Are you looking for the closest airports to Zion National Park? We’re going to walk you through each of the 4 best airport options near Zion for domestic US and international travelers booking flights to visit the spectacular park in Southwest Utah.
Choosing the best airport near Zion National Park will depend on various factors, including your origin airport and your overall travel Zion travel itinerary.
Are you just visiting Zion or are you exploring further into Utah or Arizona?
We are going to explain what makes St. George, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and even Phoenix your 4 best airport options near Zion National Park.
Let’s fly to Zion!
What Is The Closest Airport To Zion National Park?
In a rush and just want to know the closest regional and international airports to Zion?
The closest regional airport to Zion is St. George, just 55 minutes southwest of Springdale and Zion. But the closest major international airport is Las Vegas McCarran around 2 hours and 45 minutes southwest of Zion.
In this guide we are going to walk you through all 4 of the best and closest airports for Zion National Park in detail, including which airlines an cities fly non-stop into each of the airports near Zion listed below.
Tip – Even during Winter in Zion National Park the roads very rarely close due to snow, so you shouldn’t have to consider weather conditions or road closures when choosing your airport.
Your Zion National Park Travel Itinerary
Before we get into the list of best and closest airports to use for visiting Zion National Park, it is important to establish your overall travel plans for this trip.
- Are you visiting only Zion National Park?
- Do you plan to road trip Utah’s Mighty 5 National Parks or include a visit to Grand Canyon South Rim?
- How about Sedona, Kanab or Page for more adventure?
- Are you an international traveler flying in to the US for a 2 or 3 week visit?
- Will you spend a few days in Las Vegas before or after Zion?
Most visitors to Zion National Park will fly into and / or out of Las Vegas McCarran International. It is the most convenient major airport in the region.
But despite Vegas probably being your best bet, we highly recommend you search for flights to each of the 4 closest airports near Zion to check on prices and flight times.
Using Different Inbound and Outbound Airports
Taking the questions about your itinerary into account, consider that you might be better flying into one airport and flying out of another.
Why would you want to use different airports on your trip?
Well, we almost always fly into one airport and out from another on shorter trips because it is more efficient and saves driving back to the airport we land in.
Here’s an example of how this might be beneficial for a typical US southwest trip:
- You fly into Las Vegas and rent a car
- Visit Zion for 2 days
- Drive to Bryce Canyon and spend 1 more day
- Visit Kanab for adventure activities
- Drive to Grand Canyon South Rim
- Visit Sedona for 2 days
- Fly out of Phoenix
After Sedona, you wouldn’t have to drive all the way back to Las Vegas and instead you could just drop down into Phoenix. This way you are seeing many of the best places to visit in Utah and Arizona in one efficient road trip.
But there are both pros and cons to using different airports for inbound and outbound flights.
The obvious benefits are that you can see more places in one trip without having to go back on yourself to the origin airport. This means a very efficient vacation, with no wasted time.
But you will sometimes pay slightly more for that added convenience.
Cost Of Flights
Return flights often price out cheaper than buying two separate single flight tickets. This isn’t always true and we strongly suggest you test this out when booking flights, but it is typically the case.
Search for combinations of single trips between your local departure airport and all 4 of the closest airports to Zion National Park listed below.
Compare the price of return tickets vs two singles between each airport. You can read our guide to booking cheap flights for more tips.
International travelers might have a harder time picking up two cheaper single tickets when compared to return tickets. Long haul flights typically cost significantly less when bought as a return vs singles from different airports.
So you need to ask yourself if the added cost is worth the time saved and convenience of flying from different airports close to Zion National Park.
Cost Of Rental Cars
On to the other huge expense for a trip like this one, rental cars.
The cost of a rental car depends on the type of vehicle, how long you want to hire the vehicle for and its pick up / drop off location.
Hire cars can cost more if you pick up and drop off in different locations. But not always and it comes down to the exact locations.
- If you pick a car up in Las Vegas and leave it at a tiny regional airport in the middle of nowhere, you will pay more.
- But if you pick it up in Las Vegas and leave it at another major destination like Phoenix, the price shouldn’t be too much higher.
Travelers flying into Zion and the US from abroad will be renting cars for longer periods. Due to the longer timeframe of your visit, a round trip loop back to your origin airport is more likely.
For those on shorter 4 days through 8 days US southwest itineraries, you won’t want to lose that precious time driving all the way back up Salt Lake City airport for instance.
Booking Flights And Rental Cars For Zion National Park
1. Flights: When searching for flights from your origin to each of the 4 closest airports to Zion as listed below, we recommend you try as many different platforms and search engines as possible.
