Zion National Park

I headed over to St. George on October 1st to get my bike adjusted.  They said they needed the afternoon, so I drove 45 minutes over to Zion National Park for the afternoon.  We have been there multiple times also, so it was a great opportunity to stamp my passport book and walk around.  The first place I went was to the visitor center.  Despite it being October 1st, there were still signs that said to park in Springdale, Utah and take the shuttle into the park.  Since I was just going to the visitor center past the guard station, I just drove in with the truck and parked over by the RV section since the dually is so long and wide.  Even from the parking lot, you had beautiful views of the mountains!  Springdale is also a GREAT place for lodging if you spend multiple days at Zion.  Campsites are hard to come by and usually require a year in advance reservation.

Zion is pronounced Zi-uhn.  I've heard many people say Zi-On.

I actually tried to go over to Kolob Canyons first, but the entire area is under construction.  I had hoped it would be open by the time I got there, but it was a disastrous mess.  I don't think it will be done by late fall.  Kolob is gorgeous and also has great hikes.  I wish I could have taken photos to share but I added two photos from the web to wet your appetite.

Photo by Norm Erikson

Web Photo by Utah

This visitor center is super big with multiple areas - information, camping permits, bookstore, etc.

After stamping my book, I just took photos of the mountains and scenery.

Zion National Park is one of those parks that you need to bus around.  It's just too popular to drive and DO NOT try to pull a rig into the park or through the park because there are tunnels that was VERY short and you'll never get through them.  If you are coming from the eastern side (via Hwy 9 and 89) you have to be less than 13" feet tall in order to access the tunnels and no longer than 50' total length.  And, if you can fit and you're taller than 11'4" you have to pay a $15 fee so they can close the tunnels for traffic control so you'll fit through.  My advice, pay to stay at an RV park on the outside of the park and shuttle in.  😉

Some of the roads are narrow, so it's preferable to use the bus system.  It runs often and go in a loop.  Below, you can see shuttle buses.  Here's info on everything you want to know about the shuttles. It's super easy!

Here's the map of Zion.  A good reference when you come to this park.  It's pretty big with 3 sections of park.

At this point, it's good to share the hikes you can do while at Zion National Park.  This is VALUABLE in planning what to do at Zion.

This trip was short, but a couple of years ago, we took Laura Guerra-Galvez, one of our YSA who was living with us while visiting from Lima, Peru to all the Utah National parks one week.  Here's a few photos of other visits in this park so you can see how magical it is!  Is was also during the fall.

We took the shuttle all over the park and these photos are of Weeping Rock.  It's a super easy hike from Shuttle Stop #7 at Weeping Rock.  No pets are allowed.  It's a .4 miles trail roundtrip to Weeping Rock and takes about 30 minutes to hike, go under the cliff lip and return.  While it's a short hike, it's also steep but easy to do.

THE MOST POPULAR hike at Zion National Park is The Narrows.  This video is a MUST watch if this is something you want to do.  There are pm rains and as it is everywhere in Zion, there can be flash flooding so hypothermia is something to be prepared for.  The water and wind from slot canyons can really get cold, so it's important to wear the right clothes and shoes when doing Zion Narrows.  It's been on my bucket list and so far, I still haven't been able to do it, but I hope you plan it into your day!

Photo by iExplore

Photo by PopSugar

Photo by Matt Suess Photography

Photo by PandoTrip

Photo by Canyoneering USA

If you're looking for an awesome national park, this one surely won't disappoint!  OH!  And if you mountain climb or canyoneer, this is THE PARK for you!