There was a time only a few years ago when the national parks located in America's southwestern region were struggling to get visitors. When they were created by the Antiquities Act, the culture of the country was quite different and families spent far more time together and outdoors. A popular family trip would be to drive to visiting national parks, and it was one of the aspects of life in America that was seen as patriotic. The parks were created for everyone, and visiting them in order to witness first hand the beauty and majesty that the country holds was a privileged to all people in the country. Over time people became more content to spend time indoors on computers, and as a result the interest in national parks began to diminish. Over time the tourism numbers at national parks got low enough that some politicians began to consider no longer providing federal funding for the upkeep and staffing, choosing instead to turn the parks over to the states. This would almost assure that the parks would be sold off for private development, as state budgets also did not have enough funding to cover the expenses. As a last ditch effort before considering such extreme measures, the decision to attempt to boost tourism through advertising was made. A campaign designed to raise awareness of the beauty of the national parks was put out, illustrating that they were closer than you think and you can drive to them from cities like Las Vegas in bout one-half a day.
Because the campaign was successful and raised the desire of American citizens to visit the national parks, the ones closest to the cities became more popular than others. One of the issues surrounding tourism at national parks is that they are not located very close to major hubs where airlines can fly in and out, leaving you with two real choices in the southwest. This choices of starting cities are Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and Zion Canyon National Park is far closer to Las Vegas than any park is to Salt Lake City. This created a unique situation where the large numbers of tourists who frequent Las Vegas began allocating a day or two out of their vacation to visit a nearby national park. Because Zion was so much closer than all the rest, Zion became far more popular than them. The situation now stands that while other parks have seen boosts in visitors and are doing better than they were before, Zion is actually needing to consider methods of reducing traffic and congestion. Waits for some shuttles have now seen times of more than three hours, and parking in the lots is now at a premium. The best method of seeing Zion during your next Las Vegas trip is to book a tour provided by Bindlestiff Tours. Their Zion tours are packed with adventure, and you will never forget the beauty of Zion.