I Escaped Zion’s Crushing Crowds at Red Cliffs, a Desert Dupe Just 45 Minutes Away

I just wanted one picture of my son without a sea of people in the background. We were hiking The Narrows in Zion National Park, a bucket-list adventure that has you wading for miles through knee-deep water in the belly of a canyon. And getting a photo to commemorate the adventure without a bunch of strangers in it was proving to be difficult.

Crowds are simply a fact of life when it comes to visiting Zion, which has skyrocketed in popularity over the last 20 years, doubling its visitation rates from 2.5 million in 2005 to almost five million in 2025. That’s a lot of people to squeeze into Zion’s 146,597 acres, so you’re going to have company on your hike. Fortunately, there’s an alternative nearby.

Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is less than an hour west of Zion National Park with a desert landscape that’s just as stunning but only attracts a fraction of the crowds. Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is about 45,000 acres, which is less than a third of the size of Zion. But the smaller size is a bonus here.

Since you won’t have to navigate mandatory shuttles or shift your plans to avoid crowds, the compact size of the park allows you to knock out a variety of adventures in a short amount of time. And there is an amazing variety of adventures inside Red Cliffs, which is packed with sandstone cliffs, slot canyons, and miles of slickrock, all of which are traversed by more than 100 miles of developed trails. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, so don’t expect visitor centers or rangers on hand.

This is a raw desert landscape that’s set aside for you to explore on your own. Once you get inside the conservation area, keep your eyes out for some unique wildlife, most notably Gila monsters and a rare species of desert tortoise. I spent two days exploring Red Cliffs with my son during a recent trip to southern Utah, and it made me want to go back for more.

Here’s a first-timer’s guide to exploring Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. If you’re only going to do one trail in Red Cliffs, this is it. And I’m using the word “trail” loosely here.