Zion National Park
WHO
Our family of four visited Zion National Park when Averhy was 16 and Eden was 13 years old. The hikes were fairly easy and we all enjoyed them.
WHAT
For our day exploring Zion National Park, we took a small daypack with water, granola bars, trail mix, and beef jerky. You can see our entire road trip packing list in the full Utah Road Trip post here. Temperatures were mild, so we were comfortable in hiking pants, sweatshirts and light jackets.
WHEN
We took this trip in March during the girls’ spring break. This was a great time to visit Zion National Park because the temperatures were mild (around 60*) and the park was not crowded.
WHERE
We stayed at the Zion Canyon Lodge in Springdale, which was a great location close to the park entrance. It was clean and the check-in process was easy, even though we arrived late at night.
We hiked the trails and visited the lookouts marked on this map.
WHY
We would recommend visiting Zion National Park because it is beautiful! Unfortunately, several of the trails were closed due to rock slides, so that limited the amount of things we could see. Also, the most famous hike at the park - Angel’s Landing - is long and can be dangerous at the peak. We did not have enough time to do that hike during this visit. Of all the areas we visited in Utah, this wasn’t actually our favorite (we liked Capitol Reef National Park the best).
HOW
Upper Emerald Pool via Kayenta Trail; Riverside Walk; Canyon Overlook Trail
The first hike we did was to the Upper Emerald Pool. The trail past the Lower Emerald Pool was closed due to a rockslide, so we took the Kayenta Trail from shuttle stop #6 at The Grotto.
It took about 1.5 hours to hike the loop to the waterfall at the Upper Emerald Pool and back to the shuttle stop. It was a fairly easy hike, with some fun spots where you have to cross a creek flowing down the mountain.
Halfway through the hike, there is a “Middle Emerald Pool” - don’t stop here! Keep going until you get to this giant waterfall at the end.
At the Upper Emerald Pool and waterfall, there are a lot of boulders to climb, and there were a fair amount of people there enjoying a lunch break. I’m sure it can get crowded in the summertime.
Next we got on the shuttle and rode to the Temple of Sinawava (stop #9) to begin the Riverside Walk to the Narrows. The shuttle rides are nice because the driver points out interesting landmarks, and there is an automated recording sharing facts about the park.
The Riverside Walk back to the start of the Narrows hike is very easy, and almost completely paved and accessible to wheelchairs. There is also an unpaved trail that goes directly beside the river for a portion of the way. We spent about 1.5 hours hiking this out-and-back trail, including a snack break.
We considered hiking part of the Narrows, but the water was moving quickly today and would have been up to our mid-shin. We had worn old tennis shoes that we could early throw away if they got trashed, but we decided that getting our feet and jeans soaked in cold water wasn’t worth it today. There were other canyons to explore instead!
After taking the shuttle back to our van at the Visitor Center, we drove on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway (with beautiful views on its own) through the tunnel to the east side of the park. The rock formations as you exit the tunnel are stunning!
We found a parking spot along the road (the parking lots are SMALL and fill up fast) and then hiked the Canyon Overlook Trail.
It took us about an hour to hike this beautiful out-and-back trail. The view at the end is stunning (it’s the very first image in this post). There are also some cool caves on this hike.
There are a couple places where the trail has steep drop-offs, so if you’re hiking with younger kids, be very careful!
Once we finished the hike, we continued driving toward the east entrance, and our next destination of Bryce Canyon. Once cool rock formation we stopped to see was the Checkerboard Mesa.
Overall, we enjoyed Zion National Park and found that one day was enough time for us to hike the available trails and see some gorgeous landscapes.
Final Tips
Be sure to bring water and snacks with you during a hike. It may not seem like you need them, but it is nice to take a break and recharge half-way through!
Check the weather and listen to the park rangers if you are planning to hike the Narrows. Rainstorms in the distance can cause flash floods, and you don’t want to get caught in one.
