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Photo by Óðinn, CC BY-SA 2.5 ca, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Zion
United States · North America
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Zion
Tap a month for its page
- JanJZion in January: ok
- FebFZion in February: ok
- MarMZion in March: ok, busy
- AprAZion in April: sweet spot
- MayMZion in May: sweet spot, busy
- JunJZion in June: sweet spot, busy
- JulJZion in July: avoid
- AugAZion in August: avoid
- SepSZion in September: sweet spot
- OctOZion in October: sweet spot
- NovNZion in November: good
- DecDZion in December: ok
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
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Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
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Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8° | 5d | 64% | 7.8h | ok | 8C max, 5 rainy days |
| Feb | 10° | 6d | 62% | 8.8h | ok | 10C max, 6 rainy days |
| Mar | 15° | 7d | 57% | 9.7h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Apr | 21° | 3d | 41% | 12.1h | sweet spot | 21C max, 3 rainy days |
| May | 26° | 2d | 33% | 12.7h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Jun | 33° | 0d | 23% | 14.0h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Jul | 36° | 1d | 30% | 13.0h | avoid | extreme heat: 19 days over 35C |
| Aug | 34° | 2d | 36% | 12.5h | avoid | extreme heat: 13 days over 35C |
| Sep | 30° | 1d | 38% | 11.6h | sweet spot | 30C max, 1 rainy day |
| Oct | 22° | 3d | 42% | 10.4h | sweet spot | 22C max, 3 rainy days |
| Nov | 15° | 3d | 49% | 8.8h | good | 15C max, 3 rainy days |
| Dec | 10° | 5d | 59% | 7.7h | ok | 10C max, 5 rainy days |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Zion's July days now average 35.6°C, 2.3°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 4 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 7.8° | 9.6° | 13.6° | 19.7° | 24.6° | 31.2° | 33.2° | 32.0° | 27.7° | 21.1° | 13.3° | 8.2° |
| 2017–26 | 7.8° | 9.8° | 14.7° | 20.8° | 25.9° | 32.9° | 35.6° | 34.0° | 29.9° | 22.4° | 15.4° | 9.7° |
| Change | -0.0° | +0.2° | +1.1° | +1.1° | +1.2° | +1.6° | +2.3° | +2.0° | +2.1° | +1.3° | +2.1° | +1.6° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
Fly into Las Vegas (LAS), then drive. The flights under Where to book are to Las Vegas.
| Las Vegas (LAS) | the drive is not measured yet |
|---|---|
| St George (SGU) | the drive is not measured yet |
The drive from each airport is the road's, from openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT: typical, not a schedule.
How far Zion is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Los Angeles
- from San Francisco
- from Seattle
- from Vancouver
- from Chicago
- from Mexico City
- from Toronto
- from Miami
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Zion, flying or not.
Before you go
Type A and B plugs at 120 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the United states dollar. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise normal security precautions. Everything for United States: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work almost everywhere, though a few small places take cash only. Keep some $1 and $5 notes for tips; Venmo and PayPal are for locals.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Expected: 15–20% in sit-down restaurants (18–20% is standard in New York) and 10–20% for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers. Large groups may find it already on the bill.
Getting around Zion
- Apps — Rides: Lyft, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: Text messages (SMS), WhatsApp. In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and some other cities you can also book a driverless Waymo in its own app.
The length of the road through the park (Utah Hwy 9) end to end including the tunnel is 11.5 miles (18.5 km). The tunnel itself is just over a mile (close to 2 km). More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Zion National Park, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 5 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (34)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/getting-help
- omny.info
- omny.info/fares
- clippercard.com/contactless-payments
- clippercard.com/pay-with-phone
- mtc.ca.gov/news/starting-wednesday-bart-riders-can-tap-bank-cards
- sfcta.org/blogs/next-generation-clipper-tap-pay-here
- metro.net/fares/how-to-pay
- transitchicago.com/howto/pay-for-your-fare
- info.myorca.com/contactless
- miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1565197498854306
- mbta.com/fares/charlie/tap-ride
- holocard.net/for-visitors
- holocard.net/help
- sdmts.com/fares/pronto-ways-pay
- ridepronto.com
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/fares
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/lepass
- capmetro.org/fares
- wmata.com/fares
- wmata.com/pay/tap-ride-go.html
- muni.org/Departments/transit/PeopleMover/Pages/FaresandPasses.aspx
- uber.com/global/en/cities/new-york
- lyft.com/rider/cities/new-york-ny
- waymo.com/faq
- visittheusa.com/travel-trade/faq
- nyctourism.com/tipping-sales-tax
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/United_States
- infobip.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Zion in pictures
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Pierre André Leclercq, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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user:AngMoKio, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
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“Jon Zander(digon3)”, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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LeavXC, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The year in Zion
Zion experiences a moderate climate overall, but summer temperatures can be quite high. Be prepared for cooler temperatures in the winter months.
| Busiest |
mid Mar to late May — Mild temperatures and blooming scenery attract many tourists.
early Jun to late Sep — The warm weather provides ideal conditions for outdoor activities.
|
|---|---|
| Quieter, still good |
early Oct to late Oct — Cooler temperatures and fall colors make it a pleasant time to visit.
early Nov to late Nov — Fewer crowds and mild weather offer good value for visitors.
|
Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.
What Zion is like
Even among America's national parks, few can match the stunning beauty of Zion National Park. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Zion Human History Museum, Zion National Park Rd, Springdale (on the main road, 1/2 mile / 1 km north of the south entrance to the park). 10AM-5PM Daily, longer hours in the summer. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Driving through Zion is an incredible experience, but to enter Zion and not take at least a short walk would be foolish. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Zion Canyon, the most popular section of the park, is accessed by taking SR-9 from the east or the west. From Salt Lake City area: I-15 south to SR-17 at Anderson Junction (exit 27). More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Weather conditions are posted at the visitor center, but flash floods can occur in the park without warning. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Zion National Park, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Zion
Also in United States
- Anchorage best May, Jun, Jul
- Asheville best Apr, Jun, Sep
- Austin best Jun, Sep, Oct
- Boston best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Charleston best Mar, Apr, Oct
- Chicago best May, Jun, Jul
- Key West best Apr, May, Jul
- Los Angeles best May, Jun, Sep
- Maui best Jul, Sep, Oct
- Miami best Feb, Apr, May
- New Orleans best Apr, May, Sep
- New York best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Oahu best May, Jun, Sep
- San Diego best May, Jun, Sep
- San Francisco best May, Jun, Sep
- Scottsdale best Apr, Oct, Dec
- Seattle best Jun, Jul, Aug
- The Grand Canyon best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Washington DC best Apr, Jun, Sep
- Yellowstone best Jul, Aug, Sep
- Yosemite best Jun, Jul, Sep
Compare with
- Anchorage
- Asheville
- Austin
- Boston
- Charleston
- Chicago
- Key West
- Los Angeles
- Maui
- Mexico City
- Miami
- New Orleans
- New York
- Oahu
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Scottsdale
- Seattle
- The Grand Canyon
- Toronto
- Vancouver
- Washington DC
- Yellowstone
- Yosemite
Nearby
- Vancouver Canada · 1,567 km
- Mexico City Mexico · 2,393 km
- Toronto Canada · 2,914 km
- Bogota Colombia · 5,348 km
Kind of place
Zion is in United States, North America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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