Personally, we book all of our flights through the Skyscanner flights search engine. It is easy to use, finds various flight options and offers some of the cheapest prices.
2. Rental Cars: Shop around to find the best prices on rental cars. Remember to search for both round trips and point to point if you plan to use different airports near Zion National Park.
We use Rental Cars because it is easy to use and we always get great service. You won’t need a 4×4 off road vehicle for Zion but you might need one if planning to visit Death Valley, Kanab or Sedona on the same trip.
Need a hand organizing your visit to Zion?
Our popular 40+ page Zion National Park Guidebook can help you with planning every aspect of your trip.
4 Airports Near Zion National Park From Closest To Furthest
OK, let’s get stuck into the 4 closest airports to Zion National Park.
We will work from closest to furthest in terms of miles you will have to travel from the airport to reach Springdale and the Zion visitor center.
The 4 airports we are going to discuss are:
- St. George Regional Airport, Utah
- Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, Nevada
- Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona
Let’s find out which airport near Zion is the best for you to fly into and out from on your trip to the US southwest.
1. St George Regional Airport (SGU), Utah – 46 Miles from Zion
The closest airport to Zion National Park is St George Regional Airport, which is within one hour drive time of Springdale but it is limited to a handful of non-stop flight paths in the US.
You can’t fly to St George from any international airport, but you can land in either Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Phoenix or Salt Lake City and take a connecting flight to St George.
If you live in one of those 4 US cities, you are the in best location for the option of convenience by getting to the closest airport near Zion National Park.
However, none of the US budget airlines fly into St George and there are very few flights per month (see below).
Despite being the closest airport to Zion National Park, St George will not be the best option for many visitors to Zion National Park due to lack of non-stop flight airports and higher costs.
St George is the best airport near Zion for anyone who lives in Dallas / Fort Worth or Denver.
St George Regional Airport To Zion National Park
At just 46 miles and less than 1 hour drive time from St George airport to Zion National Park, St George is by far the most convenient airport you can use.
You will approach from the southwest, passing through Hurricane and La Verkin on the way to Springdale.
Alternatively, if you land early enough, you can drive directly to hike in Kolob Canyon area of Zion for half a day before driving on to Springdale.
Airlines Flying Into St George Regional Airport
Here are the airlines flying non-stop into St George airport:
- American Airlines
- United Airlines
- Delta
Origin cities you can fly non-stop into St George Airport
There are only 4 domestic US airports flying non-stop from / to St. George airport:
- Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas (fewer than 10 flights per month)
- Phoenix, Arizona (around 30 flights per month)
- Denver, Colorado (over 50 flights per month)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (over 100 flights per month)
2. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS), Nevada – 170 Miles from Zion
Whether you intend to spend any time ticking off the best things to do in Las Vegas or not during your trip to the US southwest, McCarran International Airport is the best airport for you to use near Zion National Park.
Why?
- McCarran is by far the closest major international airport to Zion National Park
- Las Vegas is a fun city to spend one or two days either side of your trip to Zion
- You can pick up very cheap domestic US flights with budget airlines
- International visitors have the best chance getting a non-stop flight at a good price
This is the closest you will get to Zion and likely with the best flight prices. Be sure to check prices into SLC and Phoenix but we think you’ll find it hard to beat Las Vegas.
Another important reason is because there are so many amazing things to see near Las Vegas.
Hiking in Red Rock Canyon, exploring the stunning Valley of Fire, visiting Grand Canyon and ticking off the best things to do around Kanab are just a few things you can do near Zion if flying through Las Vegas.
Valley of Fire in particular is just a very slight detour on the way from Las Vegas to Springdale. We very highly recommend visiting Valley of Fire State Park as an excellent stop off.
If you plan to spend time in Vegas on the same trip as Zion, you will be ticking off two of the top bucket list US vacation spots in one hit.
Las Vegas McCarran Airport to Zion National Park
At 170 miles or around 2 hours and 45 minutes, Las Vegas McCarran isn’t much further from Zion National Park than St George and the route from Vegas to Springdale actually passes directly by St George.
Drive northeast on I-15 until you exit onto UT-9 all the way to Springdale. Consider stopping at Valley of Fire on the way.
Many choose to visit Zion as part of one of the most popular Las Vegas day trips.
Airlines Flying Directly Into Las Vegas Airport
Here are just some of the airlines flying non-stop into Las Vegas McCarran:
Allegiant Air, Air Canada, WestJet, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United, Delta, British Airways, Air France, EL AL, Korean Air and Qatar Airways.
