700,000 to improve the area in and around Zion National Park. Some of these improvements included laying a railroad track to Cedar City and constructing a railway station, purchasing extensive advertising in popular magazines and creating a bus-touring service that transported visitors from Cedar City to Zion National Park as well as the other stops along the Grand Circle . However, the most significant improvement was the construction of the Zion National Park Lodge and 46 additional rental cabins in the heart of the park. In 1966 the lodge was lost to a devastating fire. The Utah Parks Company quickly rebuilt the lodge. However, the rustic charm of the original building was left out of its replacement. During a 1990 restoration, much of the design from the original lodge was added to the building. The Zion National Park Lodge and rental cabins are still available to park visitors.
Zion National Park is home to a diverse collection of geological wonders, including formations such as the towering 2,200-foot Great White Throne, the park's most famous landmark; the Court of the Patriarchs; the Sentinel; the Watchman; Checkerboard Mesa; Kolob Arch, a 310 ft. long arch and the world's largest known natural span; and the Narrows of the Virgin River, where a person can walk upstream to places so narrow that both sides of the canyon walls with your outstretched hands.
Zion National Park has gained worldwide recognition for its beauty and grandeur, and currently receives around 3 million visitors each year The park has two visitor centers, one at the entrance to Kolob Canyon and the main visitor center at the south entrance to the park. |
