SnapshotPlanning Your VisitZion has been on my bucket list for almost 20 years, and it did not disappoint! We only scratched the surface of this park as the weather prevented us from doing some of our planned activities. Despite that, we still got to see the unique beauty of this place and I know it won't be another 20 years before we return. When we visited the park We visited the park in early March, and it was pretty busy already. The busy season starts in April and last through September. While we were there, the first day it rained most of the time, which sounds disappointing, however Zion in the rain is magical. The rangers told us we were lucky to see all of the "pop-up waterfalls" everywhere in the park. Somehow the park seemed more alive and colorful. With the extra rainfall and snowmelt in the spring, we were not able to hike the narrows and some other trails that were closed because of the conditions. It was cool in the mornings, but warmed up enough as the day progressed and was great for hiking. I can imagine it getting very hot in the summer here! Things to Consider 1. The first thing to know is, how crowded this park and canyon can get. Plan ahead and make use of the shuttle system that regularly travels up and down the gated canyon road. 2. Consider splurging and staying at the Zion Lodge or a cabin on the property. This gets you closer to a lot of the sights in the canyon, and allows you to drive up the gated road and hike right outside the lodge's door. If you decide to do this, book EARLY! 3. Bring raincoat and hiking shoes that can get wet. We were very unprepared for how much water would be involved in this park. 4. Flash Floods are a real concern in the canyons, pay attention to the signs and current warnings posted in the park. 5. There will be A LOT of traffic! Plan extra time to get around or find parking if you are driving between destinations in the park. Again, in the canyon, you can only reach certain places by using the shuttle. Make sure you are familiar with the schedule and route of the shuttle if you plan to head to The Narrows. The shuttle is the only way to get there. 6. Zion National Park uses social media to update people pretty regularly on park conditions or things to know about the park. Consider following them on instagram for updates while visiting or planning your visit. How to Get There From St. George, follow Hwy 9 East to Springdale, UT (about a one hour drive). This town is just outside of the park borders, about 5 minutes from the visitor center. From Kanabe, head north on Hwy 89, then turn left onto Hwy 9 and head west. This road is also known as Zion-Mount Carmel Hwy. There are limitations on the lengths of vehicles allowed on this road. This road is a grand way to enter Zion Park with its breathtaking switchbacks, tunnels, and overlooks. It can be slow going at times, but typically takes about 1 hour to reach the visitor center from Kanabe. Additional Maps offered by the park Where to Stay Inside the Park Zion Lodge This is one of the original places to stay in Zion. There are rooms, suites, and cabins available to rent here. Book early! In my opinion, it is worth every penny to stay here, but it will fill up fast. Within the lodge there is Red Rock Grill and Castle Dome Cafe for food items, along with a gift shop for basic needs and souvenirs. This is where we stayed, and it made getting around the park so much easier. We parked our car and used the shuttle system for the majority of our time at Zion. It was great to not have to worry about finding parking and to use the reliable shuttle. Campgrounds South Campground This is a 110 site campground near Springdale on the southern part of Zion. You can rent a campsite up to 14 days prior to arrival for $20 per night. The campground is open June to October, and you can make your reservations on recreation.gov. If you are renting and RV or other camping equipment, you need to make sure you are getting it from an affiliated group that has permits and permission to be running this business within park borders. Watchman Campground This is a 153 site campground near Springdale on the southern part of Zion. You can rent a campsite up to 14 days prior to arrival for $20 per night for a tent and $30 per night for an RV. The campground is open year-round, and you can make your reservations on recreation.gov. If you are renting and RV or other camping equipment, you need to make sure you are getting it from an affiliated group that has permits and permission to be running this business within park borders. Below is a company that lists Watchman Campground as a place they deliver RVs to and set up for people to use while they stay. Zion Trailer Rentals Lava Point Campground This is a small 6 site campground about an hour and twenty minutes from the southern entrance of the park. It is up by the Kolob section of Zion National Park. The campground is open from April to September. Outside the Park Springdale Lodging or Camping Springdale is the closest town for lodging options (about 5 minutes) or if you are willing to drive, St. George and Kanabe are both about an hour drive to the visitor center. These places may have more affordable options for lodging than Springdale. For a comprehensive list, use the link above for popular lodging options. Lodging close by in Springdale: -Cable Mountain Lodge -Springhill Suites by Marriott Springdale -Flanigan's Inn What We Did We came into Zion National Park from the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway (Hwy 9), and I cannot recommend this road enough. There are multiple switchbacks on this road as you descend into the canyon, so there are limits on the size of vehicle or trailers you can bring this way. Before we entered the first tunnel, we hiked the short 1 mile hike to observation point. This popular trail takes you to a