This post is just a quick summary of a few days spent in Zion National park, Utah.
Fist of all, as a surprise to most of my British friends visiting Las Vegas, there's actually beautiful and interesting things to do outside of the Strip (besides the Grand Canyon). :-) Zion is one of those places, it's a national park about 2.5 hours from Vegas. Actually, there's a number of parks within easy driving from the city and that includes Red Rock (25 minutes from the city), Valley of Fire (about 45 minutes) and Death Valley (a couple hours) to name a few.
To get to Zion, just head Northeast along US15. You'll drive through Nevada and parts of Arizona before heading into the South western corner of Utah via the Virgin River Canyon. The canyon is itself pretty impressive, cutting through the mountains whilst rising to over 6000 feet. However, the goal is Zion, so keep on going!
I've included a map of the park, apologies for the quality.
The main purpose of the map is to show that the park is made up of two major sections. The first section is to the Northwest and is comprised of the Kolob canyons. The canyons are very much like mini Zion canyons with very similar geology. For me the biggest attraction is that there are less tourists. The downside is that the scenery, while beautiful, doesn't rival that of Zion.
As with the rest of the park, there are a variety of trails to choose from and a number of websites that can help you decide. Personally, I used the following website as it provided a good synopsis of the trails, basic maps and guidance for those visiting.
Joe's guide to Zion national Park
Given that we had a limited amount of time in the park (24 hours from time of arrival to departure) and were not, by any stretch of the imagination, experienced hikers. We decided on an 'easy' trail to begin with, the 'Taylor Creek trail'. The trailhead is approximately 2 miles from the Kolob Canyon Ranger Station and gives you three options (North, Middle and South forks). We decided upon the middle fork which is estimated to be a 5 mile round trip (although, by my calculations it was slightly longer but that could be due to a few 'diversions).
The hike started at 0930 which, with hindsight, was pretty poor planning on my part. Despite it being the 9th of September and being at over 6000ft it was still very hot (easily 30c by mid-hike) but at least the views were very nice...
A little trail information: The trail is doable in hiking shoes or running shoes (my choice for this hike). I actually saw a young woman in sandals but wouldn't recommend them. The trail is also well marked with only a few spots that require any real effort. There are a few creeks to cross which didn't present a challenge (although, I would expect them to be a bit deeper during Spring and Fall.
The decision point between the three forks is near the Larson cabin which is a cultural site dating back over 100 years.
We headed East towards the ultimate goal of the hike which is the Double Arch Alcove. One of the nice things about the trail is that a lot of the walking is through the forest which offers respite from the heat.
We managed to make it to the actual arch in well under 2 hours which was good considering the number of stops that we took to take photos and to enjoy the scenery.
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| Made it!!!!! |
Okay, hike over...drive to Springdale by following US15 Southwest to US9 then head east to Springdale. Now, Springdale is 180 degrees out from kolob. Think the South rim of the Grand Canyon but a bit classier. The 'town' has a number of nice places to stay with fantastic views and features but you will pay for it, obviously.
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| Apologies for the blatant advertising here... :-) |
I'd suggest eating at 'jack's' as the food was amazing, relatively inexpensive and they had a reasonable selection of beers, some locally produced, which is a key for me.
Just a few points about the Eastern part of the park...first of all, unless you enter the park early (as in before 8am) then forget about parking. Although the park signs say that parking is unavailable after 10am, that's not even close. Most visitors don't heed the advice and try to drive in to hike late...Don't do it! The park offers shuttle service which picks up at a number of stops before and in the park, leave your car along the road (or in the hotel) and get the shuttle.
As with the rest of the park, there are a number of great options for hikes. If time isn't a problem then I'd suggest going for some of the trails within the park such as the emerald pools trail. However, the downside of those trails is that they are usually busy...I prefer a bit of quiet so opted for one of the few trails that started at the Visitors center in Springdale. The trail that we decided upon was the 'Watchman Trail' which included a shorter 'Loop' at the end. As with many of the park trails, this one was an out and back. It is rated as 'moderate' due to the climb and the sheer drops along parts of the trail. The trail itself was a bit shorter than the 'Taylor Creek trail', only about 1-1.5 miles each way not including the extra .25-.5 mile loop section.
The trail climbs up through a canyon and winds around to a scenic overlook. I would suggest starting early (as soon as the sun rises) to avoid the heat and the 'busy' period. The views with the sun rising, whilst not on par with some of the more popular trails, are still stunning and worth the less than 2 hours roundtrip.
Okay, that's it for today. keep an eye on future posts as have a few other trips planned in the next few months.
