Beyond the Main Canyon: Guided Slot Canyoneering, Coral Pink Sand Dunes & Snow Canyon

Zion National Park contains dozens of technical slot canyons carved by flash floods through Navajo Sandstone. While canyons inside the park (like The Subway, Mystery Canyon and Keyhole Canyon) require technical ropes, wetsuits and competitive wilderness permits, the public BLM and state park lands immediately bordering Zion let you experience slot canyons, salmon-pink sand dunes and petrified lava tubes with no lottery stress.

1. Guided Slot Canyoneering & Via Ferrata in East Zion (No Experience Required)

Want to rappel into a secret, 2-metre-wide red-rock slot canyon or walk through a narrow canyon without waiting for a park lottery? Just 15 minutes outside Zion's East Entrance (along US-89 in Orderville and Mount Carmel), local outfitters like East Zion Adventures, Zion Guru and Rock Odysseys run half-day beginner-friendly Guided Slot Canyoneering & UTV Tours (into slots like Elkheart Canyon, Red Hollow and Diana's Throne) where guides teach you simple rope rappelling. Want a free non-technical slot walk? Drive to Red Hollow Slot Canyon in Orderville (1.6 km round-trip, free) or book a municipal permit online for the famous waterfall ladder of Kanarra Falls (45 mins north in Kanarraville).

2. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park (35 Mins East of East Gate, Sandboarding)

Turning south off US-89 just past Mount Carmel Junction brings you to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park (check current state park entry fees at the gate), where wind funnelling through the Moquith Mountain notch erodes red Navajo Sandstone into 3,730 acres of shifting, 30-metre-tall salmon-and-apricot-pink sand dunes at 1,800 metres elevation. Stop at the park boardwalk entrance to rent a wooden Sandboard or Sand Sled and wax the bottom to slide down the steep pink dunes.

3. Snow Canyon State Park (35 Mins West near St. George, 'Mini Zion Without Crowds')

Staying near St. George or driving back toward Las Vegas? Detour 15 minutes north of St. George into Snow Canyon State Park (named after pioneer brothers Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, as it rarely sees snow): drive right past 450-metre red-and-white Navajo sandstone cliffs, walk through black basalt Lava Tubes, and hike 20 minutes across petrified waves of striped rock to Jenny's Canyon Slot.