A rest day, and how not to waste it
On a trip of four days or more, one day is going to be a write off whether you plan it or not. Planning it is much better, and Springdale is unusually well set up for a day that involves no climbing at all.
- Flat paved trail
- Pa’rus, 3.5 miles
- Museum
- 9:00am to 6:00pm
- Galleries
- Five, one road
- Cost of the whole day
- Nothing beyond entry
Day three is where trips fall apart
Zion hiking is steep, hot and mostly on hard surfaces. Two big days in a row is fine. Three is where knees, feet and tempers start to go, and it happens to fit people as reliably as anyone else.
The mistake is not scheduling a rest day. The mistake is refusing to schedule one, doing a fourth hard day badly, and losing the fifth as well. A planned easy day in the middle of a week usually buys back more than it costs.
It also happens to be the day you finally see the place you have been staying in. Most people spend five days in Springdale and never look at it, because they leave at half past six and come back at eight. What the town actually is.
Where to put it
Between two hard days, not at the end. A rest day on your last day is a day you have wasted, because you will travel home rested and having missed something. On a five day trip the third day is usually right. How the days stack up.
Pa’rus is the one genuinely flat trail
Paved the whole way, along the river, and the only trail in Zion where bicycles and leashed dogs are allowed.
| Trail | Round trip | Elevation | Average time | Rated | Shuttle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pa’rus Trail | 3.5 mi | 50 ft | 2 hr | Easy | Stop 1 to stop 3 |
Do half of it
It runs from the visitor center to Canyon Junction. Walk out as far as feels right, sit by the river, and take the shuttle back from either end. There is no obligation to finish anything.
It takes a pushchair
Paved and near level, which makes it the one trail here that works with a buggy or a wheelchair user in the group without a plan.
And a dog
The only trail in the park where leashed pets are allowed, six foot lead maximum. That single rule is most of a dog owner’s Zion. The rest of it.
Paved does not mean cool
Pa’rus has very little shade and a paved surface radiates heat. On a July afternoon it is a harder walk than its profile suggests. Do it early or in the last two hours of light. The heat, month by month.
Three things that cost nothing extra
Your entry pass is good for seven days, so a rest day inside the park costs nothing beyond what you already paid.
- Shuttle stop 2Zion Human History Museum
Published hours 9:00am to 6:00pm. A film, the human history of the canyon, and a terrace with one of the best views in the park that almost nobody stops at because the bus is going somewhere more famous.
- Near the visitor centerZion Nature Center
Published hours 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Aimed at children and the natural home of the Junior Ranger programme, which is the single best thing to do with a bored eight year old in this park. Zion with children.
- Any stopRide the canyon shuttle to the end and back
Forty five minutes each way with commentary, no walking at all. It is the cheapest scenic tour in Utah and it is included. Get off at the Temple of Sinawava, look up the canyon from the flat, get back on. How the line runs.
An afternoon on one road
The galleries
Five of them, from 291 to 1051 on the boulevard, all walkable or one shuttle hop apart. Better after you have been in the canyon than before. Addresses and numbers.
A long lunch
The one day of the trip when you can eat at a table at midday instead of out of a bag on a rock. Where to eat.
The river
The Virgin River runs the length of town. Sitting beside it with your feet in it is a legitimate use of a day, and in August it is the best one available.
The sky, after dark
Zion is a certified dark sky park and the rest day is the night you are not too tired to stay up for it. Zion is a certified International Dark Sky Park and Springdale sits under the same sky.
If you want the day to still feel like a trip rather than a gap, this is also the right day for something that carries you rather than the other way round. A jeep tour, a helicopter flight or an hour on a horse all give you country you have not seen without asking anything of your legs.
One thing to check, one thing not to plan around
The Giant Screen Theatre
Older guidebooks and a good deal of the internet send rest day visitors to the large format cinema on Zion Park Boulevard. Published sources conflict about whether it is operating, with at least one listing it as closed since January 2017. We could not establish that it is open, so we are not recommending it. If you find it running, enjoy it, but do not build an evening around it without confirming first.
A rest day is not a nothing day
Three and a half paved miles, an afternoon walking a boulevard and a late night under the stars is a reasonable amount of time on your feet. If someone in the group is genuinely finished, let them have the actual day off in a chair. The point is to arrive at day four able to hike, not to fill the gap.
Common questions about a Springdale rest day
What is there to do in Springdale without hiking?
The Pa'rus Trail is flat, paved and 3.5 miles round trip. Inside the park there is the Human History Museum, the Nature Center and the shuttle ride itself, all included in your entry. In town there are five galleries, the restaurants and the river.
Is there an easy flat trail in Zion?
Pa'rus Trail: 3.5 miles round trip, 50 feet of elevation, about two hours, rated easy, running from shuttle stop 1 to stop 3. It is paved and it is the only Zion trail that allows bicycles and leashed dogs.
What are the Zion Human History Museum hours?
9:00am to 6:00pm as published in September 2026, at shuttle stop 2. Facility hours change with the season even though the park itself is open 24 hours a day, all year.
Where should a rest day go in a Zion trip?
Between two hard days rather than at the end. On a five day trip the third day is usually right, because a rest day on your last day is a day you have wasted.
Is the Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theatre open?
We could not establish that it is. Published sources conflict and at least one lists it as closed since January 2017, so we do not recommend planning an evening around it without confirming directly first.
Can I do a rest day without a car?
Entirely. The free town shuttle covers Springdale, the canyon shuttle covers the park, and everything on this page sits on one of those two lines.
Now put the day where it belongs in the trip
A rest day works best in the middle of a planned week rather than as a collapse.
Also useful: the galleries, a tour that carries you and a long lunch.
Pa’rus is flat, paved and 3.5 miles. Take the day.
Three day plan