Visiting Zion National Park

Next Up with Zion National Park! Zion is located in the south west corner of Utah and is best known for the Angel’s Landing Trail. This is one of the busiest national parks in Utah and even when arriving early, it was hard to find parking! This place is PACKED.

So many people were roaming around and there were some really cool campsites right in the park. I camped outside of the park on the east side and then drove in early but I would consider camping within the park next time. 

The park is very busy and because of how many visitors Zion is seeing, some of the trails now have a reservation system in place and require permits. Since I did not plan ahead I could not hike Angel’s Landing and another trail I was hoping to do was closed so that some improvement work could be done. 

I did not let that stop me and still managed to have a full day of hiking. First up, was the Pa’rus Trail through the valley with Marv - the ONLY dog friendly trail in the park. It was enough of a walk to tire him out but there were a number of electric bikes zipping along the trail so beware if you have a nervous dog like mine! 

Then I got on the shuttle which takes you to many stops throughout the park to see the sights. The buses are awesome because you don’t have to worry about finding additional parking after parking in the morning. I rode the bus all through the park and hiked Lower, middle and upper emerald pools, The Grotto Trail, and Temple of Sinawava (Riveside Walk). 

I was most surprised by how green everything in Zion was at this time of the year. It was still pretty chilly in the morning but when the sun came out, it warmed up and all the new spring growth was popping up. 

This park really surprised me - I would love to go back and hike Angel’s Landing but the other hikes weren’t something I would plan around to do again, just something to see while you are there.