MichelleZion National Park is another place we visited as a family when I was young. We also saw Bryce Canyon which I remember. But for some reason, I don’t remember anything about Zion from that time. I have seen the other 4 national parks in Utah as an adult, so I was excited to finally see Zion to round out the 5 parks in Utah. Due to the massive amount of snowfall this year, some areas were closed. Either due to snow or damage caused by flooding. I had absolutely beautiful weather while at Zion setting off the park to its best advantage. Zion requires visitors to use their shuttle system during high season, and this system worked much better than other parks (ie Glacier) because the shuttles had two cars holding at least 20 people each car. They had enough shuttles to continuously run them every 10 minutes or so. Using a little strategy with the shuttle system helps too, so I decided to go all the way to the end of the shuttle line and work my way backwards down the canyon. It was so much easier to get a seat on a shuttle going down canyon versus up canyon as most people do. It also got me onto the Riverside Walk trail earlier to beat some of the crowds. This trail was mostly flat and was about 2 miles round trip. It followed the very swollen Virgin River the entire way and was paved for accessibility. Along the sides of the trail were some weeping walls covered in plants and dripping water. There was also a spring that came up out of the ground and fed a small marsh. Mostly the views of the canyon walls and river were the main attraction. A number of rock squirrels came out to beg for handouts. Wow, what a way to start a day and start my visit to Zion.
There is hardly any way to describe how immense and beautiful is Zion. Coming up the canyon (or down) there are monolithic rock walls on both sides, some were grey and others red in color with some white thrown in. Some walls were sheared and straight as if they’d been cut by a knife. Others were crumbling and jagged. There are many trees all through the canyon since the river runs through, which also means lots of birds singing their praises of the day.
After the Riverside Walk, I took the shuttle down a couple of stops where I could access a trail that meanders through the canyon back to the visitor center. This was a less used trail which was a nice respite from the crowds. Since I was planning to be at the park several days, I didn’t feel the need to get everything done in one day.
There are some parts of Zion that are outside of the main park area. To escape the crowds, I hoped, I took a scenic drive up Kolob Terrace Rd out of Virgin, Utah. I had never heard anyone talk about this side of the park before and it is just as fantastic as the main canyon, with the difference that it is a wide valley rather than narrow. The road meanders in and out of the National Park and climbs quite high in elevation. It was such a peaceful feeling area with lots of meadows setting off large rocky outcroppings. There were many trails in this area although many were long in length. And hardly any tourists! I enjoyed this part of the park as much as the main canyon.
I did go back into the main Zion canyon to get in a couple more walks/hikes I didn’t do the first time around. The trail to the Emerald Pools usually starts by walking a bridge across the river, however it had been damaged by floodwaters. There was a detour by taking a different trail up river and walking all the way back to the pools. This was a more strenuous trail with tons of people. I went as far as to see the waterfalls from a distance but couldn’t really see the pools. That was fine as the trail was just challenging enough and beautiful views the entire way. But it was longer than I had planned. I also stopped at the Court of the Patriarchs where you walk 150 ft up a steep paved trail to a viewpoint. It was early in the morning and the sun was shining right on the three sandstone peaks named Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thus, the Three Patriarchs. The peaks were named in 1916 by a Methodist minister. Morning was the best time of day for gorgeous photos of these peaks and it was a highlight of the day.
I camped on BLM land called the Hurricane Cliffs, named after the town of Hurricane at the base of the hills. This area is actually closer to Virgin, UT and 15 or 20 minutes to the NP entrance. It was a very nice area to camp with views of the cliffs and mountains around Zion. This marked the start of my trip northwards to Idaho, where I will spend time with my sister for the month of June.
