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Saving Money at Zion
Use these tips to help
reduce the cost of your Zion visit:
- Make easy breakfasts and lunches from items purchased at a grocery
store, and stock up on groceries in bigger towns where they are less
expensive.
- If you are visiting several national parks during your trip, and expect to
spend more than $50 in entry fees, buy an unlimited National Park Pass.
- Camping is cheaper than
hotels. The least expensive camping in the Zion area is the primitive
campground at Lava Point, where camping is free (albeit lacking in amenities).
- Take advantage of ranger-led hikes and interpretive programs instead of
paying a tour company. Skip the IMAX movie in Springdale and see the film at
the museum instead.
Zion Tips
- Zion is not a
good place to take your pet. Pets are not allowed on the Zion
Shuttle, and there are no boarding facilities in Springdale
(nearest boarding kennels are in St. George, Rockville or Kanab).
Within the park ,they must be on a leash no longer than six feet,
and they aren't allowed on the trails, except the Pa'rus Trail
along the river.
- If you are
traveling by bicycle, they are not allowed in the Zion-Mt. Carmel
tunnel, and they must be transported by vehicle. Inside the park,
bicycles are allowed only on paved roads and the Pa'rus Trail.
- Help your
kids learn more about Zion. Ask a ranger about the Junior Ranger
Explorers program Memorial Day through Labor Day, or one of their
self-guided programs for children.
- Don't feed
the wildlife. No matter how cute it seems, rangers end up
destroying wild animals every year because of disease or bad
behavior they acquired from human contact. As the rangers say, "a
fed animal is a dead animal."
- The Zion-Mt.
Carmel tunnel was built in the 1920s when vehicles were much
smaller than they are now. If you are driving a large vehicle,
measuring 11' 4" (3.4m) or taller, or 7'10" (2.4m) or wider
including mirrors, jacks, awnings, etc., you will have to pay an
extra $10 to pass through tunnel. The park calls this an "escort
fee," but they don't really escort you, they just stop traffic at
both ends of the tunnel so you can pass through the center. The
fee covers two trips through the tunnel and lasts one week.
- If your
vehicle is over 13' 1" tall, weighs over 50,000 pounds, is a
single vehicle longer than 40' or a combined vehicles over 50'
long, you cannot drive through the tunnel. You can visit Zion
Canyon by driving in from St. George, then you'll need to go back
the way you came and take a different route if you're heading east
to Bryce and other parts of the state.
- Looking for
park information outside the park? Look for any place that has a
Zion Host Program logo. They employ certified Zion hosts who have
been trained to provide accurate information.
They're lovely to look at,
but hazardous to hold. the big white flowers that bloom in the early
evening, 0 Datura, are poisonous, even if
they're just touched.
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