You cannot drive Zion Canyon Scenic Drive in your own car during the shuttle season. Take the free Springdale shuttle to Zion Canyon Village, walk through the pedestrian entrance and board the free Zion Canyon shuttle at the Visitor Center. No reservation is needed. We read the National Park Service's Zion pages and the Utah sources for the bus on 12 October 2026.
The season and the hours
Hours: Zion Canyon Line (green signs), 9 stops. 13 Sep to 24 Oct: first bus from the Visitor Center 7:00 a.m., last bus leaves it 6:00 p.m., last out of the canyon from the Temple of Sinawava 7:15 p.m. 25 Oct to 28 Nov: 7:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m., 6:15 p.m. 29 Nov to 25 Dec: no service. 26 Dec to 2 Jan: 8:00 a.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m. (NPS shuttle page, updated 4 Oct 2026, read 12 Oct 2026)
Hours: Springdale Line (orange signs), 9 stops from Hotel De Novo to Zion Canyon Village. 13 Sep to 24 Oct: first bus 8:00 a.m., last leaves Zion Canyon Village 7:00 p.m. 25 Oct to 28 Nov: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. No service 29 Nov to 25 Dec (same page)
Note: The shuttle began on 7 March 2026. NPS says that in most years it runs daily from March to November and over the end of December (NPS news release, 6 Feb 2026, and shuttle page)
During the shuttle season, private cars cannot drive Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. That includes the hours before the buses start and after they stop. Buses come every 5 to 10 minutes in the canyon and every 10 to 15 minutes in Springdale. The ride from the Visitor Center to the Temple of Sinawava takes about 45 minutes, so a round trip is about an hour and a half.
NPS warns about the last bus. If the last one is full or you miss it, you may have to walk nine miles back to the Visitor Center. Be at your stop well before the last bus leaves.
What it costs
Price: The shuttles are free. The park fee is $20 a person for people on foot or bike, free for ages 15 and under, valid 1 to 7 days. A private vehicle is $35. Non-US residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 each, unless they hold an Annual or America the Beautiful Pass (NPS fees page, updated 6 Jun 2026, read 12 Oct 2026)
Note: Keep your pass. If you leave the park and come back, even on foot or by shuttle, you must show it (same page)
You pay at the pedestrian entrance after you get off at Zion Canyon Village, the first stop of the Springdale Line. Cross the footbridge to the Visitor Center, where the canyon buses start.
Getting to Springdale without a car
Getting there: SunTran's Zion Route runs Monday to Saturday between St. George, Washington, Hurricane, La Verkin, Virgin and Springdale. $5 a ride by cash, credit card or Venmo. It drops at Lion Boulevard in Springdale. On Sundays and holidays a Zion White Bison shuttle covers only Virgin to Springdale. Its stops do not go to St. George (UDOT factsheet, Aug 2026, and UDOT guide updated 17 Feb 2026)
Getting there: Our reading of the Monday to Saturday sheet: the first bus leaves 1670 S 120 E in St. George at 7:00 a.m. and reaches Lion Boulevard at 8:22 a.m. UDOT says a bus comes about every hour. Schedules are approximate, so be at the stop 5 minutes early (UDOT factsheet, Aug 2026)
Note: NPS lists the airports as St. George Regional (SGU), 49 miles away with flights from Salt Lake City and Denver, Cedar City (CDC), 60 miles, Las Vegas (LAS), 170 miles, and Salt Lake City (SLC), 300 miles (NPS directions page, updated 14 Sep 2026)
We did not check an intercity bus to St. George from Las Vegas or Salt Lake City, or a transfer from the airport to the SunTran stop.
The Park and Ride in Virgin
Address: Zion Corridor Park and Ride, Zion White Bison Resort, 400 UT-9, Virgin, Utah. Opened 1 March 2026, about 13 miles from Zion's South Entrance. Free day-use parking, first come, first served, 32 spaces including 8 oversized, no overnight parking, no reservation (Town of Virgin, posted 25 Feb 2026, and UDOT, updated 17 Feb 2026)
Getting there: The Zion White Bison shuttle began on Sunday 1 March 2026 and SunTran on Monday 2 March. The ride from Virgin to Springdale takes about 30 minutes, then it is a walk or the Springdale shuttle to the park (UDOT guide)
The Town of Virgin set up the lot with its partners ahead of Zion's limits on large vehicles on the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway from 7 June 2026. It is open to everyone, says the Town of Virgin. It helps people who drive and want to leave the car. If you have no car, you do not need it.
| Detail | One source says | Another says | What we use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the Park and Ride is | Town of Virgin and UDOT: Virgin, about 13 miles from the South Entrance | NPS pages of 4 Oct 2026: no mention, and Springdale parking is town or business run | Virgin, at the Zion White Bison Resort, set up by the town and partners |
| Springdale shuttle season | NPS directions page: runs "during the summer season" | NPS shuttle page: March to November, with hours | The shuttle page |
| Walk from Lion Boulevard | UDOT guide: 0.4 miles to the South Entrance | Same guide: 0.3 miles, about 10 minutes | About 10 minutes |
What is checked here and what is not
Checked on 12 October 2026: NPS's Zion pages on the shuttle (updated 4 October 2026), fees (6 June 2026), directions (14 September 2026) and the shuttle news release of 6 February 2026, the Town of Virgin's Park and Ride notice, UDOT's Park and Ride guide and its August 2026 factsheet.
Not checked: Greater Zion's own schedule page, which gave us no text, the SunTran fare on SunTran's own site, intercity buses, taxis from the airport, and the shuttle's December schedule on the Springdale Line. We did not ride the buses for this page.
