It's been awhile since we were at Zion but I remember we picked up a map at the welcome center that showed the sights to see. Very beautiful and amazing....

I don't remember the name of the campground, it was nice, we stayed in a state or national campground that was between Bryce and Zion so we could see one park one day and the other park the next day and then head over on the third day to stay near Grand Canyon for the rest of the week.

We have boondocked at South Campground in Zion itself.

I boondocked in the Dixie National Forest many years ago. It is near Cedar Breaks, not too far from Zion. There are 4 dispersed camping areas there. www.fs.usda.gov/activity/dixie/recreation/camping-cabins/ Needless to say it is gorgeous. It was a long time ago, but I think I camped near mammoth creek.

Chip

Hike the Narrows of the Virgin River. Be prepared to get wet, but hike up the river as far as you can. For my family this was one of the most special day hikes in the country. BTW, we did not pay the money for the special water shoes and did not regret it.

Check out this site:

www.citrusmilo.com/zionguide/

Zion is a hikers paradise. Use the guide given in the previous post. If you are here to hike and visit the park itself, camp inside the park, the campgrounds this time of the year are sparsely populated, other than Thanksgiving week.

While I have not boondocked outside the park, I have read blogs from people boondocking on the side roads leading off of SR-9 going SW of the park. If you are an Escapees member there is a great list of free and low cost camping sites at: www.daysenddirectory.com/

There are also other "freecamping" lists available on the internet.

Thanks everyone for your responses and recommendations! We ended up staying in Watchman Campground right in the park and really enjoyed it. A special thank you to our guides, Steve and Joan (FOSJ), this is the most beautiful park we have been to so far!