Many people have heard of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park. However, here is something not everyone is aware of. Did you know that Zion National Park is divided into two main sections, as it pertains to access by road? That is correct.
Most of the population enter Zion National Park using State Route 9 from Springdale on the west side or by turning west onto State Route 9 from State Highway 89 and entering from the east side by Bridge Mountain. But, there is a northern entrance that does not connect into the southern end of the park. You take Interstate 15 about 40 miles or so North of St. George and exit on Kolob Canyon Road.
We went there when Mama Nomad’s parents were visiting. Kolob Canyon Road takes you into the park and is the only road that exists. It extends about 5 miles into the park and culminates at a parking lot shaped like a loop. The national park had some visitors. But, the amount that were there pales in comparison to the hordes of people that we saw at the southern end of the national park.
There are a few places to pull off and hike, but not many. That is because the quantity of trails is also less. But, the view is no less spectacular. There are 3 main trails. The Timber Creek Overlook Trail is 1 mile round trip. The Taylor Creek Trail is 5 miles round trip. And the Kolob Arch Trail via La Verkin Creek, which takes you to the 6th largest natural arch in the world, is 14 miles round trip. We were looking for an easy hike for the day so we took the Timber Creek Overlook whose trail head was located at the parking lot loop at the end of Kolob Canyon Road.
We pulled in and had many parking spots to choose from. There were some decent views on the way to the parking loop as well as a panoramic view from the parking lot loop. The hike on the Timber Creek Overlook Trail was rather mild. You constantly get to see canyon views to the left during the whole trail. Then, at the end, you have a 360° view of the entire canyon area. This short hike was definitely worth it.
We made our way back to Ebony and we were easily on our way. At first, we were going to call it a day and head back to home base. Then, I got a wild hair and decided to explore up the Interstate a bit and came to Cedar City. This city is at the mouth of the Cedar Canyon. We learned that there was a National Monument called Cedar Breaks, so we decided to check it out.
Now, we left Kolob Canyon sweating with short sleeve shirts. As we ascended into Cedar Canyon we ran into snow. It was not on the road. But there was feet of it on the sides of the road. The drive through the canyon was beautiful. Then we finally came to the road where we were supposed to turn to go to Cedar Breaks National Monument. There was a bar across the road and feet of snow covering it. So, there was no way to get to the National Monument. Instead of being saddened by the snow, me, Mama Nomad, Trevor and Mama Nomad’s Dad got out and played in the snow.
We continued driving through the canyon until we were dumped out on State Highway 89. We took it south to State Route 9 and drove through the East Entrance of the southern end of Zion National Park in order to get back to home base. The difference between where we had come from at Kolob Canyon on the northern end and Zion Canyon on the southern end was a stark contrast with the people and traffic.
What stated out as a day with a quick jaunt to the northern end of Zion National Park and an easy hike on the Timber Creek Overlook Trail turned into a meandering exploration that took us a few hundred miles. But, such is the life of a Nomad. Honestly, are you surprised? Safe Travels.
