How to Go Camping in Zion National Park

Zion National Park in Utah provides its guests with access to a splendid natural landscape full of towering sandstone cliffs and plunging canyons. A camping trip to Zion National Park will give you access to a wide variety of activities from hiking to biking, from rock climbing to photography-and it will give you a chance to kick back with family or friends and to catch up without any of your normal day-to-day distractions.

Instructions

1. Plan ahead. How long do you plan to be out camping? When do you want to camp?

2. Consider what type of campground you are interested in. Zion has three campgrounds: Watchman, South and Lava Point.

3. Watchman Campground operates on a reservation system from early April through late October. It has 69 sites for tents only and 91 sites with electrical hook-ups. Fire pits, picnic tables, water, central bathrooms with flush toilets and a central dump station are available. Tent sites are $16 per night, electric sites are $18, and riverside sites with electric are $20. Call [phone] for reservations.

4. South Campground is open all year and operates on a first-come, first-served basis. It has 128 sites for tents or RVs with fire pits, picnic tables and water. Central bathrooms with flush toilets and a central dump station are available. Tent sites are $16 per night.

5. The very primitive and remote Lava Point Campground is open from June to mid-October. It has 6 first-come, first-served sites and no water. Call [phone] for information.

6. Reservations for groups of 9 to 40 people may be made in advance by calling (800) 365-CAMP. Group sites cost $3 per person, per night.

7. Planning to camp in the backcountry? Permits cost $5 per person, per night, and are limited. You'll need to make a calender reservation or a lottery reservation for a permit, depending on when you plan to travel. Some walk-up backcountry permits are available at the Visitor's Center, too. (See Resources below.)

Tips & Warnings

• Need more information? Call the Visitor Information line at [phone].

• If you plan to do a fair amount of backcountry camping at Zion, apply for the Express Permit Program. That way, you can log in the day of or the day before your trip to reserve your backcountry permits.

• Don't want to rough it? Consider making a reservation at the Zion Lodge by calling [phone].

• If you plan on rock-climbing at Zion, be aware that experience is necessary. The cliffs at Zion are not for beginners.

• From May to September, the campgrounds usually fill up by 11 a.m.

• Camping is limited to 14 days at a time.