The location is about a 30-minute drive from Springdale up a long beautiful canyon road as the sun was setting, aiming for a 7:45 arrival time in early October. It was DARK once the various groups gathered in the parking lot (about 12 or so folks) and we followed our astronomer leader Devon over to the viewing point (a dark walk over uneven ground, but they gave us a little souvenir light). Devon was enthusiastically teaching us the whole time about the planets in our solar system—their characteristics and how they were formed. She answers any questions you have. Once we laid down on the comfy bean bag recliners to gaze at the bright Milky Way, we realized that we were so lucky to have a cloudless night with no moon and not super cold—perfect for viewing the heavens.
All the other comments have covered the pluses of this experience—it’s unique to lie out under the stars while an expert points to various constellations with a green laser light! Then we got the chance to peer into super-telescopes to see various sparkly and strange faraway stars and galaxies. My husband was quietly blown away by the whole experience, so it turned out to be the memorable birthday present to him I'd hoped for.
The next day we toured Zion canyon itself, but as large and wonderful as it is, it pales in comparison to the splendor of the Milky Way. (-: