Zion National Park is one of the most popular national park sites in the U.S., welcoming more than 4.9 million visitors in 2024 . The park surpassed Grand Canyon National Park to become the second-most-visited national park last year, behind only Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In a year when major destinations are seeing millions of visitors each year, officials are desperate to find a way to safely accommodate the surge in guests. For several national parks, including Rocky Mountain, that has meant implementing a timed entry system of some type.

Zion National Park, however, is rejecting the narrative that timed entry is the solution to high visitation. The park, which has been developing a Visitor Use Management Plan since 2016, seems set on avoiding reservations, a move that ha

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