News Zion National Park Canyoneering Conditions (Ongoing)

It has rained at least an inch here in the last 24 hours. I think Heaps is full. (Behunin too, and likely everything else).

Picture thanks to Yvonne Baur.

It's been a while since I've been to Zion in the winter, looking forward to getting down there next month. Thanks for the pic/update.

Zion Shuttle Schedule Dec 2019:

The final shuttle schedule for 2019 has been released! Plan on using the park shuttle during the holidays.

Shuttles will be in use:
Now through December 1st
and
December 22nd through 31st
During this time access to the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive will be by shuttle only. Plan on parking at the Visitor Center and riding the free shuttle from there. If parking is full, please park in Springdale and walk or use the Springdale shuttle to get to the Visitor Center.

Shuttles will not be in use:
December 2nd through December 21st
During this time you may drive the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive with your personal vehicle. Space is limited and parking may not be available. During periods of extreme congestion, access may be closed.

Read the detailed schedule here, including starting and ending times for both the park and Springdale lines:
https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/shuttle-system.htm

We anticipate the return of shuttles in late February. Schedules will be posted on our website early in 2020.

Zion East Side Road Report 12/19/2019

I checked out the North Fork Road and the roads on the Ponderosa today, 12/19/2019. I drive a 2017 Tacoma with good off-road tires. It was about 3 in the afternoon and 40 degreesF on a sunny day.

I got about half a mile from the paved road toward the Mystery Canyon trailhead on the Ponderosa. The road had a coating of snow on most of it and had been driven on. It was a bit slippery. I was able to make it back out without switching to 4WD. I think it would be possible to get to about one mile from the Mystery Canyon / Observation Point Trailhead in a fairly capable vehicle. I doubt the roads past there have been driven on, and would likely be quire challenging even for capable vehicles.

The North Fork Road had been driven on quite a bit, but gets a lot more sun. Short stretches were almost dry, but most of the first mile was snow, slush and mud covered and nasty. Far short of Birch Hollow, at about 1 mile, I found a place to turn around, though it required 4WD to do so. It might be much more driveable in the early morning while still frozen, but it was rather nasty in the afternoon.
Tom