We’ve seen al lot of beautiful and breathtaking vistas on journey through the Southwest. But after two days at Zion National Park in Utah it is crystal clear to us: This one definitely takes the crown. But let’s start at the beginning.
We left Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP on a rainy Wednesday morning towards Zion. The one time where we don’t mind the rain is when we have to drive, so for a change the rain didn’t bother us. The rain followed us to Zion NP but the drive was stunning nonetheless: Right at the entrance of the National Park, one scenic vista was followed by the next one, starting with the Checkerboard Mesa and continued by the switchbacks that took us down into the canyon. We had to get through two tunnels on our way down. The first one was short and easy and no problem for our 12 ft high RV. The second one though, was quite the opposite: That is why we had to use our „Tunnel Pass“ there: Every time a large vehicle (such as our RV) gets to the tunnel, the normal two way traffic is stopped and the rangers turn it into a one way street for the traffic that is with the RV. We had to drive in the middle of the tunnel, as this one was only one feet higher (at its highest point) than our RV. A very interesting experience for us 🙂
After setting up camp on our site next to the Virgin River we decided to check out the brew pub of the Zion Canyon Brewing company, which was conveniently just 10 min by foot from our campground. What else are you gonna do when it’s raining cats and dogs? We knew that the online reviews were mixed, but we were gonna be the judge of that. And, as it turned out, it wasn’t half bad. The food was tasty plus we didn’t have to wait too long for it – always good if you’re at a restaurant with a toddler 😉 The beer though, on the other hand, was just ok. The reason for that is simple: According to Utah state laws: Establishments, such as pubs, are only allowed to sell beer with a maximum of 4% alcohol. Everything else can only be bought at State Liquor stores (of which there are only three in Southern Utah). Furthermore, you have to order food if you want to drink a beer or wine at a restaurant. That’s why the beer was a bit too much on the light side for us (although that can also be said for quite a few other American „beers“ such as Bud Light and Coors). Coming from the west coast with breweries such as Ballast Point and Stone we were maybe also a bit spoiled. Still, it was nice there.
The weather forecast for Thursday was sunny with 13°C – perfect for hiking. And that’s something you can do to your hearts content here at Zion. One of the highlights is the hike through the Zion Narrows, where most of the path is actually in the Virgin river. But unfortunately the current is too strong at the moment (thanks to snow melt and abundant rain in the last months) making this route impossible. Apparently a few tourists tried it a few weeks back nonetheless and got swept of their feet by the current. Some future Darwin Award winners right there. Another hike we would have loved to do but couldn’t is the trail to Angel’s landing. It’s only 2.5 miles long, but it encompasses a change in elevation of 1500 ft plus part of the trail is on a narrow ridge with steep cliffs on either sides of the path. Hence the name „Angel’s landing“ as only angels can get up there. It is said to be one of the most extreme hikes of all the National parks, a few people have already lost their lives on it. With all this in mind we set our sights on the hike to the „Emerald Pools“, three pools nestled in the side of the canyon that are connected through a 2.6 ml long trail (Lower Emerald Pools Trail + Kayenta Trail). It was just the right distance for us.
In the evening we got to know our new neighbors across the road. Tara and Daniel are from Arizona and they’re tent camping with their two little kids (same age as Noam and Nate as it turned out). For the second day we had planned some smaller walks (I would not call them hikes). We walked along the banks of the Virgin River, saw a lot of cheeky squirrels and wondered at the beauty of this park. Seriously, you only had to walk a couple of minutes and there were new wonders to see. On the gate to the Narrows (that were closed) we happened to see our neighbors again. We love how quickly one can strike up conversations here and talk about this and that (or in this case: national parks and craft beer).
With a heavy heart we had to pack up our stuff and hit the road again on Saturday. We really, really liked it here. Both the park as well as the campground are in the list of places we want to visit again. But then without the kids, so we can do all the hikes we couldn’t do this time.