Origin cities you can fly non-stop into Las Vegas McCarran Airport
- US – All major airports and many minor airports
- Canada – Most major airports
- Mexico – Four airports
- Panama – Panama City
- Germany – Frankfurt and Munich
- United Kingdom – London
- Netherlands – Amsterdam
3. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Utah – 311 Miles from Zion
Salt Lake City international airport is the perfect alternative airport close to Zion National Park if prices or flight times don’t work for Las Vegas.
Why would you even consider Salt Lake City over Las Vegas?
Well, there are two of the best USA road trips beginning and or ending here.
- The first is heading north from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
- And the second is the Utah Mighty 5 which would begin at Capitol Reef from SLC.
Many will land in SLC and either drive north to see the Wyoming parks before heading South for the Utah parks including Zion, or vice versa.
Hikers can also take on some of the best Utah hiking trails around SLC before heading down to the national parks for more amazing hikes.
You can pick up some of those same cheap flights with budget airlines into SLC. Plus, there are plenty of origin airports around the US and internationally flying into Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City Airport to Zion National Park
At 311 miles or 4 hours and 30 minutes driving time, Salt Lake City international airport isn’t exactly close to Zion National Park.
However, it is the perfect place to begin a US southwest road trip, such as the Utah Mighty 5 national parks road trip or a wider Utah and Arizona road trip.
Drive down I-15 heading south until you reach UT-9 and take it all the way into Springdale.
Airlines Flying Directly Into Salt Lake City Airport
Here are just some of the airlines flying non-stop into Salt Lake City:
Delta, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, SkyWest Airlines, KLM and Aeromexico.
Origin cities you can fly non-stop into Salt Lake City Airport
- US – All major airports and many minor airports
- Canada – Calgary
- Mexico – Five airports
- Netherlands – Amsterdam
- France – Paris
4. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Arizona – 395 Miles from Zion
You might think we are mad for including Phoenix Sky Harbor as a feasible airport option near Zion National Park because it isn’t close at all.
But it all comes back to what your plans look like. Are you including Sedona or Grand Canyon South Rim on your southwest travel itinerary?
If the answer is yes to any of those places, Phoenix could be the perfect airport to fly into, but not out from. So the one way single flights would work perfectly in this example.
There are countless fun things to do in Sedona. It is a a fantastic place to spend a few days on the way up to Grand Canyon and Zion National Park.
Like Las Vegas and SLC, you can find cheap flights with budget airlines to Phoenix and there are plenty of options, both domestically and internationally.
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to Zion National Park
At just short of 400 miles and 6 hours 30 minutes drive time, Phoenix airport is technically not close to Zion National Park, but it can work perfectly if combined with other parts of the US southwest.
Heading north from Phoenix on I-17, you will pass through Sedona (which is well worth a few days) and Grand Canyon South Rim (which is also well worth visiting!).
Once you reach Page, take US-89 past Kanab and onto UT-9. There are loads of things to keep you occupied in Page and Kanab on the way over.
Airlines Flying Non-Stop Into Phoenix Airport
Here are just some of the airlines flying non-stop into Phoenix airport:
Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, WestJet, Frontier Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, Mesa Airlines, United, Delta, British Airways and Qatar Airways.
Origin cities you can fly non-stop into Phoenix Airport
- US – All major airports and many minor airports
- Canada – Most major airports
- Mexico – Most major airports
- United Kingdom – London
Our Popular Zion National Park Guides
- Itinerary – How To Plan The Perfect One Day Zion Itinerary
- Hikes – 20 Amazing Hiking Trails In Zion National Park
- Road Trip –Zion to Bryce Canyon 3 Day Road Trip
- Hotel – Best Hotels Near Zion And Springdale
- Seasons – Best Time Of Year To Visit Zion National Park
- Winter – 10 Things To Know About Visiting Zion In Winter
- Narrows – Day Hiking The Narrows Bottom Up
- Angels Landing – Angels Landing Hiking Guide
- The Subway – Day Hiking The Subway Bottom Up
More Airport Guides
- Yellowstone – Best Airports To Use For Yellowstone National Park
- Grand Canyon – 5 Closest Airports To Grand Canyon National Park
Want more Utah content? Head over to our Utah Travel Guides to explore the Mighty Five National Parks and beyond.
We hope this guide to the closest airports near Zion National Park help plan your visit to the US southwest!
Please let us know if you have any questions about airports near Zion in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
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