Zion Canyon Scenic Drive in winter is great! Just don't fall to your death

Long shooting exposure makes the water of the Virgin River, along the walkway to The Narrows, appear silky smooth.

“This is a great time to come.” One hears that a lot from the locals when visiting Zion National Park in Utah, the United States, in winter. Fewer people, easy parking, available hotel rooms, much less crowded trails, beautiful snow-covered vistas, no oppressive heat. What’s not to like?

There are these slight negatives: the relative cold, some shuttered-for-the-winter restaurants – or ones that close by 8pm in nearby Springdale, the closure of some trails due to falling ice and rocks, and the possibility of plunging to your death off ice-covered roads and hiking trails.