Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of them, I may receive a small commission (for which I am very grateful for) at no extra cost to you.

If you are looking for unique and remote accomodations for your trip to explore the greater Zion area, consider glamping near Zion National Park.

Let’s start with the basics. If you are unfamiliar, Webster defines glamping as “a form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping”.

Glamping is the perfect choice for someone who would like hotel amenities while still getting that remote feeling. It’s also a great choice for someone working remotely as quite often campgrounds do not have high-speed Wifi.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored and includes affiliate links. All opinions and stories are my own.

Luxury Camping near Zion National Park

As someone who has lived in Utah for 6 years and explored this area extensively, I have stayed all over. For a more unique experience to explore Zion National Park and beyond, consider glamping at Cane Beds Corral. Cane Beds Corral is family-owned and located between Colorado City, AZ and Fredonia, AZ making it central to plenty of amazing destinations.

Cane Beds Corral is 20 minutes from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, 55 minutes from Zion National Park, 40 minutes from Kanab, and 66 minutes from Snow Canyon State Park. It’s also 10 minutes from Colorado City, which has a full sized grocery store (Bee’s Marketplace).

While at Cane Beds Corral, I stayed in their Pancho’s Villa Tent while on a southwest USA workcation road trip. Pancho’s Villa offers a Queen-sized bed, loveseat, front porch & a breakfast table with enough seating for two- plenty of space to both relax in & get some work done. There was also insulated cooler out front to store all groceries. Most importantly for remote work, there was Wifi that sustained several video calls.

This tent also offered a true “off-grid” experience, perfect for sustainable travel. All the electricity consumed in the tent comes directly from the sun.

The property has a total of 3 glamping tents that are available to rent from April-October as well as a cabin that’s available year round. Since there are multiple sites, there were others around, but everything is well-spaced so it feels very private. Every property has electrify, wifi, a front-porch and a heater for the colder nights.

For community space, there are 2 covered gas-grill areas with outdoor dining tables, a brand new bathhouse that has 2 indoor toilets, an outdoor vanity and 2 private indoor showers (designed to look like slot canyons inside!), as well as a custom built, gas-powered fire pit.

Things to do while glamping near Zion National Park

When I stayed at Cane Beds Corral, it was part of a southwest USA workcation roadtrip and the location was perfect to explore much of the area. Here are a few of the spots that I would recommend.

Zion National Park

This is probably the main reason you are even reading this blog post, so I don’t have to tell you how amazing Zion National Park is. Zion National Park charges $35 per vehicle to enter and is covered under the America the Beautiful Annual National Parks pass that costs $80. If you plan to visit 3 national parks in a 12 month period, it is worth it to get one of these passes. They are sold at the entrance of most parks (credit card preferred) or you can purchase an annual pass online.

What to do in Zion National Park

There are so many amazing hikes to do while in this park. Keep in mind, many of the slot canyons require a permit (The Subway, The Narrows from the top down, Mystery Canyon, etc.), so plan ahead. The most iconic of the hikes is Angel’s Landing and at peak times during the year you will find lines to start this hike.

• Angel’s Landing – *now requires a permit* – 4.1 miles, 1617 feet of elevation gain – has very narrow dropoffs on each side with chains and cables to help support you. You can get an idea of how this trail is by watching this Instagram Reel. If you want to make this hike even more challenging, you can add in The West Rim Trail.
• The Narrows – can be as long as you want it to be as you start and end at the same place so you decide when you turn around, this hike is in/through water – In the winter I rented Narrows gear from a local outfitter. In the summer I did it with Keen’s and neoprene socks, regardless of if you purchase alternate hiking apparel or rent it, you want something other than your main hiking shoe as you will be wet and you want don’t want to do any other hikes in wet shoes, for more details check out this post on hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park
• The Subway – So cool it got its own dedicated post here

How to get to the Trail Heads in Zion Canyon

For most of the year, the scenic drive/upper canyon is *closed* to private vehicles. So how can you access hikes like Angels Landing, The Narrows and Emerald Pools? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
You have a few options:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

1. Zion National Park Shuttle Tickets: Tickets are $1 each. These must be reserved about 3 weeks in advance. There are a few last minute (day before) tickets available but these get snapped up in minutes. Do not count on these to be available.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2. Private shuttle: If you want a shuttle but missed out on the one offered by the park you can book a private shuttle with a local company. These tend to be around $50/person. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3. Rent/Bring Bikes: You can rent or bring bikes to ride up the canyon. (e-Bikes are available at some locations too). You must yield to shuttles when on bikes by pulling over to the side of the road and putting one foot down.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
4. Hike (least recommended option): It is about 5 miles from the visitor center to The Grotto (start of Angel’s Landing) and 8 miles from the visitor center to the Temple of Sinewava (start of The Narrows). If you walk up (and back down) the canyon, it will make for a longgg day.⠀⠀

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andrea Cannon | Adventure Travel & Outdoors (@andreafcannon)

Zion National Park East Side

If you didn’t get Zion National Park shuttle tickets, or don’t want to deal with the Disney-like crowd experience, consider visiting the east side of Zion National Park. This side of the park does not require shuttle tickets. The east side of Zion National Park is also closer to Cane Beds Corral.

