Hiking Zion National Park
- Camila
- Mar 22, 2018
- 8 min read
Updated: May 16, 2020
If you know me at all you know I am not an outdoors kind of girl. I mean I pride myself in doing everything a man can and I am extremely competitive but let us leave that for another blog. It's just when I think of the outdoors and activities alike, my mind completely links to my fear of bugs and it just becomes unfavorable. It was not just that, to tell you the truth, I did not understand the appeal of walking for hours to get to the top of some rock! My sister, the outdoorsy type, wanted to take a girl's trip for her birthday to the great Zion National Park and I thought: sure! let us try something new. The Grand Canyon had been on my bucket list and after researching Zion, the Angel's Landing trail had a competitive appeal to it so I thought why not add it to my bucket list as well! And guess what? It was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.
Itinerary:
1. Miami, FL -> Pheonix, AZ -> St. George's, UT -> Springdale, UT
2. Easy Watchman Trail -> Zion Brew Pub -> Giant Screen Theater
3. Oscar's Cafe -> Angel's Landing -> Emerald Pool -> MeMe's Cafe -> Shops -> Springdale Candy Co.
4. Cafe Soleil -> The Narrow's -> Spotted Dog Cafe
5. Springdale, UT -> St. George's -> Pheonix, AZ -> Orlando, FL -> Miami, FL
What to pack: (November)
- Grey/Magenta 2015 Lowa's Bora GTX Qc Ws Hiking shoes. They run small so I purchased a size bigger and it fit perfect. You can purchase the newer model for $190 or the 2015 model I have for $114.
-Outdoor Products Hydration Backpack (Lots of pockets and room as well as a hydration pouch and straw. Feels light weight and great for hiking) $29.83
-Work out leggings
- Short sleeve shirts in case you get hot which we did mid-day
-Long sleeve/ light sweater
-North Face jacket
-Long hiking socks; You can find thermal hiking socks at Walmart that are pretty good. I had a couple pairs of Thorlo's which can be pretty pricy for one pair but a great investment if you plan on doing any serious hiking or blister easily. Keep your feet dry!
- Mole Skin if you do blister easily, which you can find at any drug store and pace it where you are most likely to blister.
-Cliff Bars and other snacks for hiking because they tend to be pricier in the area
Links:
Day 1:
The adventure started when our brand new matching pairs of Grey/Magenta 2015 Lowa's Bora GTX Qc Ws hiking shoes came in the mail. A few days later we hopped on the plane and arrived into the tiny airport of St. George's. I arrived a couple hours earlier than my sister and the staff not only noticed but warmed me up dinner. It was such a nice change of pace from the big city. My sister finally arrived and we were not planning on renting a car because we were staying walking distance from Zion. So, we thought to call an Uber, which is not a good plan to have if you are arriving at 2 am in the middle of no where! We got extremely lucky because there was 1 Uber within a 50 mile radius and when he arrived he told us he left it on when he went to sleep by accident but he decided to pick us up because there were none around. He drove us an hour to the town of Springdale and gave us his number if we needed a ride back. We checked into this adorable Inn called Flanigan's Inn and Hotel, which I definitely recommend, and went to sleep!
Day 2:
We woke up a little late and explored the vicinity since we arrived in pitch black darkness. The place was absolutely gorgeous. We went to the lobby where the exceptionally nice owners notified us about their complimentary bicycles outside that were first come first serve. When we asked about pricing they said there was none, so we thought okay... do we need to leave our ID? She responded no to that as well. It was such a culture shock to us coming from big cities to such a trusting small town. She further assured us to leave the bicycles on the side of the trail while hiking and then pick them back up when we were done with the trail, which was completely mind blowing considering it was expected that no one would steal them.
We decided to do a easy trail called the Watchman's Trail. It starts at the visitor's center and ends at a nice view point about 300ft above ground. It was definitely not strenuous as it was only a 3 mile round trip and took only about 1.5 hours to complete. We got to the top and laid down for a little to soak up the view. There was maybe one or two people that we saw on the trail but very secluded and peaceful.
We made our way back and went to the Zion Brew Pub for lunch/dinner. They had amazing selection of food ranging from $10-$30 and their own brewed craft beer. We went home to rest for a little and shower. We ended the night by making our way to the Giant Screen Theater which was a dangerous ride, bicycling down a hill in pitch black darkness. We had to use our phone flashlight which still only allowed us to see a couple inches ahead. We did end up making it safely and went to watch the only movie that was playing, which happened to be Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! We grew up Harry Potter fans so this was perfect.
