Location: Las Vegas
Day 1 - 30 Apr 2019
Springdale
Content: We drove from Las Vegas to Springdale, Utah for 2 nights to visit Zion National Park. The direct distance is 159 miles which should take (I guess) about 2.5 - 3 hours.
Location: Springdale
Day 1 - 30 Apr 2019
Holiday Inn Express
Content: This is our go-to hotel in Springdale and highly recommend it. The staff is friendly, the rooms are clean and quiet, and it has an excellent location in Springdale. It is located on the Springdale Shuttle Route, so you can get around town without a car.
Location: Springdale
Day 2 - 1 May 2019
Zion National Park
Content: Zion National Park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.The entrance fee is $35 and is valid for 7 days.
Location: Zion National Park
Day 2 - 1 May 2019
Zion-Mount Carmel Highway
Content: The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway is a 16 km (10 mi) scenic route from Canyon Junction to the park’s east entrance. The road is curvy and climbs in elevation, offering great views of Zion’s rocky landscape and notable landmarks, including The Great Arch and Checkerboard Mesa.
Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel
Content: As beautiful as the natural attractions are, it was a man-made construction that impressed us the most. The 1.8 km (1.1 mi) Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel was the longest tunnel in the United States at the time of its completion in 1930. There are five gallery windows in the tunnel, so it was fun to get quick glimpses of Zion’s scenery as we were driving through.
Location: Zion National Park
Day 2 - 1 May 2019
Hike Watchman Trail
Content: Watchman Trail is underrated and overlooked by visitors who crowd Zion’s more popular trails, but this hike was such a pleasure to do.Watchman Trail is a moderate 4.3 km (2.7 mi) hike that climbs to a plateau near the base of The Watchman, a rugged crag looming above Zion’s south entrance.
Canyon Overlook
Content: A Canyon Overlook Trail was a great introduction to hiking in Zion National Park. The 1.6 km (1 mi) round-trip hike is rated moderately difficult and arrives at Canyon Overlook, a cliff-top viewpoint of Pine Creek Canyon and lower Zion Canyon. The hike begins with a series of steps carved into sandstone, then continues on a sandy, rocky trail above Pine Creek Canyon. Along the way there are fenced drop-offs and a shaded alcove to pass under.
Walk Along Pa’rus Trail
Content: Pa’rus Trail starts near the trailhead of Watchman Trail, so it was naturally the next route to explore.The paved path follows alongside the Virgin River, linking the Zion Canyon Visitor Centre with Canyon Junction for a round-trip of 5.6 km (3.5 mi). It’s an easy, level trail, with a few bridges crossing over the river. Our favorite part of walking Pa’rus Trail was seeing the Virgin River backed by The Watchman. So pretty!
Red Rock Grill
Content: Decent eatery inside the rustic Zion Lodge. A lot of red rock around here indeed! The staff is courteous and the service is fairly quick. The portions are on the small side. The steal and shrimp were well cooked and tasted great. The menu is limited in choice of dishes, perhaps too limited. Nice that they have several local beers and ales on tap.
Location: Zion National Park
Day 3 - 2 May 2019
Angels Landing
Content: Angels Landing Trail is what inspired us to visit Zion National Park and this popular route has no trouble living up to its reputation as Zion’s most exciting hike.The narrow trail gains 453 m (1,488 ft) in elevation and is framed by steep drop-offs on each side. There are no guardrails, only some chains to assist with the final scramble to Angels Landing. Once we safely made it to Angels Landing, We were awe-struck by the panoramic view of Zion Canyon before us. It was nothing short of spectacular and made every hair-raising moment on the trail worth the challenge.
Grotto Picnic Area
Content: The Grotto Picnic Area is the starting point of the Angels Landing hike, so it was a convenient place to enjoy lunch and a rest before heading out for an afternoon of easy walks. After our picnic, we strolled along The Grotto Trail to Zion Lodge, stopping in to browse the gift shop. From there, we made our way to the footbridge and Emerald Pools trailhead.
Lower Emerald Pool
Content: The paved trail leads the way to Lower Emerald Pool, which was a tiny pool of water that, unfortunately, didn’t live up to its name. Beyond the pool, the trail continued behind a waterfall, which was really just a trickle.
Whiptail Grill
Content: Such a beautiful place to eat. The view is incredible, as well as the food. Customer service is always on point. Matt, one of the main cooks is always on top of it when making the entrees. Especially when it’s busy! There was 8+ people walking in, we ordered our food right before they walked in, and it came out within 10 minutes! Super tasty & extremely satisfied.
Location: Zion National Park
Day 4 - 3 May 2019
Observation Point
Content: We saved our longest hike for last, spending most of the day on Observation Point Trail. The trail is steep, climbing 655 m (2,148 ft), making for a strenuous hike that takes 5-6 hours to complete.
Zion Canyon Scenic Drive
Content: We travelled along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive several times during our 3 day trip to Zion, since it’s the park’s main sightseeing route.The road starts at Canyon Junction and ends at Temple of Sinawava, not far from Observation Point. The road passes by most of Zion’s well-known landmarks, including The Sentinel, Court of the Patriarchs, Mountain of the Sun, The Great White Throne, Angels Landing, The Organ, Weeping Rock, and The Pulpit.
Springdale
Content: We thought that 3 days in Zion National Park was perfect for taking in some of Zion’s best hikes and sights. We got a good overview, while still leaving some trails to explore on a future visit to Zion National Park