Zions National Park - Be Warned!

     If you were expecting rave reviews from either of us on Zions National Park, you are not going to hear it from us. This is by far the worst park, worst place I have ever had the misfortune of coming anywhere close to. Why? Read on. Just remember, your experiences may be different - we hope so!

     First it is the way we were greeted. There was a fairly hostile employee whose job it was to measure every camper coming into the park because the park roads are so shabbily planned that there is a tunnel too narrow to accommodate large campers thus the road must be closed to allow safe passage of the camper through the tunnel. We were certainly safe and it is not so much I mind being measurd but I do mind when someone huffs and puffs about doing their job. Our camper is tiny and I did not tell him his job and if he does not like his job then he should do something else. Strike one right away on entry.

     Second was planning of the park. You are allowed access to only half the park by road. The rest of the road is for the sightseeing bus, cars are not allowed on it and of course dogs are not allowed on the bus. This is wrong because it limits people. Plan your park better people.

     Lack of roads. There are so few roads in this park it is pathetic. One main drag is it to see a large park. Really? Here are a few views outside the park. You can see the Virgin river outside of the park and there is a large mass of volcanic rock laying on the hills just as if it had erupted just a few years ago. Lighting is another hazard - the light is harsh but the park was very hazy so please forgive the harsh look to some.

     Danger. A large number of people have died in this park because hazards were not posted. The Narrows, a much popularized hike, is in a deep canyon where many have drowned from flash floods.

     Lack of parking. Enough said about that – as little as Utah spends on roads, one would think they would simply clear a little flat land and call it a parking area. But they don't and ask that you park in Spingdale and take the shuttle to the Visitors Center - the shuttle that does not allow dogs. Problem. You cannot get anywhere near the Visitors Center. Parking is full from 9 (opening time) until after 3. 

     Sprindale. Lets talk about the crookedest town that ever existed. Take look at the map. Springdale is surrounded on all 3 sides by the park...how is it that it is not part of the park? Somehow I think there is a skirt involved here. Springdale is as crooked as they come with the police officers and town manager being charged with criminal wrong doing in that they are or were taking money from foreign tourists for speeding fines. Seriously – and the town still stands and apparently has a sickening relationship with the park. The prices are jacked up – way up and the quality is bottom barrel. We stayed at what is called an RV park run by Quality Inn in Springdale – friends, nothing anywhere is filthier. For $45 a night – that is on the high end of what one pays water, sewer, electric hook up and a shower room – we received a sight so unlevel that the camper actually went for a solo ride. Fortunately no one was hurt. Oh yeah that calls for another strike.We did have the fortune of meeting another couple right beside us with a nearly identical camper. That was cool and we had dinner with them one night at the campsite.

     Quality Inn RV park. The dirtiest bathrooms anywhere ever. The showers were full of hairballs, food and foreign objects so bad that the water drained from one shower drain overflowing into another – flip flops heck, covered shoes would be in order it was that bad. The bathrooms had an unsealed concrete floor, timed water to wash your hands, no hot water, filthy, the toilet stalls outdated and filthy, the sinks so small you could not get your hands under unless you touched the sides of the sink – gross. And there was a window so that everyone could see in. And this is okay with the park and town? Apparently. Gross. I would not let my dog stay in such a place. Oh yeah I forgot the mention that the gross showers are timed - yep, timed. You get 6 minutes 3 of which are cold to shower. Seriously - no Mormon better ever come to my door lest she or he get an ear full. The entire place is Mormon run and crooked as they come. Nasty.

     Roads, this gets another yuck since there is a secondary road or was a secondary road leading to the north end of the park – now closed. There was no advisory, no warning, just closed.

     Food. There is one grocery store and it like all of Springdale caters to tourists. Think about it, the town has just over 500 people. 250 households where the median income is in excess of 50,000 dollars. You figure it out – 100% comes from tourists. Short answer, they are gouging the tourists. We will never be back. Ever.

     Let's talk about the park. Is it unique? No. Is it excessively pretty? We did not think so. It is simply a large mass of weathered rock – period. No amazing spires or arches, just worthless land someone conned the government into buying – all except Springdale so that the remaining folks could price gouge the pubic. We heard the last day there that they had caught a car thief – no, he did not steal it from the area, he was passing through with it. We should have passed through. Here are some pictures of the park but all have been enhanced to get rid of the haze. That's the Virgin River - shallow and nothing in it...kind of like the park...

     All in all we couldn't wait to leave this place. Utah has some very nice parks – this is not one of them. Marketing is everything though and Zions has been extensively marketed outside the US. It needed to be because it cannot stand on its own – sad but true. Why anyone would want to come here who knew how it was is beyond me. I have more beauty in my back yard (and you too most likely) than Zions has in all of its boundaries.
     Take a look at this picture of Seneca Rocks West Virginia and compare it to the nothingness of Zions and then ask yourself - why is it again that Zion qualifies as a National Park and Seneca Rocks does not? There are 5 parks in Utah. Five. Think something is crooked? Yeah, me too.

Come to Utah, just skip this park.