When I reached Zion National Park on that late afternoon in June, I felt kind of sad. Zion was the last national park on the programme of the three weeks’ road trip my husband and I were making and I could not prevent myself from thinking the – seemingly endless – holiday was almost over. Moreover, my first impression of the park was not overly positive. Having spent most of our holiday in the back country, I was not used anymore to the amount of people that wanted to visit Zion. It was a huge amount and they all wanted to enter the park through the Zion – Mount Carmel tunnel, like us.
Admittedly, the tunnel is impressive. It is 1.1m long and cuts through solid rock. Waiting times can be long (it was around 40 minutes for us) as two-way traffic is converted to one-way traffic to let large vehicles pass safely. Before getting in line, we parked the car at the trailhead for the short Canyon Overlook trail just before the tunnel entrance to get a first sneak peek of Zion Canyon.
The most visited National Park?
Zion is the third most visited US national park, after Great Smoky Mountains and the Grand Canyon and this is immediately obvious from the number of people on the trails (and the prices of hotels and restaurants in surrounding villages). Apart from the main through-road, the roads in the park are not accessible to cars and visitors use the park shuttle busses instead. This is a great concept, both from a comfort and conservation point of view, but you do have to get up early to avoid long queues at the part entrance where the shuttles depart.
To give you an idea of how busy Zion gets, we booked our trip 7 months before we travelled and struggled to find good accommodation (“good” meaning conveniently located for visiting the park). We were keen to stay in Zion Lodge, the only option for staying within the park boundaries, but this was fully booked (we also tried booking via some travel agents who reserve a batch of rooms). We managed to find a room in Cliffrose Lodge in Springdale, at a short walk from the park entrance. This was perfect, as we could get up and head straight to the shuttle bus stop by foot. We skipped breakfast in our hotel and went to Zion Lodge in the middle of the park instead, all in view of being efficient and avoiding the queues.
An interesting fact about Zion Lodge is that it was built by the Union Pacific Railroad company in the 1920s. Visitors travelled by train to nearby Cedar City and went on organised tours of the Utah parks hosted by the railway company to see Zion, Bryce Canyon NP, Cedar Breaks NM and Kolob NF.
Hiking Angel’s Landing
We had planned carefully what we wanted to do during our time in Zion (three days is far from enough to do it justice, so we had to be efficient). The iconic Angel’s Landing hike was first on list. Regardless of queues, getting up early was a very good idea as a rather exposed path of steep switchbacks, part of the West Rim Trail, took us to the start of the narrow ridge that leads to Angel’s Landing.
A sign warns hikes that seven people have died on the trail since 2004 and that those with a fear of heights should not go any further. Angel’s Landing is truly iconic, but also somewhat infamous. That said, it’s worth it. Following a scramble over a ridge, we were rewarded with an amazing 360° view. In my opinion, the hike was not as challenging as I was expecting. I never felt unsafe and the trickiest parts are lined with steel cables to provide additional support.
The Emerald Pools
We rewarded ourselves with an ice cream at the Zion Lodge and, from there, started a late afternoon walk to the Emerald Pools. The hike is relatively easy, which was welcome after the steep trek to Angel’s Landing. That said, deaths have also occurred at the Emerald Pools – the warning signs are there for a reason! The hike is divided in roughly three stages: Lower, Middle and Upper Emerald Pools. The trail to Lower section is an easy path and we found ourselves surrounded by crowds. Once past this section, things became somewhat quieter. I was slightly disappointed by the amount of water (or rather the lack of it) in the Lower and especially Middle pools and admittedly not very motivated to continue. That said, the Upper pool was worth the trek.
Wading through the Narrows
The Narrows are perhaps the most famous feature of Zion. Hiking this beautiful slot canyon means wading through the water of the Virgin River, which at times came up to our waist (the water level was actually rather low when we were there). We did the hike “bottom up”, starting at the last shuttle bus stop in the National Park, and hiked about 5km into the canyon, then retraced our steps (it’s possible to walk slightly further, to the park boundary, but we ran out of time). The walk is gorgeous, but strenuous – it is harder than you would think wading upstream for several kilometres. If you’re looking for a bigger challenge however, there is an option to do the walk “top down” starting outside the National Park and walking close to 25km on an overnight trip.
As on most places in Zion, the beginning of the walk is incredibly busy – we made our way into the Narrows with hordes of other people. However, the crowd soon thins. We even found a quiet lunch spot on a piece of higher ground to enjoy the view. I especially liked the walk back, because the light in the canyon was just right to bring out the many shades of the red and orange rock. The gorge is up to 400m deep and looking up its straight walls is pretty impressive.
For wading through the Narrows, one needs to come prepared. Springdale is packed with “outfitters” who’ll rent shoes and a walking pole for the day. There is no need to book in advance – they are prepared for large crowds. If you have your own walking poles and a pair of sneakers you don’t mind getting wet, you don’t need to bother renting – many people use their own gear. The biggest advantage, in my opinion, of the rental shoes was the fact that they come with thermal socks keeping your feet warm and comfy despite several hours in the cold water. A couple of good drybags are also a must in case you get soaked (you can also rent these from the outfitters if needed). I packed my things carefully, but remained slightly nervous about slipping!
Chasing settlers’ ghosts
When planning the trip, I was keen to include a visit to one of the famous ghost towns allegedly dotted around the western United States. Grafton, just outside Zion, became the ghost town of choice. The town was originally founded by Mormon missionaries and later used by pioneers. It has featured as the backdrop in many a Western movie and is therefore well maintained. At the same time, it is rather hard to find at the end of a dirt road, so we found ourselves all alone to wander around the old houses.
A handful of well-maintained houses remain and there is also an old cemetery where a couple of information signs bring the former villagers to life for visitors. The fact that local people still put flowers on the settlers’ graves is quite moving. Reading up on the lives of the inhabitants gave a morbid edge to the ride on the swing outside one of the old homes I took earlier – two young girls died on exactly that place after falling of a swing that broke as they were playing on it.
After visiting Grafton, we left the Zion area, but even the drive was worth its while. Working ranches are dotted around the surrounding land and enjoying the sight of their structures against the backdrop of farmland and orchards is a nice way to bed goodbye to Zion.
Links & references
Cliffrose Lodge: http://cliffroselodge.com/
The Spotted Dog Café (part of Flanigan’s Inn): http://www.flanigans.com/dining/
