Why is Zion more popular than the Grand Canyon? — featuring John and Kathy Have to Go!
In this video: SW Roadtrip Video 2: Zion National Park 4k
John and Kathy Have to Go! · 3 years ago
Is Zion really more crowded than the Grand Canyon?
Yes. Despite being much smaller, Zion received nearly half a million more visitors than the Grand Canyon in 2021. The narrow canyons concentrate visitors into smaller spaces, making the crowds feel more intense, especially on popular trails like Riverside Walk.
What this video answers
Is Zion really more crowded than the Grand Canyon?
What makes Zion more popular if it's smaller than the Grand Canyon?
How difficult are the three main hikes shown in the video?
Southwest travelers deciding between Zion and the Grand Canyon, hikers planning logistics for a crowded park, and adventure seekers considering a scenic helicopter tour.
Reads the guide aloud in your browser — free, no account.
Why Zion Outdraws the Grand Canyon: A Two-Day Explorer's Guide
Zion National Park attracted nearly half a million more visitors than the Grand Canyon in 2021, despite being eight times smaller in area. This video documents a two-day September visit to discover why. The creators—along with fellow travelers Mike and Vicki—stayed in Springdale, Utah and explored the park's most popular trails while also experiencing an aerial perspective via helicopter tour. The footage captures both the breathtaking geology and the reality of managing crowds at one of America's most visited parks.
Zion suits hikers of all ability levels, from those seeking easy riverside strolls to adventure seekers willing to wade through the Virgin River. The park's narrow canyons create an intimate, immersive experience very different from the panoramic views at the Grand Canyon. If you're drawn to being inside dramatic landscapes rather than viewing them from above, and you want to see why crowds flock here despite the logistics, this video shows you exactly what to expect.
Key Moments
Four Signature Experiences in Zion National Park
Canyon Overlook Trail — an easy one-mile round-trip with less than 200 feet of elevation gain, featuring exposed sections and a cliff-edge viewpoint overlooking Pine Creek Canyon and the historic tunnel entrance
Riverside Walk — a two-mile, nearly flat trail along the Virgin River starting at the Temple of Sinawava, where you'll encounter hundreds of other hikers and the gateway to the popular Narrows wading route
100-Mile Helicopter Circumnavigation with Zion Helicopters — a scenic flight around the entire park plus the Canaan Mountain Wilderness, including a mesa-top landing with sparkling wine and drone photography
Lower Emerald Pool — a 1.4-mile out-and-back hike with only 127 feet of elevation gain, leading to a small pool fed by a creek from the upper pools
Flying Monkey Mesa — an aerial view of the Hurricane Mesa test area where rocket sleds once tested ejection seats and subjects falling over a 1,500-foot cliff
Zion Lodge and the park shuttle system — demonstrating where overnight visitors stay and how mass transit manages the millions of annual visitors
Essential Planning Details for Your Zion Visit
Best time to hike: Arrive early—parking fills quickly and trails become crowded as the day progresses, especially on weekends
Lodging: The only in-park hotel (Zion Lodge) requires reservations about a year in advance; most visitors stay in Springdale, where hotel prices rise closer to the park entrance
Getting around: The park requires shuttle buses for access to Zion Canyon; rent a car only if heading up the Mount Carmel Highway to Pine Creek Canyon, where no shuttle service exists
Helicopter tour duration and booking: The 100-mile tour takes several hours and includes a private mesa landing; book well in advance as spots fill quickly, especially for summer visits
Trail exposure and weather: Canyon Overlook involves exposed cliff sections—unsuitable for those with height phobias; bring caution during rain as footing becomes slippery
Footwear for wading: Hikers attempting the Narrows section beyond Riverside Walk must rent specialized waders and boots from the park entrance; expect these sections to feel more commercial than wilderness-like
Food and supplies: Pack breakfast or dine at cafés in Springdale; the Saul Market in town restocks forgotten supplies
Frequently Asked Questions About Visiting Zion National Park
Is Zion really more crowded than the Grand Canyon?
Yes. Despite being much smaller, Zion received nearly half a million more visitors than the Grand Canyon in 2021. The narrow canyons concentrate visitors into smaller spaces, making the crowds feel more intense, especially on popular trails like Riverside Walk.
What makes Zion more popular if it's smaller than the Grand Canyon?
Zion's appeal lies in its immersive canyon experience—you hike down inside dramatic gorges rather than viewing them from rim viewpoints. The proximity to the rocks, the river, and the soaring walls creates an intimate sense of scale that many find more compelling than the Grand Canyon's vast but distant vistas.
How difficult are the three main hikes shown in the video?
All three are beginner-friendly. Canyon Overlook is one mile with 200 feet of gain; Riverside Walk is nearly flat at two miles; Lower Emerald Pool is 1.4 miles with 127 feet of gain. The challenge lies in crowds and, on some trails, exposure—not physical difficulty.
Should I book the helicopter tour in advance?
Absolutely. The 100-mile Zion Helicopters tour includes a scenic circumnavigation of the park, views of the Canaan Mountain Wilderness, and a mesa-top landing with wine and drone flying. Spots fill fast, especially for peak season travel, so reserve months ahead if possible.
Where should I stay, and will I need a car?
Most visitors base themselves in Springdale, Utah, taking the town shuttle to the park entrance and then boarding the park shuttle into Zion Canyon. If you plan to hike trails along the Mount Carmel Highway (like Canyon Overlook), you'll need a personal vehicle, as no shuttle serves that route.
This video is genuinely helpful because it doesn't oversell Zion or shy away from its crowds—it documents both the jaw-dropping geology and the reality of hiking shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of others. The creators experienced all three skill levels of hiking and splurged on the helicopter tour, giving you a complete picture of what a two-day visit actually involves, from breakfast spots in Springdale to why certain vault toilets close and what to expect on different days of the week.
What impressed me most was the helicopter segment: seeing the park from above, learning how water eroded the canyons, and watching the pilots land on a private mesa for wine and drone photography made clear why that aerial experience is worth booking ahead. The honesty about overcrowding combined with the genuine wonder at the scenery makes this essential viewing for anyone considering a Zion trip.
Years on the front lines of helicopter tour coordination — not as a travel blogger, but as the person responsible for making every guest experience go right. Managed 2,000+ cruise guests weekly as Shore Excursions staff aboard the Pride of America in Hawaii
Personally coordinated with helicopter tour operators to confirm age, weight, and safety requirements.
On the 2nd and 3rd days of our 2022 Southwest roadtrip in September we explored Zion National Park in southern Utah to find out why it was more popular than the Grand Canyon in 2021. We traveled with Mike and Vicki of @doda6629 . We stayed in Springdale, Utah at the wonderful Majestic View Lodge. We hiked three of the park's most popular trails; Canyon View Trail, Riverside Walk, and Lower Emerald Pool. We also took the 100 mile long helicopter tour around the park and over the Canaan Mountain Wilderness purchased from Zion Helicopters. Despite all the crowds we found it to be a breathtaking place to visit and worth the drive.
#zionnationalpark #helicopter #hiking #springdale #sonya7siii #insta360onex2 #djimini3pro #doda66 #emeraldpool @zionhelicopters
Contents:
00:00 - Why Zion?
00:54 - Zion Overview
02:34 - Canyon Overlook Trail
06:44 - Zion Riverwalk
10:05 - Zion Helicopter Tour
13:40 - Lower Emerald Pools Trail
16:14 - Mt. Carmel Hwy Departure & Summary
Video transcript for “SW Roadtrip Video 2: Zion National Park 4k” Accessibility
A full written transcript of this video, provided for accessibility. Select any timestamp to jump the video to that moment.
if you ask pretty much anyone in the world what one thing they would want to see in the Southwest United States you're likely to get just one answer we're in Canyon Grand Canyon the Grand Canyon that's ironic because Zion National Park received nearly half a million more visitors last year despite being smaller
by any objective measure Grand Canyon is over eight times the area of Zion National Park it's over 18 times as long as I am it's over twice as deep it's just bigger in every physical way that's why when we planned our Southwest road trip we had to visit cyan to see what all the fuss was about
for you cartographically inclined here's a map of Zion National Park in southern Utah the northern section of the park is colib Canyons its hiking trails were nearly an hour away from our hotel so we can find our explorations to the most popular part of the park Zion and Pine Creek Canyons there's only one hotel in
the park and reservations need to be made about a year in advance so we didn't do that we stayed at Springdale in Majestic View Lodge there are lots of good hotels in Springdale but their prices go up dramatically as you get closer to the park entrance that's why we picked the hotel at the last shuttle stop in town
well it's certainly not hard to see how the place got its name [Music] oh wait oh there we go it's rooms were added in 2003 to the already operating restaurant and trading post today the restaurant is still very good however it's only open for dinner so you'll have to find your other meals
elsewhere since it's on the shuttle Loop getting around town was very convenient our first morning while foraging for breakfast we stumbled across Mimi's Cafe at Springdale shuttle stop 5. we enjoyed it so much that we ate there every morning while exploring Zion we discovered that none of us were getting
enough Hollandaise sauce for breakfast and Mimi's quickly cured that dietary deficiency as a bonus it's conveniently located across the street from the Saul Market which is a very well stocked store where we picked up things we forgot to pack once you get to the park entrance you
need to know where you're headed if you're going up Zion Canyon you need to board the Zion shuttle at the park entrance if you're going up Pine Creek Canyon along the Zion Mount Carmel Highway you need to take your car because there is no shuttle service on this route [Music] our first morning hike was the Canyon
