This trip started out with a flight in to Salt Lake City, Utah which is twice as long of a trip as flying into Las Vegas but since I had never been to Salt Lake City, why not. Of course after picking up the rental car and getting out of the airport, I found myself in heavy rain. Not exactly what I had planned. So getting out of Salt Lake City took twice as long because it also seemed to be after 3 pm and everyone seemed to be leaving work. Once clear of Salt Lake City, the rain seemed to stop and traffic was minimal. Weird how all that played in together. The drive down to Springdale was very scenic with mountains the entire way down for the most part. Speed limit was 80 so it was a tolerable trip driving down Highway 15. I stopped in Beaver, Utah and grabbed a burger since I wasn’t sure how long the restaurants would stay open once I got to Springdale . After turning off the interstate and getting in to Virgin, the landscape just seemed to get more astonishing the closer I got to Springdale. As the sun was starting to set, I had to pull off the road and get a picture.
So reaching the hotel Hampton Inn, in Springdale (which is only about a mile from the entrance) I found that the scenery on both side of the hotel were just beautiful with the mountains and the setting sun. The hotel was nice and the staff were very welcoming. After getting unloaded, I asked if they had a bar but they did not. They mentioned a place across the street Bit & Spur and they were open. So entering I went straight for the bar and ordered a drink since I really wasn’t hungry because I had eaten earlier. So after the drink the bartender said he couldn’t serve me another drink (Utah State law) unless I ordered food. Well now we had a dilemma. More drink and have to eat food, or no drink. I chose the drink! Guacamole, salsa, and chips. Wow were they good. Come to find out the bartender used to live in Houston and had helped come up with the recipe. Great job because it was as good as any guacamole I had ever eaten. So after the second drink it was time to turn in.
Getting up bright and early meant enjoying the complimentary breakfast and getting to the park. I decided to drive so that I could get some idea of where everything was and the front desk had told me about the local supermarket, Sol Foods Supermarket, that had everything I would need food-wise for the upcoming hikes. I stocked up on water and got one of the pre-made sandwiches to take with me. The drive into the park indicated a cute town with galleries, restaurants, and other stores to which I hoped I might get to explore. The line into the park at 8 am was very short and since my yearly pass to which I ordered a little too late had not arrived in the mail yet, $30 to enter by car. Author note: Plan way ahead and don’t do what I did. Get your pass early. Once I got in it was just a short right turn into the visitor center with plenty of parking. Another author note: Leaving the park later that day was a long line of cars with no parking at the visitor center so make sure and get there early.
The buses in the park come about every 10 minutes so it didn’t take long to catch a bus. The route the buses take is basically along the river and that is where most of the common hiking trails are. So first up was Emerald pools trail. The bus stops at Zion lodge so it is a short walk across the road and over the Virgin river (no typo on that one!). The hike consisted of 3 parts: lower Emerald pool which was 1.2 miles and middle and upper pool which was 1 mile. The lower pool is easy and basically all concrete the entire way with little change in grade. The pool had a small waterfall coming down so it seemed to be a good start. Moving on to the middle pool proved to be more of a challenge but not bad at all. No concrete on this part so it was basically rocks and dirt. The middle pool itself wasn’t too spectacular but the view was nice where the water went over the rocks toward the lower pool. Hiking up to the upper pool was the most challenging because of the uneven surfaces and rocks. The elevation change wasn’t bad so I would deem this to be a upper moderate hike. The pool itself was much bigger but there wasn’t much of a waterfall. I really wanted to see a big waterfall here. So after taking in pictures the descent started and once crossing the middle pool there is an option to take the Grotto trail instead of going to the lower pool. The Grotto trail was a mile long and went back to a picnic/restroom area. So in all it was 3.5 hours of hiking before lunch. Not a bad start. Lunch consisted of sitting at one of the picnic tables, under trees, and enjoying a perfect 75 degree day which was great for hiking. After lunch I chose to hop back on the bus and stop at one of the routes I had skipped on the way to the pool. The stop was the Court of the Patriarchs and it really wasn’t a hike at all but a steep short climb (5 minutes) to a viewing area of the mountain peaks in the background. Those peaks were named after the biblical figures of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Getting back on the bus the next stop was… the car. Why? Because I wanted to drive inside the park. Driving in the park is basically following one two lane road. You can’t follow the bus route unless you are staying at the lodge so you have to drive toward the East side of the park taking switch back after switch back going higher and higher. It is a slow route but it is simple stunning to view Zion from this viewpoint. There are plenty of stopping points but I would advice waiting for the drive back down. Once you get high up the mountain you have to drive at least a mile thru a tunnel so be ready to turn on the lights because it is dark (no lights other than vehicles). If a large camper wants thru the park rangers will hold up traffic from the other side so make sure you don’t need to use the restroom because you could be there for 15 minutes or so with no were to go.
Once I got thru the mountain I wanted to park immediately to the right but there was no parking. That meant driving on. The mountains on this side were totally different because they must get a lot more wind. There were patterns all over the mountains that I didn’t notice on the west side. Really cool seeing what I consider two parks in one. So 15 minutes later (pictures stops included) I was almost at the East entrance so I turned around and headed back toward the tunnel. This time however I stopped about a quarter mile from the tunnel because I wanted to hike the overlook. I would consider the overlook to be a moderate 1 mile hike but this is a must hike. The view looking over the canyon was one of the most beautiful views of Zion you will ever see.
