Rick Praetzel was a high school math teacher in Pennsylvania who had spent fifteen years guiding trips on eastern rivers. In February 1996, he attempted the Zion Narrows in cold weather without the right gear and couldn't finish. On the flight home, he worked out the business plan. Back in Pennsylvania, he raised what he could and drove back to Springdale. Larry McKown, who owned Flanigan's Inn down the street, let Praetzel store equipment in a basement if he cleaned it out first. Zion Adventure Company — originally Zion Narrows Outfitters — opened August 1, 1996, out of that basement.
Thirty years later, Zion Adventures operates from 36 Lion Blvd in Springdale and a second location in Virgin. The company pioneered the use of drysuits for canyon hiking in an era when Zion visitors were attempting the Narrows in cotton hiking clothes. It co-developed the Canyoneer shoe with Five Ten. It has served more than half a million visitors. Co-owner Michele Van Hise, also a former teacher, runs a crew of permitted, trained guides and has been beside Praetzel in the operation long enough that the two of them are part of the founding DNA of what Springdale adventure tourism even is.
The company offers Narrows gear rental, canyoneering, rock climbing, via ferrata, e-bike tours, guided multi-day backpacking, and shuttle services. The inventory of technical knowledge and the depth of permitted access in Zion is the result of three decades of working with the park service, not of arriving last season. For first-time and returning visitors to Zion, Zion Adventures is the original outfitter — the one that built the category.