Zion NP Thanksgiving Week
 

Considering a family vacation during Thanksgiving week with adult children coming from Maine, NJ, and LA. Did the same at Sequoia 2 years ago and it was fabulous. Will likely stay at an Airbnb in Springdale area. My question is whether parts of the park will be closed at that time of the year, as we found at Sequoia. We like cooler weather and don't mind cold nights, and hope it will be less crowded, but at Sequoia they close roads on a certain date regardless of weather/snow. Thanks in advance for your help!

No, Zion doesn't have winter road closures like Sequoia does. What you will need to be aware of in that regard is whether or not cars will be allowed or if you will need to take the shuttle, and any crowd situation. I haven't been there in November, but the park site does say that visitation is extremely high until late November. Here is the NPS link if that is helpful: https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/seasons.htm

Don't know what the situation will be this year -- but I was in Zion at the very beginning of Nov. 2 years ago (so no Thanksgiving holiday impact) staying at the Lodge. The park was more crowded than I expected. The parking lots were essentially full and the shuttles both coming in from Springdale and within the valley were close to capacity

Thanks for the info. Good to know the roads won't be closed because that can reduce access to a large part of the park like it does in Sequoia and Yosemite, even if there isn't snow yet. We were at Acadia NP a couple of weeks ago (we're in Maine anyway and go there every summer). The shuttles weren't running and the two NP campgrounds were closed. Overall the island was much less crowded than previous years. Sequoia wasn't bad when we were there at Thanksgiving. At this stage of my life I don't want to fight summer crowds and prefer the cooler weather!

Zion is a zoo at Thanksgiving. And--they might run the shuttle or not--Covid. If they don't run the shuttle--which they haven't been doing--they only allow x number of cars in the park. So you have to be at the gate at the beyond crack of dawn. Or-reserve bikes in town wayyyy in advance. Bikes have been selling out. I would go elsewhere this year. Arches and Canyonlands are really nice in the winter. We go every February. If you click on my user name you can see trip reports for both parks. Or go stay in Escalante.

Zion is a bit different in that there is so much lodging next door in Springdale, and it's also fairly close to major metropolitan areas (even LA is not out of reach). So I'd still expect it to be mobbed and then you'd possibly have the situation of not being able to get on a shuttle due to tickets being sold out.

According to the park website, the shuttle is running now and planned through December. You need a timed reservation and times are released on a rolling two-week system. I might book some refundable hotel and then see if you can snag a shuttle ticket. Once in the park you can reboard the shuttle, not sure how they are controlling the capacity. It may be a long wait between shuttles with room, assuming they are not allowing people to pack in like sardines as they used to. If you are concerned about COVID-19 you may want to read comments on the recreation.gov website, such as this one

"in the morning visitor center No:1 is every checking face mask on the bus but other stop area is not check and in bus many men/woman not cover face. Very bad."


https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvis...le-tickets.htm

https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/fa...ttle%20Tickets

Thank you to recent posters, this info is very helpful. A couple of notes. First, we need a location driving distance from LA as one of our sons is there, so I think Arches and Canyonlands are out. (He also doesn't want a desert location for some reason.) Second, we'll likely be renting an airbnb house/condo for the week because we want to spend 'family time' as well as visiting the park/attractions. Its a combo vacation for sure. I'm definitely surprised it will be this busy at Thanksgiving, but I just lave little experience with NPs that week except Sequoia.

The shuttle reservation system is inaccurate. The text says that tickets for Sept 1 through 15 will be available Aug. 16, but when you click on the calendar it shows that period as "not released." Confusing but I really appreciate the info. Acadia has free shuttles all around the island but they weren't running this year. It wasn't as busy either. They were supposed to start timed tickets for driving your car on two of the most popular roads - the park loop road and the road up Cadillac Mtn - but they didn't bother because it wasn't that crowded. They're doing a trial in Oct, which can be busy, but it will be a good test. Acadia is a really different park because it isn't a contiguous area that is all park land. It was created with land donations, most from the Rockefeller family, and so there is private land interspersed. There was no 'Park Gate" until the late 80's even so you never needed a pass and still don't for most of the park/trailheads.

If you will be staying in the area for a while, look at the section of Arches that is a bit north of the main part. You might also head up to Cedar Breaks and/or Bryce if Zion is too crowded. Both could be a day trip from Zion area.

The Kolob Canyons and Kolob Terrace areas of Zion are much less crowded (I think that's what oldemalloy meant and not Arches). They're higher in elevation (6000-7000 ft) as are Bryce (8000-9000 ft) and Cedar Breaks (10,000+) so check the weather before you go. The road through Cedar Breaks might be closed for the season by then.

"doesn't want desert"---that's what Zion is. Yes, a river runs through it. But get 100 yards away and its desert. Bryce can be crowded at Thanksgiving--but not as much. It is colder--higher altitude. You have to remember that Zion is within an easy drive from major population centers/airports--Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, etc. I would take Moab over Zion any day. Bryce is nice but not sure about VRBOs. You could search for Panguitch or towards Escalante or I guess for Ruby--or whatever they call the small "town" outside Bryce.

"or I guess for Ruby--or whatever they call the small "town" outside Bryce."

I'm pretty sure that would be Bryce Canyon City (not much of a 'city' ;) )

When he says he doesn't want desert, I'm assuming he means Coachella Valley type desert.

Springdale is pretty darn hot in summer, which is why October and November are popular months.