Pa'rus Trail Zion National Park — Attraction in Four Corners States

We visited Zion National Park in the spring of 2017 and enjoyed the Pa'rus Trial. This 3.5 mile hike which begins at the Visitor Centre and follows the Virgin River. It is paved throughout, making it wheelchair friendly and good for those with families and pets.

The trail skirts along the river and takes in the rising canyon walls on both sides. It passes the Human History Museum around the half way point. This is a good stop to make along the trial before continuing onward to Canyon Junction, where the trail ends.

From Canyon Junction, you can return the same way. Alternatively, you can pick up the free Zion shuttle service further into the national park along the Scenic Route or back to the Visitor Centre.

At the end, the Pa'rus trail lacks the 'wow' factor of other hikes in Zion National Park but its easy and well located making it a good option for many who fancy something...

By foot or bicycle, this is the recommended route to getting to the second and third shuttle stops.

Nice, wide paved trail. Currently (Aug 2021) the campground section is covered with mud/dirt in long stretches, presumably post flash flood. But nice trail, away from cars and the throngs of people getting on the shuttle. Great walk for families and kids, but bring lots of water and sunscreen.

Not a lot of shade for walking, but fine for biking. The north third has a number of bridges, and we’ve often stopped to wade in the water, but there were signs about dangerous algal bacteria in the water, so we skipped wading this time.

Ends at shuttle stop #3, which was closed (Aug 2021), so if you’re on foot, be prepared to hike all the way up to stop 4, or walk back to the...

Pa'rus Trail is the only trail in the park open to dogs and bicycles. The trail runs from the visitor center to Canyon Junction (shuttle stop #3). We were coming back from Angels Landing on the shuttle and there were some rather loud people on the bus, so we got off at Canyon Junction and walked the rest of the way back. The trail follows the North Fork Virgin River downstream towards Springdale. There are a couple scenic little "cascades" along the trail, but they're not natural - they are diversion dams. One of these diverts part of the flow to the town of Springdale as their water supply. Staying close to the river, the trail has scenic views of the lower end of Zion Canyon with several pedestrian bridges crossing the river and a few spots to...