Day 3:
We started this day off a lot better with breakfast at Oscar's Cafe which was absolutely delicious! They have a menu full culture enriched food to die for. You can get anything from a country breakfast to burritos! Definitely a place you need to try before a big hike!
We then made our way to the Angel's Landing trail. Angel's landing is a 5 mile round trip which took us about 4 hours to complete and that is with stopping at the different view points. We started at the Grotto Trail, which was the 6th stop on the shuttle and made our way over the hiker's bridge and followed the path to the West Rim Trail. The West Rim Trail was the safe part of the trail but also the the strenuously steep uphill lunging part. We finally turn into Refrigerator Canyon which was a nicely shaded break from lunging. We were then led to Walter's Wiggles, which essentially was miniature switchbacks of lunging to get to Scout's Lookout where we sat down, ate a snack, and enjoyed the view. We were about to turn around because we thought we were at the top of Angel's Landing until we looked in the distance and saw this narrow long ridge and people were going on it! We decided to follow. It was insanely exhilarating and terrifying as we made our trek over narrow fully exposed ridges and vertically upward rocks, which thankfully had guard rails at most points, but keep in mind there are parts without any! It was extremely hard when trying to get through with two-way traffic when there was only space for one. We made it though!It was definitely one for the books! Not only did we overcome the physical steep-lunging climb but we overcame the mental fear of climbing up a narrow ridge, unsecured, 1,500 feet above with cliff exposure.
We made our way back down and headed over to Emerald Pools, which happened to be right next to the Grotto start point but in the opposite direction. The trail is an easy 2 mile roundtrip stroll and took us about 2 hours to complete. The name has a nice ring to it and personally did not live up to my expectations. I mean, after seeing Angel's Landing what would am I right? The waterfall was dry and the pools were more like a puddle.... Maybe it was the season or maybe it's global warming, but I have seen beautiful pictures online so do not let this deter you from going on this trail.
We went to MeMe's Cafe for dinner which was really nice to eat outside next to the fire pit. MeMe's has nice variety from burgers to tacos and the most expensive food on the menu is $13.99. We then headed over to Sprindale's Candy Company for desert and if you have a sweet tooth, then this is the place for you! Freshly made chocolate treats will have you drooling. As we ate our chocolate covered strawberries we shopped around in Zion's many artisanal shops. You can find unique artwork, jewelry, crystals and so much more. Exhausted from the day we made our way back to our room for some much needed sleep.
Day 4:
Today we tackle the Narrows! We stopped by for a quick breakfast on the way to Zion at Cafe Soleil. You can get a delicious warm breakfast for about $8-$10 and they have really good smoothies and coffee! After breakfast we made our way to Zion Outfitters where they equipped us with the Dry Pants Package for $41. This package consisted of Dry Pants, Adidas Hydro Lace Canyoneering Boots, 5mm Neoprene socks and a wooden hiking stick. This combination minimizes water getting inside and insulates the water that does. Basically any water that does get in does not feel freezing but room temperature.
We got off the last shuttle stop of Temple of Sinawava and hiked a mile along the Riverside walk and hit the shore where we started hiking against the current in knee to waist deep water. The footing is very slippery as the entire floor is filled with slippery stones so make sure to bring your hiking stick! Along the way you will pass Mystery Falls, beautiful sandstone walls flowing with water and you can press your ear against the wall to hear water trickling from within. Soon after you will hit Wall Street, a gorgeous section of the canyon that starts to thin out and forces you to hike solely through water. You will soon reach Orderville Canyon where you can detour upward, which we did not know we could do at the time. Please keep in mind it can be difficult to go up and even more difficult to go down from what I have heard so research it before you go. We made our way two miles ahead where laid our end destination: Big Springs. When we stopped to take pictures by the waterfall I slipped and fell just like I have been doing during the entire hike but this time my top half submerged in the water past the waist high dry pants (the part without the insulation). Freezing cold, a fellow hiker gave me an extra flannel he had packed so that I can hike the 5 miles back without suffering. So in summary, I fell... a lot but this was one of the most challenging things I have done. 10 mile hike. 8 in the water. 4 against the current. Every one worth it.
We finally returned back to our hotel that has an elegant little restaurant called the Spotted Dog Cafe which has good food ranging from $15-$35. It was definitely the perfect place to have a nice birthday dinner. And that's it! Our trip concluded with one of the nice owners of the hotel driving us an hour to the airport. We honestly could not have had better service.
What I wish we had more time for:
Next time I will definitely be hiking the Subway trail which was unfortunately closed that time of year. I would also like to try canyoneering and rock climbing so Zion Outfitters look out for me!
Yours truly,
-Camila
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