Zion National Park is one of the most amazing of all of the National Parks. The seven miles along the Zion-
Utah
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Many times people have asked me what my favorite National Park is. The first park that comes to my mind is Zion. There is beauty, sometimes great beauty, in almost all of the national parks – that’s one of the reasons Congress made them National Parks. But when I think of Zion I think of magnificence.
Zion Canyon is a 15 mile long crack in one of the steps of the Grand Staircase. The 10-
What you won’t find in Zion Canyon is solitude. With 4.5 million visitors (2017) Zion is the third most visited National Park. People are everywhere and traffic on some of the hiking trails can be heavy.
The traffic on the park road had gotten very heavy and parking at the trail heads was practically impossible. As a result the parks service banned cars in Zion Canyon in 2000. Since then you have to park at the visitor center, or in Springdale, since the visitor center parking lot fills up, and take free step-
While Zion Canyon is impressive the most scenic part of Zion National Park is the 7-
If you are coming from Springdale or Zion Canyon you continue along State Road 9, past the entrance to Zion Canyon, drive up the switchbacks and through the Zion-
The tunnel is 1.1 miles long, narrow, dark, with two-
Zion gets frequent rock falls and occasional flooding which cause road and trail closures. Check the NPS website on the link provided below for up-
Desert Bighorn Sheep are commonly seen between the tunnel and eastern entrance to the park. Sometimes in herds of 6-
The ideal lodging would be to stay at the Zion Lodge but you generally would need reservations about a year in advance. You could get lucky and call and walk into a cancellation but I wouldn’t count on it. They have a nice restaurant, the usual well-
If you’re not lucky enough to get a room at the Zion Lodge there’s lots of lodging in the town of Springdale which is literally right outside of the park. If you have to park in Springdale it’s just a short walk to the visitor center where the bus stop is. There’s also a number of good restaurants in Springdale and plenty of shops for the tourists. If you stay at the lodge you will get a pass in the mail allowing you to drive into Zion Canyon so you can park at the lodge and unload your bags. You are not allowed to park at any trail head nor even stop to take pictures.
The easiest trail in the canyon part of Zion Canyon is the Riverside Walk leading to the Zion Canyon Narrows. It is a 2.2 mile out-
As for hiking into The Narrows you’ll need suitable footwear since you will be walking in cold, waist deep water while keeping a watchful eye on the weather since being in a narrow canyon is the last place you want to be if it rains. The torrent that floods the canyon could have been a storm 15 miles away and what reaches you will be a thick soup of dirt, rocks, shrubbery and tree trunks!
Some other popular hikes are the Emerald Pools hikes. The Lower Emerald Pool is an easy one mile walk on a paved trail with minor drop-
There’s another nice easy hike that you can take right from the visitor center called the Watchman Trail. It’s a 3.3 mile hike with some moderate drop-
Two trails where you will find serious drop-
We hiked up the Hidden Canyon trail and had to quit at a point where you are on a narrow ledge with a pronounced downward slant, with chains bolted to the side of the canyon wall to hold onto, and a fatal drop-
These trails, and the Angel’s Landing trail, have signs at the bottom that warn anyone contemplating taking this trail that if they have any fear of heights they should not take the trail. You will be on narrow ledges with 1000 foot drop-
I put the Angel’s Landing trail hike on a separate page because it is in a class all its own. It is considered to be one of the most, if not the most, dangerous hike in America. It is not for everyone but if you have an interest in hiking it, or are just curious about it, the link above is to the page on this web site describing it. That web page also contains a link to a photo gallery showing what the hike is like. You can see what you can expect to encounter and decide if this is a hike for you.
If you drive away from Zion Canyon up the switchbacks to the Zion-
The National Park Service brochure and park newspaper never mention that you can do this on their pages detailing Zion’s hiking trails so few people do. You can spend hours hiking around and barely lose sight of the road and the scenery is more picturesque than hiking in the canyon where due to the closeness of the canyon walls there aren’t dramatic vistas. The exception to this is if you hike up the walls of the canyon on trails that warn you at the trail head that if you have any fear of heights do not take this trail.
There is one marked hiking trail on the east side of the park. It is the 1-
There are two other parts of Zion National Park that, if you have the time, are worth seeing.
Kolub Terrace Road is about 15 miles west of Springdale and heads about 24 miles up to the Kolub reservoir. The road rises 4000’ in elevation and takes you to the little seen west rim of Zion. You get to look down on the temples and towers normally viewed from the canyon floor. The last few miles are graded but easily drivable in a street vehicle. The scenery is still typically Zion beautiful. There’s some nice houses and ranches on the west side of the road and I had to envy those people the beautiful views that they wake up to and have all day long.
We hiked Kolub Terrace’s Northgate Peaks trail which is a 4 mile out-
The other part of Zion, which not too many people get to see, is the Kolub Canyon area of Zion National Park. It is south of Cedar City, Utah right next to Interstate15. You can drive to it from Springdale for a day trip since it’s only about a 40 mile drive. It’s interesting and scenic but not nearly as much as the rest of Zion.
The other part of Zion, which not too many people get to see, is the Kolub Canyon part of Zion National Park. It is south of Cedar City, Utah right next to Interstate15. You can drive to it from Springdale for a day trip since it’s only about a 40 mile drive. It’s interesting and scenic but not nearly as much as the rest of Zion. The Timber Creek Overlook trail is a short (1 mile) out-
The park also has a hike to Kolub Arch, the second longest arch in America, but it’s about an eight hour out-
*NOTE* Parts of the Kolub Canyon section of Zion were closed due to road re-
Zion National Park on the National Parks Service website -
Zion National Park -
Grand Staircase -
Grand Staircase -
Bryce Canyon National Park You can see the hoodoos and the magnificent Bryce Amphitheater about 106 miles away and about a 2.5 hour drive.
Grand Canyon National Park -
Grand Canyon National Park -
Cedar Breaks National Monument is often called a mini-
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Updated 02/11/23 7:04 PM
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