Zion National Park: Nation's 4th Most Visited National Park

Above, the Great White Throne in Zion National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Zion National Park in Utah is not one of the largest national parks in the U.S., but it is the 4th most visited one and is an economic powerhouse.

My first visit to Zion was in August 1969 and it was there that we heard the bulletin on the radio of the Sharon Tate murders in L.A.

According to Deseret News:

SALT LAKE CITY — Zion National Park, Utah’s superstar of tourism, draws millions of visitors each year and stands to deliver even more economic success under a scenario with planned improvements to its east entrance.

A new report by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah details the financial impact of Zion National Park, which out of 62 national parks in the country ranked No. 4 in visitation.

Findings underscore the popularity of Zion and other national parks’ impact on tourism, including:

• One-third of all Utah national park spending was by visitors to Zion, and over 40% of all visitors to the parks in Utah made a trip to Zion. 

• In 2019, Zion National Park visitors spent a record $253.6 million in Kane and Washington counties, supporting 4,438 jobs, $140.5 million in earnings, $235.3 million in gross domestic product and $42.2 million in state and local tax revenue. 

• Park visitors are one of Utah’s top visitor spending groups, with an estimated $1,133 spent per travel party per stay in 2019, and an estimated annual statewide spending of more than $434 million outside of the park and its surrounding communities.

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