If you’re looking for a place to stay at Zion National Park, this article is for you. We’ll simplify the options for you and give you our recommendations based on our own experiences and reading hundreds of online reviews.
We will explain each one of these areas and give some specific recommendations for hotels in each city.
There is literally only ONE choice here: The Zion National Park Lodge. It is the only hotel in Zion National Park. It was originally built in 1924, but a fire destroyed it in 1966. It was hastily rebuilt to accommodate visitors, but in 1990 it was restored to its original look.
It has three kinds of accommodations you can book: Hotel rooms, suites, and cabins. Prices are over $200 per night.
Here are a few things to know about the Lodge:
The Zion Lodge is located right in Zion Canyon and is actually one of the shuttle stops. If you stay here, you’ll be surrounded by the high red-rock canyon walls.
It has a big grassy area in front with a massive shade tree, perfect for picnics or naps. Just watch out for the deer scat; deer graze on the grass every morning and evening.
Springdale is a very cute little town that literally sits right next to the entrance to Zion. The population is under 1,000, but they know how to handle the crowds.
There are over 25 hotels and B&Bs in Springdale. No matter where you stay, you’ll either be next to tall red cliffs or next to the Virgin River. You really can’t go wrong.
Here are three that stood out to us:
We almost always use booking.com to find our accommodations! We find much better deals there than on Airbnb.
These two cities are right next to each other and they are about 30-40 minutes away from Zion. They are on the west side, so access to Kolob isn’t far away either.
Most places here are budget hotels. It’s not upscale, it’s just an affordable option to use as a jumping-off point to Zion. It’s really common to stay here.
We’ve driven around this area quite a bit. Considering the reviews and my own eye test, here are the two I recommend. They are both in LaVerkin.
These two places are right next to each other. There is a nearby gas station named Maverik that you can stop at to get breakfast in the morning. Don’t laugh, this isn’t your ordinary gas station. It’s big, and it has a lot of food options for a quick breakfast before hitting the park!
Southern Utah is remote, and the towns are very small. St. George is the exception. It’s a full-sized city and is growing rapidly due to the nice year-round weather. It’s like Florida for northern Utah — it’s where people go to vacation or retire.
It’s about an hour away from Zion. There are a TON of hotels, condos, Airbnbs, VRBOs, etc. You can use booking.com to find places, but we’ll give two suggestions that stood out to us as we researched this:
St George has soooo many other fun things to do, so take that into consideration as well. Here are a few ideas:
This little gem seems out of the way, but it’s about the same distance to Zion as St. George or Kanab. It’s located right on the border of Utah and Arizona.
There are many hotels in Hildale with the name Zion in them! They really don’t want you to forget that you can stay here when visiting Zion, LOL.
Reviewers commented that they loved this place because it was removed from the crowds. It’s much more remote and hidden. And the views are beautiful. It sits right by red-rock formations.
This is a place worth looking into more, but here are two to get you started:
We hope this helps you plan your trip to Zion. If you’re going to Zion, you need to know that the park is very busy! The visitors have doubled over the last 7 years, so you really need to have a solid game plan.
Many people visit Bryce and Zion National Park on the same trip. To get the most out of each park, we recommend staying close to each park and changing hotels.
But if you want to stay in one hotel and use it to see both parks, here are some options:
Cedar City is 1.5 hours from Bryce and 1 hour from Zion. It’s a mid-sized city that has many hotels.
It’s a little college town and puts on the yearly Utah Shakespeare Festival, with a gorgeous outdoor Old English-style theatre.
Also, Cedar Breaks National Monument is nearby.
There are too many chain hotels to choose from, so I won’t cover them here. What stands out about Cedar City is it has so many cute little B&Bs with Shakespeare and English cottage garden themes. The homes are gorgeous and the ratings are awesome. Here are two:
Check out booking.com for great travel deals and to find your perfect location when visiting Zion.
This is on the east side of the park. Mt Carmel is only about 15 minutes away from the East Entrance to the park. However, once you enter the East Entrance, it takes about 30 minutes to get to the visitor center, where you park and catch the shuttle for Zion Canyon.
The east side is much less populated but could be a great place to stay if you’re coming from or going to Bryce Canyon or the Grand Canyon. A lot of people will use this as a home base for both Zion and Bryce.
Here are three places that stood out to us:
If you’re into hiking, Kanab could be a vacation destination on its own. Kanab itself is a little town but there are many hiking areas within 30-60 minutes of the city, including the famous wave formation.
Kanab is about 35 minutes from the East Entrance of Zion (but 1 hour from the shuttles), and 1.5 hours to Bryce. It’s quite affordable to stay. Here are two that stood out to us:
Check out our article The Best Unique Hotels & Resorts In Kanab, Utah for more options.
There are a few other things to do in Kanab, such as the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and the Little Hollywood Movie Museum.
One more benefit to Kanab: It’s possible to hit the Grand Canyon North Rim from here (although we recommend staying closer to the park).
We’ve designed plans to help you get the most out of your trip. We want you to LOVE your trip to Zion!
Zion National Park can be crowded with visitors, especially during peak season! Planning and navigating a trip can be frustrating because of its popularity. The crowds and shuttle system can be confusing to navigate.
Most travelers want to visit the most popular sites and still avoid crowds. We have a detailed itinerary that gives you a step-by-step game plan so you can get to the best places at the right times.
But that’s not all! Our itinerary includes a free audio guide to listen to while driving with over 2-hours of stories about the park!
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