View Trail an easy one mile out and back with some great views it has less than 200 feet of elevation game most of it coming right at the start really the hardest part of this hike is finding a place to park the first lot is just outside the tunnel exit but there are more parking spaces along the road
as you get further from the tunnel exit go early while you can still park somewhere near the trailhead and before the narrow Trail gets overcrowded foreign if you have a fear of heights that would be problematic since parts of this Trail is quite exposed and the end of the trail has quite a spectacular Cliff
affording the great view when we went there was intermittent rain sometimes making the trail a bit slippery adding to the already lumpy footing we just took our time and were careful it's one of the few trails that are Scenic every step of the way laughs [Music] the reward at the end was a breathtaking
view above the great Arch looking into Pine Creek Canyon where you can see the road leading to the tunnel as well as some of the tunnel Windows used for dumping Rock during construction of the tunnel and providing ventilation in that big hole I'm pretty sure that there's a view from here somewhere
almost nobody here for Zion yeah what are you looking at coming at you from the Canyon View Trail at Zion Park we soaked in the views and took the obligatory falling off the cliff photos never really getting close enough to put ourselves don't take this picture it is
dangerous and it's not Wise It's not wise it's scary it's a mystery of why people fall off on this Trail sir those Edge shots are not wise too many people fall off all the time doing them our hike back showed the wisdom of going early since we had to wait in wider spots to let other hikers pass through
the more narrow bits of the trail we recommend this Trail above all the others that we hiked in the park foreign [Music] once back at the car we found that the
Vault toilet in our parking lot was closed so we walked the short 100 meters to the next parking lot only to find that one of the two Vault toilets there was also closed causing a bit of a weight to use the facilities one wonders what goes wrong with a fault toilet so the can't remain open perhaps it's
better not to know because of the crowds we had to turn away from the tunnel to get to the end of the line to go through it and when we turned around to come back towards the tunnel we saw these big horned sheep they were spectacular we drove back through the tunnel and down the switchbacks on the road to go
back to our hotel so we could take the shuttle into Zion for our afternoon stroll we stopped for lunch at Oscars across the street from Mimi's it was decent Tex-Mex food and very generous with the avocados in their dishes that didn't play well because Kathy has an avocado allergy so she didn't really get to
enjoy the sandwich that we shared for lunch after lunch and parking a car at the Majestic View and taking a bit of Benadryl we tried the town shuttle to the park entrance to transfer onto the Park shuttle bus being from Los Angeles it's always a treat to experience mass transit that's convenient and works
the Virgin River named after the airline I believe the Explorers are about to enter a national park and the station of entrance our next hike would be the Riverwalk starting at the temple of sinewaba
Walt Disney presents Riverside walk here we got a better appreciation of exactly what the impact of having over 5 million visitors a year means to an area where the featured attractions are at the bottom of narrow Canyons while the hike itself isn't challenging at under two miles in length and less than 200
feet elevation gain it does feel a bit like you're walking through an amusement park attraction more than walking in the wilderness still it's far more spectacular than anything Walt has ever built the temple of sinawava that is the temple next door to the temple of sinawava Kathy walking on the most
crowded City street she's walked on in years [Music]
sir whatever told you about feeding the squirrels do not do it no matter whether they beg or not they can't use that sad face on don't fall victim to it [Music] no people on a Riverside walk unheard of become Heroes this Trail is the first part of the very
popular Bottoms Up Zion Narrows Trail the SE is where hikers wear waders and Boots especially designed to walk in the river after the canyon Narrows and no longer has room for a dry Trail these folks are easy to spot because of the red rental boots and wooden hiking steps all of which could be rented right
there at the park entrance to us it was telling that none of these people were smiling perhaps the hike is more fulfilling when there are fewer crowds still we did start gaining an appreciation of why Zion attracts so many people aside from its jaw-dropping scenery it's clear that canons are just
more interesting when you're down in them rather than viewing them from above [Music] the Canyon's opening up you may yet survive [Music] we have a sign for everything the widening Canyon
[Music] our survival suddenly propped up to maybe Disney plan is here honey it's rush hour at the Temple of sinawa people are leaving many wet-footed hikers coming back from the Narrows others have just taken the Riverside walk but this is the view they see when they get down too
the bus stop [Music] after a Carefree shuttle ride back to the park entrance and then the town shuttle we made it back to Majestic View Lodge for cocktail hour on our balcony enjoying the views before enjoying a delicious steak dinner at the hotel restaurant the next morning we plan to repeat the
