One of the biggest attractions for us to visit and hike while in Southern Utah was Zion National Park. You want to know something funny. Until Mama Nomad told me about it, I did not even know it existed. Why is that funny? Well, because the park has more than 4 million visitors a year! For 2016, it was actually ranked 5th in the United States in visitors.
Zion National Park is located near Springdale, Utah. It is over 200 square miles in size with a 15 mile canyon down the middle of it. The canyon was formed by the Virgin River cutting through the Navajo Sandstone. The park is full of peaks, valleys, rivers, pools and mesas. There are tons of trails throughout the park to keep even the most avid hiker busy. The park has a lodge within it as well as campgrounds.
We visited Zion twice. We drove up Mesa Road and explored the countryside one Tuesday morning. We finished and it was still early afternoon. Zion National Park was only 20 miles or so away, so we decided to check it out. We arrived and there were not very many people around. That was because it was before Tourist Season started. If you go before Tourist Season (which starts around the 2nd week of March), you can actually drive throughout the whole park. And that is just what we did.
We drove through the park taking special note of where things were. We finally turned off on the Scenic Drive which takes you to some of the more prominent locations within Zion. We stopped along the way marveling at the different structures and the topography. We eventually made it to the end, called the Temple of Sinawava. For any of you who do not want to or cannot hike on trails, this is the stop for you. It is a paved walkway that runs along the Virgin River. We walked it for a bit and decided to explore more by car.
So, we left the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive and got back on the park’s main road. We continued towards its eastern entrance. This led us to a tunnel. This is a truly awe-inspiring tunnel. What can be awe-inspiring about it? It is a tunnel, about a mile in length, carved through solid rock! It has no lights, so you must have your car lights on. There are 4 carved viewing windows into the wall of it as you drive through it. There is no stopping, so don’t even try to snap any photos.
On the other end, we saw a place to pull over and realized there was a trail. We had not really hiked in Zion so far, so we decided to take the hike. This is called the Canyon Overlook Trail and it is about a mile round trip. We began to trek along it and we noticed, on the other side of the canyon, was a mountain goat just prancing along an edge with a hundred or so foot drop below it. It was moving along like I walk on a sidewalk! We ventured on and the trail took us along narrow pathways with drop offs, skinny bridges, over boulders and more.
We finally arrived at the end. You will know you are there when you see the one small piece of rail and fence. This leads you out to a great view of much of the canyon of the park and 4 or 5 notable points. It is also directly above a feature called The Great Arch, where you are a few hundred feet in the air. Great overlook view and fantastic long-range views. It was getting dark so we headed back to home base and decided to come back on the weekend.
We came back on the 5th of March, a Sunday. The park has shuttles that run every day after Tourist Season starts. But, in the beginning of March, it only runs on the weekends. So, this time, we had to park at the visitor’s center and take the shuttle. We didn’t mind as we had one objective. We wanted to hike Walter’s Wiggles up to Scout’s Lookout. This is the stop before continuing onto world’s famous Angel’s Landing.
We arrived at stop #6, The Grotto. This is the stop you take if you want to go to Angel’s Landing. We disembarked from the shuttle. It was a warm afternoon, slight breeze and not a whole lot of people. There were more than when we came on Tuesday, but it was not crowded. We began our leisurely 3.6 mile round trip hike up to Scout’s Lookout. The ground was relatively flat and soft as we began. Well, it was not too long into the hike that we began to encounter steep climbs in elevation. Keep in mind, we were climbing around 1,100 feet in elevation over the course of 1.8 miles (one way).
We hiked the first leg, stopping at intervals due to shortness of breath (altitude and vertical climb) until we arrived in a place called Refrigerator Canyon. The canyon was actually a very easy hike with minor changes, both increases and decreases in elevation. The canyon leads out to a place called Walter’s Wiggles. It is aptly named because it has 21 switchbacks from the bottom to the top. This was created so that horses could go up to a place called Cabin Spring. It has since been shored up and concreted.
When you get to the top of Walter’s Wiggles you will reach Scout’s Lookout. This is a large and open space where you can relax, take a breath and even pop a squat to have a bite to eat. There is a rail and fence that you can walk up to in order to see the canyon floor and Virgin River over 1000 feet below you. What a site to see indeed. This is one of the best spots in the park to see expansive views of the canyon and the peaks.
Now, for some of you, you may wish to hike on up to Angel’s Landing from here. It was rumored to be named because they said only angels could land there. If you decide to continue the 1/2 mile trek, you will do so along a very narrow pathway with a 1200 foot drop on one side and an 800 foot drop on the other. You will also do so while holding onto a chain and while trying to let others pass you or passing others as you get up there because the traffic is bi-directional. When you get to the top, you will have a panoramic view of the canyon at about 1500 feet above the canyon floor. I decided that the 300 feet in elevation change was not worth the risk, so, we ended our hike at Scout’s Lookout.
The journey through Zion, by car and on foot, was wonderful. This is one of our favorite parks to hike in so far. No matter where you are, if you enjoy hiking and the outdoors, I suggest that you plan a trip to Zion National Park. Just try to do it in February when the snow is gone and before the tourists arrive. Safe Travels.
