Dave Does Zion....

To me, Zion is the reverse of the Grand Canyon. Instead of looking down from the ridge, one looks up and out from the valley floor. Your neck just swivels from bottom to top and side to side. It is beautiful; especially in the fall light. 


Zion is Utah's oldest national park. It began as a national monument with a much smaller footprint. It was designated as the Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909 by William Hartley Taft. The area of protection was expanded in 1918 and renamed Zion National Monument. A year later it was designated a national park by the Woodrow Wilson administration. 



Center of Springdale, UT

The last time I had been to Zion was about 18 years ago. Dave has never been to the park. The drive to the SW entry of the park was enough to whet Dave's appetite for calling it a day and getting a room for the night...or two. Springdale, UT is our home for the the next two days! The park is just a mile down the road, making an awesome backdrop for our stay.  

Giant of the Patriarchs

The most popular part of the park is fairly compact. Once in the park, you take a left and drive up the canyon. The road ends in 6 miles at Temple of Sinawava. From there is a short paved walk into the canyon along the Virgin River. Beyond that, if prepared, you can walk the Narrows for quite a ways (16 miles one way).  Prepared means rubber hiking boots, waders as the "trail" is all water and the water is cold, and other appropriate gear. We were not, so we did not wander this part of the park.



The Organ (foreground),
White Throne (left background)

Normally you must take a shuttle up the canyon as cars are not allowed during the busy season. However, the weekday shuttle stops running at the end of October (runs on the weekends through November). We lucked out and had the freedom to roam the park at will as a result. 

 

Canyon reflection in
Middle Emerald Pool

As with many parks that we visited this year, the best way to see many of the park features is to hike. There are many hiking trails in Zion that take you into various canyons that are not visible from the road. We wandered up to the Emerald Pools (lower, middle, and upper) to quite a spectacular view both into the canyon that held the pools and outwards toward the main canyon. 

Virgin River from the Emerald Pools trail

You can also drive through the south end of the park via a 1.1 mile tunnel and out the east side (Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel rout). For oversized vehicles like Tiny, it requires an escort through the tunnel and an oversize vehicle fee. We'll save that drive for another visit.

View South from Temple of Sinawava

There is another part of the park to the North that requires travel via freeway. The Kolb Canyon visitors center is off Hwy 15. A scenic road that will take you through the area and/or you can hike back into the arch area. The next visit!

We have run into many visitors from other countries that are in awe of our national park system. They are very thankful that our nation had the forethought to set aside so much land that cannot be developed but must remain as it is. I must agree. We have certainly enjoyed visiting many of those sites this year and hope to visit many more during our lifetime.