Zion National Park Things to Do Tips by kazander

Take your time with this road, stop frequently, take it all in, smell the air, it's wonderful. Whether it be out of season with your own vehicle, or taking the summer shuttle, The Main part of the park, the canyon, should be your first venture. Along this road are the most visited sights in the park. We stopped at quite a few, including Weeping Rock, The great White Throne, Big bend...but we started at the far end of this road at the Temple of Sinawava. This is where the Riverside Walk begins. This trail is about a mile stroll on paved walkways. It's easy enough for any level of "hiker", even if you aren't one. At the end of the Riverside walk the famed Narrows trail begins. The Narrows is basically a wade through the Virgin river while the towering canyons close in on you. Truly this hike is the epitome of Zion. In the winter however, it might be too chilly for the Narrows (as it was for us) the water was quite cold, so we passed on this trail (but we'll be back in warmer weather!) Even if it's too cold for the Narrows, at least do the Riverside Walk.

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The super short trail is almost a requisite. It's all of .5 miles round trip to see some really amazing plant life. The rocks literally weep all over you so be prepared to get dripped on. The rock wall is like a concave half tunnel where the conditions are perfect for growing a "hanging" garden. Turning away from the wall and facing outward you are greeted with a perfectly rock framed image of Zion Canyon.

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We visited "the east side" of the park as we were leaving and on our way back towards the end of the trip. It's a different scene over there. Coming from the park, you switchback up the mountain (gorgeous views) go through 2 tunnels (low clearance!) and get spit out over to some wonderful petrified sand dunes which are worth taking a scramble over. There were a lot less people over here and the scenery was amazing. Towards the east entrance of the park is the famous "checkerboard mesa" An interesting dune with both horizontal and vertical erosion lines (hence the name)

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Address: Rt 9 the Zion-Mt Carmel Hwy

Just before you enter the park from the south, there is a pull off with great views of one the Zion's most famous mountains, The Watchman. Sunset is the perfect time to visit this location as the warm afternoon light casts a warm glow over the mountains. Just beyond the little parking lot there are a couple of little trails that lead you down to the Virgin River (you'll be seeing a lot of her in the park!) If I had had a couple of camping chairs I would have planted them at the edge of that meadow and just watched the show.
There is also a campground located here, what a perfect place to wake up.

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The great White Throne is somewhat of an Icon of Zion. You will undoubtedly see it's image on lots of T-shirts and whatnot in the gift shops. A "freestanding" mountain, this giant monolith looms over the valley. It presents challenges to photographers of all levels, given the light conditions of the area. There is even a little plaque at the overlook devoted to photographers.
I really enjoyed this spot. From the look out, there is a set of stairs leading down into the valley. The walls loom up all around you and there are many trees, most of which were just starting to bud while I was there. Not many people actually venture away from the view point, so it was a nice spot for some solitude.

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