10 of the Best Towns and Cities Near Zion National Park in Utah
These towns and cities near Zion National Park are the best places to stay during your Utah vacation.
Road tripping through Utah and looking for the closest city to Zion National Park? I’ve rounded up all the best communities and towns near Zion that are most convenient to the park.
Towns near Zion National Park range from gateway villages in the shadow of the canyon to small cities full of hotels and restaurants. Overall, there are more options on the south side of the park, but the east side can be a great base for getting to other attractions in Southern Utah.
Below are my recommendations for exactly where to stay near Zion, whether you’re hoping to camp under the stars, sit fireside at a cozy lodge, check into a modern hotel full of amenities, or horseback ride at a rustic ranch.
Keep reading for my favorite Zion towns and cities.
Cities and Towns Near Zion National Park
Zion Lodge and Campgrounds
Did you know you can actually stay inside the national park at a hotel or campground? The Zion National Park Lodge is in Zion Canyon, with views of the walls towering overhead. The South and Watchman Campgrounds are located near the visitor center and the remote Lava Point Campground is about an hour north of Springdale.
Reservations for the Watchman campground are available a few months ahead, but the South campground can only be booked within a couple of weeks of your stay. Lava Point is typically only open May through September with a few primitive, first-come, first-serve sites.
The Zion lodge opens reservations 13 months ahead and is popular, so make sure you reserve well ahead of time. There is a restaurant and seasonal cafe onsite and accommodations in cabins, rooms and suites.
Escape Campervans has fully-equipped vans and jeeps with kitchenettes that can sleep up to five people. The closest pickup locations to Zion are in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Springdale
If you’re looking for the closest town to Zion National Park, Springdale wins, hands down. The small town is just outside the park boundaries at the south entrance gate and is full of hotels, restaurants and outdoor recreation vendors.
The national park operates a shuttle between the park entrance and nine stops in Springdale. When the visitor center lot in Zion National Park is full (which happens most mornings during tourist season), Springdale is the overflow parking zone, with paid parking in lots and along the road.
While Springdale is definitely the most convenient place to stay near Zion, accommodations here fill up fast and are expensive. On the plus side, though, you may not have to pay for Springdale parking if your hotel has private parking included.
Where to Stay in Springdale
Rockville
Rockville is one of the next closest towns near Zion National Park, just 5 miles from the south entrance. Located along the Virgin River, Rockville only has a few inns and bed-and-breakfasts. It is less crowded and has a more residential feeling than Springdale.
While you won’t find much here in the way of dining or entertainment, the town is less than a 10-minute drive from the shops and restaurants of Springdale.
If you’re looking for a hidden gem near Zion, you can drive across the river from Rockville to the Grafton ghost town. The late 1800s-era village down an unpaved road has a handful of original wooden buildings, a cemetery, and orchards and farmlands with a canyon backdrop.
Where to Stay in Rockville
Virgin
A little further down the river, Virgin is a town near Zion with hotels and glamping accommodations along State Route 9 and the scenic and remote Kolob Terrace Road.
The main part of the sleepy town is about a 20-minute drive from Springdale and the national park. There are just a couple of eateries and shops in Virgin, but more amenities are in La Verkin and Hurricane, about 10 miles away.
Where to Stay in Virgin
La Verkin
Located at the intersection of routes 9 and 17, La Verkin is one of the closest cities to Zion National Park, and a great base if you’re looking for more affordable hotels near Zion.
Along with neighboring Hurricane, La Verkin has a selection of accommodations and amenities to rival Springdale, just without the crowded bustle of the gateway town. Here, you’ll find a mix of well-known chains and smaller local properties.
La Verkin is about 20 miles from the south entrance to Zion.
Where to Stay in La Verkin
Hurricane
Just a couple miles south of La Verkin, Hurricane is a bigger town near Zion and has golf courses, a wide selection of restaurants, and a pair of waterfront state parks on the outskirts of the city.
Several budget chain hotels are represented here, and prices are much cheaper than in Springdale. From here, it’s about a 30-minute drive to either the Zion Visitor Center or the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center in the less crowded northern section of the national park. This is a great place to stay near Zion if you’re driving in and out from Las Vegas.
Where to Stay in Hurricane
St. George
Of all the cities near Zion National Park, St. George is the largest and has a small airport with flights from a handful of major airlines. If you’re looking for where to stay near Zion National Park for bigger city amenities, St. George is a great choice.
There are tons of options for hotels here, so this is where to look when the other towns are mostly sold out or just for having a base to explore the southwest corner of Utah. Options range from modern chains downtown near shops and restaurants to resorts on the scenic outskirts.
Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and Snow Canyon State Park are just north of the city with beautiful cliffs and places to hike, climb and horseback ride. The Zion south entrance is 40 miles east, while the Kolob Canyons section of the national park is about 35 miles north.
Where to Stay in St. George
Orderville/Mount Carmel Junction
The town of Orderville stretches for several miles along U.S. Route 89 to the east of the park, wrapping in the unincorporated communities of Mount Carmel and Mount Carmel Junction. This is a highly trafficked zone connecting Zion and Bryce national parks, but amenities are scarce and spread out beyond a tiny downtown in Orderville.
To get to the park from this town near Zion, you take an incredibly scenic drive down State Route 9 that turns into the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway.
After passing the East Entrance Station to the park, the road twists and turns around pink and orange sandstone hills before passing through a 1.1-mile tunnel and then winding down switchbacks into the canyon. The 1930 tunnel and highway are on the National Register of Historic Places.
From Mt. Carmel Junction, it’s about 15 miles to the east park entrance and 25 miles to the visitor center. Hotels, motels, cabins and lodges are scattered along routes 89 and 9.
Where to Stay in Mount Carmel Junction
Glendale
There aren’t many places to stay in Glendale, just north of Orderville, but the tiny town near Zion is convenient if you want a base between the national park, 30 minutes to an hour west, and Bryce Canyon National Park, about an hour northeast.
Where to Stay in Glendale
Kanab
Kanab is one of the largest cities near Zion on the east side, even though it only has a population of around 5,000. It makes a great base for southern Utah and northern Arizona adventures, centrally located between Bryce Canyon, 75 miles north, the Grand Canyon North Rim, 80 miles south, Zion Canyon, 40 miles west, and Page and Lake Powell, 75 miles east in Arizona.
Other popular destinations like Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, the Toadstool Hoodoos and Buckskin Gulch slot canyon are even closer, as well as miles of and miles of hiking trails.
Downtown Kanab has shops, restaurants and an array of hotel choices, including national chains and smaller inns. Prices here are comparable to the towns a few miles away from the south entrance to Zion, and much cheaper than Springdale.
These are the closest towns to Bryce Canyon National Park
Where to Stay in Kanab