beautiful lookout above the canyon. It is a completely different perspective than when you are actually in the canyon. As we continued to descend into the canyon along Hwy 9, we went through multiple tunnels. These tunnels have surprise windows spaced throughout the walls, giving you glimpses at the canyon walls and waterfalls. Go slow, there is usually a lot of traffic, and people stopping at roadside turnoffs to take in the surroundings or capture pictures. When we finally reached the bottom of the canyon, we headed for the visitor center. This is one of the largest and busiest visitor center I have seen at a national park. We wandered both inside and outside talking with rangers, working on the junior ranger books, and seeing the different buildings and displays around the visitor center. We decided to head to Zion Lodge, where we were staying, after the visitor center. We needed to get our bearings and make plans of how we were going to use our time. It had also been raining and cool all day, so we needed to get ready to hike in the rain. We decided to splurge on staying in the park at Zion Lodge because it gave us access to Zion Canyon to the lodge. There are also cabins available to rent here, a restaurant, cafe, and gift shop for those staying. The lodge is directly on the shuttle line, so it's easy to hop on and off depending on where your destination is. There are also multiple trailheads right outside the lodge that you can easily hike without needing to drive or shuttle anywhere. We headed to the Emerald Pools Trail across the road from Zion Lodge. There are multiple sections to the Emerald Pools Trail, and I would suggest all of them. We couldn't make it all the way to the upper falls, because it was raining and cross the stream was not possible at the time. However, ever part of this hike was stunning, and I am sure the upper pools would have been equally breathtaking. Instead of turning around, we decided to follow the Kayenta Trail. This trail loops along the rim of the mountain and eventually connects with the footbridge where hikers begin the Angel's Landing hike on the W Rim Trail. In total it was about a 3 mile hike from Zion Lodge and back. The waterfall itself was very strong the day we were there because of the full day of rain. We were completely unprepared for how wet we would get from walking behind the waterfall on the lower emerald path. In normal conditions, I assume the intensity would be much lower and not as much spray. However, this created quite the memory for our first visit to Zion. After the hike, we were ready for some food. We decided to eat at Red Rock Grill on site. In the summer, this would be an amazing place to enjoy a drink and/or meal. They have a beautiful deck that looks out towards Emerald Pools Trail. They have a full menu here with some unique food options like; trout, steak, salmon cakes, and salads. They do have kids options available as well. The next day we got up with the plan to hike what we could of The Narrows. However, after all the rain from the day before and a large snowfall over the winter, by the time the morning came, The Narrows had been closed down for the day. Their guidelines for closing canyons; including The Narrows; is if there is a water flow rate that exceeds 200 cubic feet per second (CFS). When flow is less than 150 CFS for 24 hours, The Narrows reopens. However, Riverside Walk (paved trail that starts at the Temple of Sinawava) is usually open regardless of the conditions of The Narrows. This hike was so busy and crowded, but was very beautiful, and I am glad we at least did this. We rode the shuttle down to Sinawava stop, the only way to get to this part of the canyon besides walking, and spend our morning walking the trail and taking in the surroundings. On our way back, we looked up the side of the cliff and were surprised to see hikers on Angel's Landing and a California Condor! There are only 2 that rangers know of in the park, and it is a very rare sight to see one. My husband was equally excited to see both of these things, and he is now determined to enter the lottery system to get to complete the Angel's Landing hike now. You can register for this lottery system on recreation.gov after setting up an account and searching for Angel's Landing. If you have not heard of Angel's Landing, it is a rigorous hike up up the wiggles and across the peaks of the mountain. Just watching youtube videos of this makes me sick to my stomach, let alone actually hiking it, so you won't find me up there any time soon. We finished the day by hiking part of the Pa'rus Trail along Virgin River. We saw a lot of Mule Deer here and delighted in more time outside and feeling comforted by the safety of the canyon. One thing that was closed that we had planned on exploring was the Kolob Canyon section of the park. Instead we headed back up the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. We wanted to experience this road one more time in the sun and on the ascent up. It is worth a couple of drives in my opinion. Where this fit in our Road Trip We visited Zion the last two days of our Utah road trip. We looped back through St. George and headed to Vegas to fly home. It left us craving more time in Utah, and planning a visit back soon. To see more of our trip, use the link below to see our itinerary. NPS App and All Trails Maps I highly recommend using the National Park Service (NPS) App, as well as the All Trails App for hiking. There is limited service in the park, so planning ahead is helpful. These two apps allow you to download sights, maps, and trails so that you can access information anywhere. The NPS app also links to the full National Parks Website, with a plethora of information. Don't forget to follow along on Instagram @wanderlust_with_three
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