Zion · Nightlife

Zion is an International Dark Sky Park and is open 24 hours, so there is nothing to book and no gate to beat. The park points people at the Pa'rus Trail and the Human History Museum patio in Zion Canyon, both step-free, plus the Checkerboard Mesa pull-off on the east side, Lava Point Overlook on Kolob Terrace Road and the Timber Creek car park in Kolob Canyons.

At 95 Zion Park Boulevard, right at the park entrance, open seven days a week with the brewery's own ales on tap, a growler bar, made-from-scratch pub food, live music and a patio facing the canyon walls. Call 435-522-1360 for larger groups.

Springdale's local since 1981, with a large patio, rotating art on the walls and occasional live music; the menu runs ribeye and pork chop through shrimp and tofu tacos, with house margaritas and sangria. Hours are seasonal — currently Friday to Sunday 5–9pm, closed 19 December to 24 January, Thursday to Sunday through January and February, and seven days from March.

Free ranger programmes — walks, talks, tours and activities on the landscape, plants, animals and history — run mostly in the summer months, with the Nature Center open daily noon to 5pm in season. The schedule changes year to year, so check the park's ranger activities page or the NPS app rather than an old listing.

Springdale is a village of a few hundred people at the mouth of the canyon and it behaves like one: kitchens generally stop serving around nine and there is no late-bar scene to find. If you want a drink after a long hike, be sitting down before eight; otherwise the evening is better spent looking up.