Zion National Park

When we started out on this trip to the southwest, the only camping reservations we had were 10 nights in early May at the Watchman Campground inside Zion National Park. Zion (actually pronounced Zi-in) was at the top of our list of places to visit since several people had told us that it is their favorite park, and we can see why. Also, it’s RV friendly (we fit!) and there is a great cell signal (because the campground is close to the town of Springdale), both of which are uncommon in NPS campgrounds.

Coming from Bryce, if our rig setup had been less than 50ft long, we could have entered the park from the east and driven through the Zion/Mt Carmel tunnel, and arrived at the campground in 1.5h. Since we are over the limit by 2ft, we had to double the driving distance and go up and around and enter from the west. Later, after seeing the downhill hairpin turns driving from the east on Route 9, we were glad we went the other way.

When we pulled into our site, which is always a bit stressful, we were so annoyed that our site was the ONLY not level one and we had to use every single block we had to lift up our tongue. But then we noticed this amazing view and decided we had the best spot in the loop! We absolutely loved “living” in Zion for 10 days.

For the first time in 5 1/2 weeks, we had an electrical hookup, which turned out to be necessary for running our AC. The canyon floor is at ~3600ft and when we were there in early May, temperatures reached the upper 80s/low 90s every day. It was already too hot for comfortable hiking.

The first thing we did was take the shuttle up into the main canyon just to take in the awe that is Zion, where the life-giving Virgin River has created a lush green canyon between towering red and white sandstone cathedrals. It’s no wonder early Mormon pioneers referred to this place as the Promised Land.

The only downside of this lovely place is that it is loved too much. In 2020, Zion was the 3rd most visited “National Park” yet is only 1/3 the size of the Great Smokey Mountains (no 1) and nearly 1/15 the size of Yellowstone (no 2). We really think that the NPS is doing a phenomenal job handling the number of visitors, especially considering the complications Covid created with their shuttle system, which is the only way to see the main canyon from Spring-Fall. But, sometimes it felt like we were at an amusement park rather than in nature with the crowds, lines, and armbands.

To make matters worse, the Weeping Rock Trailhead that leads to multiple trails, including to Observation Point which is the cover photo of this post, is currently closed because of a rockslide. Interestingly, the original rockslide has been cleaned up, but after geologists examined the area, it was deemed too unstable to reopen. The NPS is hoping Zion will have a good rainstorm this summer and the loose canyon wall will come down, leaving the remaining rock safe for hikers. While they wait for the next rockfall, the closure has pushed even more people onto all the other already popular trails.

One of the most popular things to do is hike up to Angel’s Landing. It’s a mostly paved 5-mile round trip hike but has 1500ft elevation gain which is strenuous, especially in hot weather. The last 1/4 mile chains section is not recommended if you have a fear of heights! You can stop at Scouts Lookout and not do the chains. We were on the first shuttle of the day and hustled up so that we would not have to deal with two-way traffic on the chains. There was not a lot of room at the top for people to take their photos and the trail was already getting very crowded as we made our way back down. The rewarding view at the top was worth the climb up, however, we agree with many others that the view from Observation Point that we had seen a couple of weeks prior is the better view. We thought that the crowds were what made this potentially dangerous and can’t believe that the NPS does not limit the number of hikers allowed on the trail. I can only imagine some sort of permitting system coming soon.

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The other very popular thing to do is hike “The Narrows” which refers to the narrowest part of Zion Canyon where the walls close in and the river basically fills the entire canyon. The hike begins at the last shuttle stop with a 1-mile paved path along the river. Eventually, it gets so narrow that you have to hike in the water. You are allowed to hike from the bottom up as far as 5 miles to an area called Big Spring without a permit. We turned around when the water was waist-deep, we think around 3.5 miles, 2.5 of which in the water. We were also on the very first shuttle of the day for this one and were pretty cold in the morning. We rented shoes, a dry bag, and a walking stick that was recommended for this time of year. While the first two items probably aren’t necessary, I couldn’t imagine trying to do it without a stick to help balance! We enjoyed the hike for the unique experience but prefer our slot canyons a little drier while hiking in them. And as with any slot canyon, if there is even a tiny chance of rain, you should never go in.

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Also in the main canyon, we did the upper and lower Emerald Pools Trails. These photos are from the lower trail.

Last in the main canyon, one afternoon we biked the Pa’rus Trail and then up the Scenic Canyon Drive to see the “Court of the Patriarchs”

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The rest of the hikes we did were short and also didn’t require riding the shuttle. We found the Many Pools Trail on All Trails, as it is not listed on park maps. It is in the eastern part of the park which looks completely different than the main canyon and is also a lot less busy. The white, pink, and yellow slickrock was exactly what we saw hiking around Diana’s Throne when we were boondocking at “Old Highway 89” and loved it. We had no idea that half of Zion is covered in this stuff.

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Adjacent to the aforementioned tunnel, we did the Canyon Overlook Trail, which for good lighting should be done in the morning instead of late afternoon. The 1-mile tunnel goes through the mountain on the left in the last photo.

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Zion is a truly special place, another National Park like the Grand Canyon that can’t be captured in photos. We loved staying here and want to come back to explore some of the less crowded areas. There is another section, Kolob Canyon, that we didn’t get to see. Not to mention countless other sites in southern Utah, including 3 more National Parks. But for now, we started a two-week drive back to NC to see our family!