Zion National Park charges $35 per vehicle to enter and is covered under the America the Beautiful Annual National Parks pass that costs $80. If you plan to visit 3 national parks in a 12 month period, it is worth it to get one of these passes. They are sold at the entrance of most parks (credit card preferred) or you can purchase an annual pass online.

If you are looking for an adventure but nothing too crazy, check out the Zion Canyon Overlook Trail. This is 1 mile with 442 ft of elevation gain. There is not much parking near this trail so keep that in mind as you plan. Due to the shuttle system, there are now more people than ever doing the Canyon Overlook Trail because no ticket is required. Keep this in mind for your planning.

There are also other trails that are not on the park map that are still maintained by Zion National Park. You can find some of these by researching on AllTrails. One of my favorite trails not on the map is the Many Pools Trail in East Zion.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Coral Pink Sand Dunes was very close to Cane Beds Corral. It is one of the best state parks in Utah and costs $10 per vehicle to enter or is covered under the Utah State Parks Annual Pass. I want to set the expectations appropriately. The sand is orange. It does turn pink(ish) with sunset but don’t picture pink in your head.

There is a campground and beautiful expansive sand dunes where you can hike, ATV, or go sandboarding. Dogs are allowed in this park. The sand gets quite hot midday in the summer so keep that in mind for your feet and pets.

Kanab, UT

There are so many fun things to do in Kanab. One of my favorite activities was from this trip where we went on a tour with All Ways Adventure and explored Peakaboo Slot Canyon and Cutler Cove. Both of these could potentially be accessible without a guide if you have extensive deep sand driving experience and an appropriate 4×4 high clearance vehicle. Our F-350 is 4×4 and high clearance but there is no way it would have navigated the tight turns. We were very grateful to explore these places with All Ways Adventure.

All Ways Adventure offers custom guided experiences including canyoneering – which should be on everyone’s Utah bucket list. If you are interested in an extremely professional and fun guided experience, definitely get in touch with them (435-899-9745).

Note: There are several “Peakaboo” Canyons, this is the one in Kanab.

Colorado City, AZ

Colorado City, AZ is also very close to Cane Beds Corral. This former polygamist town has a lot of interesting history. However, you can also see the town’s evolution with places like the Edge of the World Brewery opening up in town. Essential Coffee was also the perfect spot to get that morning burst of energy.

In the nearby town of Hilldale, AZ you can also explore Water Canyon with a beautiful waterfall, small reservoir and creek. The trail beyond the waterfall requires a significant amount of scrambling so definitely make sure you are prepared if you plan to continue.

Snow Canyon State Park

Snow Canyon State Park is another one of the best state parks in Utah. It is a little over an hour from Cane Beds Corral and costs $10-15 to enter based on if you are a Utah resident. This state park is home to one of the most accessible slot canyons – Jenny’s Canyon.

I am convinced that Snow Canyon State Park would be a national park if it wasn’t located just an hour from Zion National Park. It is absolutely stunning.

Despite the name “Snow Canyon”, it’s not often you will actually see snow there. Instead the park was actually originally named Dixie State Park. Later it was renamed for Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, prominent pioneering Utah leaders.

Glamping near Zion National Park

If you are looking for remote and unique accomodations, definitely consider glamping near Zion National Park at Cane Beds Corral. The location is fantastic as it is 20 minutes from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, 55 minutes from Zion National Park, 40 minutes from Kanab, and 66 minutes from Snow Canyon State Park. While you’re in the area, check out these other fun things to do near Zion National Park to complete your itinerary.

Have you ever been glamping? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

• Best Hikes in Utah
• 21 Places to Visit in Utah that aren’t National Parks
• Epic Things to do in Utah
• Easy Hikes near Salt Lake City
• 11 Things to do in Kanab
• What to do in Midway Utah
• Visiting the Utah Mighty 5 National Parks
• Best Scenic Drives in Utah

Let’s Stay in Touch…

name:
email:

Sharing is caring!