pattern of our first day instead of hiking to another Viewpoint we chose to go higher within around the park 100 mile flight with Zion helicopters our tour included the circumnavigation of Zion along with a Scenic tour of the Canaan Mountain Wilderness we arrived just as the operation was
opening and were greeted for check-in by someone who clearly wasn't happy about having to be there that was a bad sign but we knew things would be just fine when we met our pilot Jordan he was knowledgeable and personable we could tell that we were in good hands one of the first things we flew over was
commonly known as flying monkey Mesa its official name is Hurricane Mesa test area it's one of the rocket sleds used to test cockpit ejection seats and was built on a Mesa because it allowed the collection of data on subjects falling over a 1500 foot cliff below where they were launched most of the tests were
done using dummies however chimpanzees were used on several occasions I'm not sure if this operation was Peta certified helicopters aren't allowed to fly over the national park however our tour circled the entire park and let us see the breathtaking Ranch Land of the area [Music]
we learned how the narrow cans of Zion were formed in short it's due to the rapid erosion of sandstone after the water is eroded through the much tougher surface Stone materials we saw all kinds of rocks and canyons and we really got a sense for how this place became so special [Music]
here we're flying past the Eastern exit of Zion National Park [Music] it's one of the few ways you can really get a sense for how big the Canaan Mountain Wilderness was it was an area that we had never heard of but as you can see it's spectacular we even learned something about the
history of Colorado City located at the border of Arizona and Utah along with its relationship to Warren Jeffs he imprisoned religious sect leader [Music] after seeing all these sites we were given the opportunity to land on top of a private Mesa to take into views sips and sparkling wine and fly the Drone so
far so good so far so good Mike blogging Zion over there yeah yeah it's amazing oh well there are [Music] about [Applause]
foreign [Music] [Music]
it's a great way to spend the morning and we couldn't recommend it more highly was the beat we were on just moments ago I thought it was pretty spectacular susceptible never gets old fueled up and ready for more hiking we boarded the shuttle from the hotel and headed to the park entrance and shuttle
station this time we got off at Zion lodged to see where those who plan ahead stay we're going to Emerald pools baby our hike crossed the river near the lodge and headed to our destination lower Emerald Pool it's a 1.4 mile out and back with an elevation gain of only 127 feet no mountain bikes
no schnauzers this day was a Monday it was a marked contrast from our prior day of hiking in that most of the hikers were speaking other languages unlike the day before the trail was just as crowded but it seemed to be made up of a different demographic that was a bit surprising so what do you think about the rumors
that this place is overcrowded they're true oh but I have to say it's very difficult to find a background that isn't amazing everywhere you turn look at all the different sandstones the limestones the micas everything and reality the pool itself was quite nice and even had some water dripping
into it from a small Creek presumably coming from the upper Emerald pools and it's kid brother pool that is said to be Emerald it's raining after the hike
into the lodge to use their fancy flush toilets and see the source of all our foreign visitors it became pretty obvious that those traveling a longer distance planned far enough in advance to actually get a room at the lodge it looked nice enough to even plan ahead for once are you like a shop no I'm not so I'm
not getting a gift not from here our shuttle return was filled with spectacular Canyon views which inspired us to enjoy a beer at the brewery next to the park entrance what a great spot that evening we enjoyed cocktails on our deck enjoying the even more Majestic View With a Little Help from a local
rain shower dinner again was at the convenient Hotel restaurant so we could get ready to move quickly the next morning okay this place is comically ridiculous I mean come on The View you know what was missing with the view it was a rainbow well we took care of that problem now didn't we when
morning came so did the reins and flash flood warnings decided it was time for a quick breakfast at our trusty breakfast place Mimi's before driving out of the park on Highway 9 headed to the east entrance of the park along the way we were treated to many spectacular waterfalls that weren't there during the
dry days before it was a great way to leave the park our verdict of Zion we all agreed that it was well worth putting up with the crowds it could be improved by going during a less visited time of year so we plan on that the next time we also would be happy to go back to the Majestic View
Lodge which was comfortable cost effective and convenient yeah they didn't serve breakfast but that was okay because we're happy to eat at Mimi's anytime in our next video we'll travel further west to see what's left of Lake Powell overcome our first potential road trip disaster and tour an iconic location for
old western movies Monument Valley if you get a chance please look at Mike's Drive organ donation awareness campaign at DotA 66. thanks for watching see you next time
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