After getting the pics, it was time to head back to the hotel and relax in the hot tub. No since in pushing the first day. Met some great people there. Oh wait. I forgot one other important item. There is only one place in the entire town to buy bottles of wine and that is a gift shop of all places (gotta love Utah). Luckily it was right next to the hotel so no problem. I’m not going to write the name of it because I’ll let you discover it (or ask someone like I did). So before getting in the hot tub I took an empty water bottle and filled it with the wine so I wouldn’t be taking glass to the pool and poured the remaining into a cup. So hot tub was great and I decided to head back across the street to Bit & Spur because the appetizer was so good before. This time I ordered sweet potato tamales to which I had never had and will definitely order again if I ever go back. Very nice along with more wine. Of course afterwards I slept great!
The next morning my original plan was to take the shuttle that stops right outside the hotel but I wanted to try breakfast at a place recommended by the front desk that said they would also pack a lunch for hiking. The restaurant was Café Soleil and I chose the bagel breakfast sandwich for breakfast and ordered the Turkey Cranberry panini for my lunch to which I told them I was hiking in the park and wanted it to go. The breakfast sandwich wasn’t bad but it had 3 times as much egg as meat so all in all I was a bit disappointed. When they delivered the sandwich it was in a plastic bag and hot. I never would have imagined I would need to tell them not to press the sandwich. Oh well.
Arriving at the park entrance I was surprised to find that it was Earth day! Free admission!!! So far so good. Parked at the visitor center and hopped on the bus again. This time it was Angel’s Landing and this was one of the hardest. The total hike was 5.4 miles so off I went. Lots and lots of switch backs and people were hurting going up. For me it was fun but I definitely could have been in top shape for this one. So once the switchbacks ended I thought it was easy going and then came more switchbacks. So by the time you get to the top you have definitely had a good workout. Once I got on top and took lots of pictures I wanted to go up the single line chain to the very top but it was just too crowded and many of the people were standing around waiting for someone to get out of the way. So I decided to head back down and go do more trails. The hike back down was much easier but it did put some strain on my LCL that I wasn’t expecting so make sure your knees and ligaments are in good shape for this hike. Once back down I decided to do some easy hiking and find a place for lunch. I road up to Big Bend and walked back along the river taking in the incredible views and looking for the right place to eat. Well I never found the right place so I decided to hike to Weeping Rock. Short hike of 0.4 miles so why not. The hike was nice and not so steep but once I got there I was still hoping for more water coming off the mountain. It truly was a weeping rock and wet and mosquitos of all things. So after a few pics it was time to really look for a place to eat. I decided to find a large rock down by the river and enjoy the water off down the mountain and I’m glad I did. Very nice and tranquil lunch.
Next hike was real close and that was Hidden Canyon right next to where I was. Since it was only 2.4 miles it sounded like a fun hike and I was hoping to see some cool closed in canyon walls. Well I wish I hadn’t done this hike. It wasn’t the switchbacks going up, the rocky terrain, single file chain areas, or location but what was at the end. Basically a sign that stated your at the end. The canyon walls weren’t really that photographic and overall the journey to get there just wasn’t worth the end result. However, I got more hikes in and that was what it’s all about. So reaching back to the road meant hopping a bus and going back to the Visitor Center. From there it was hot tub time once again! After a nice relaxing hour or two it was time for quick shower and dinner. Tonight would be Spotted Dog Café and I had reservations since all the reviews said to make them to ensure a table. Since it wasn’t dark I asked to sit outside and enjoy the great view. The meal was great and I had the special fish of the day along with a few glasses of wine. Overall it was really nice and I recommend this restaurant also.
Sunday was Bryce Day and that meant driving thru the park again to the East entrance. Along the way there were some pictures I didn’t get of checkered board Mesa so I was glad to be going all the way to the end of the park. Oh, and luckily Sunday was free also. After a couple of hours of driving thru small towns and roads I reached the turn off. The first location was Red Canyon and it actually looked a great location to do some hiking. But this trip was to get to Bryce and after 30 more minutes I arrived. What I found was one main road and all the stops were either a short distance off the main road or basically stop at locations on the park road. I recommend driving the entire distance which results in a turnaround and driving back. Along the way stop at the many different locations with pull offs and take lots of pictures. On the way back take your time and hit all the locations that you didn’t hit on the trip to the end. Once you have plenty of pictures, do some hiking into the canyons just be ready to hike down and down to get to the bottom and don’t forget you have to get back out of there so make sure you are ready to do lots of switchbacks.
So after lots of pictures and hiking it was time to return back to Springdale. The drive was a little easier since I knew what to expect and reaching the hotel it was basically time for dinner. Tonight it was time for a steak since I was tired of fish. Switchback Grille was the destination and it also was a short walk from the hotel. Dinner proved to be good along with the cocktail and wine. Again I do recommend this restaurant while in town.
Monday morning meant getting back on the road to Salt Lake City and it seemed a little easier even though I had the same distance to go. Of course once I reached Salt Lake City the rain came again so that put a damper on my plans to tour the city. Oh well, next time.
