VIRGIN, Utah — It has been a month since an extra stop was added to the St. George to Zion National Park bus route in the small town of Virgin, located 13 miles from the park’s south entrance.
On March 1, the SunTrans connection that runs from the convention center in St. George to Springdale added a stop near the Zion White Bison Resort. The bus was touted as a way to connect Virgin, a town of 670 people, to the park.
However, observations of three buses stopping there Thursday showed about eight passengers getting on, all of whom were tourists.
Raymond Bowser, a high school senior visiting from Elko, Nevada, spent his spring break with family in an RV at the resort.
"We decided to take the bus just because we took our big motor home it's a little tough to get up there so we figured the bus is a lot easier and we get to walk around," Bowser said.
"It's really convenient. I mean, it's not a far walk from down there to up here to get to the bus. The times are pretty convenient. So it's nice to be up here and take the bus. And it’s pretty cheap about $5 per person," Bowser said.
After the bus drops passengers off, it is a 40-yard walk to the boulevards, where a free Springdale shuttle takes visitors directly to the park entrance.
A report released last month by the National Park Service showed that Utah's "Mighty 5" national parks had 1.5 million fewer visitors in 2025. Bryce Canyon was hit especially hard with a 21% drop in visitors.
Zion has remained steady, maintaining about the same visitor level as the year before.
That steady attendance was evident on Thursday as spring breaks continued nationwide. Parking lots have been full inside and outside the park for the last week, with cars parked along the side of Zion Park Boulevard more than two miles from the main entrance.
Jake Dockter, visiting from Traverse City, Michigan, did not utilize the bus. He stayed in Kanab, 34 minutes away, rented a car, and took on the parking gauntlet.
"It was a little tough, but we found a spot," Dockter said.
While the bus eliminates the headaches of traffic and parking, it comes with the typical tradeoffs of public transportation. Missing a bus means waiting an hour for the next one, and some international tourists noted waits of up to two hours.
