Zion National Park

Zion is the closest of the great Utah parks to Las Vegas - about 160 miles and 2.5 to 3 hours up I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge - and the drama is vertical: 2,000-foot sandstone walls over the Virgin River, with Angels Landing's chain-assisted ridge and the wade-through slot of The Narrows as its signature hikes. Entry runs $35 per vehicle for seven days (under-16s free), and as of 2026 non-US visitors 16-plus pay a $100-per-person surcharge on top, waived with an annual or America the Beautiful pass. The park itself never closes.

The logistics decide the day. During shuttle season, early March to November 28 in 2026, private cars are barred from the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive: you park at the visitor center or in Springdale and ride the free shuttle, and midday lines get real. Angels Landing requires a permit won by lottery ($6 to apply, $3 a person), so you cannot simply walk up and hike it, while the bottom-up Narrows needs no permit but closes whenever the river runs above 150 cfs, including summer monsoon flash-flood days. Summer canyon heat tops 100°F, so hike early; spring and fall are the sweet spots; winter hands the scenic drive back to private cars, apart from a short holiday shuttle run in late December. One more trap: Utah runs an hour ahead of Vegas, so set out earlier than the clock suggests.