Visiting Zion National Park is one of the best experiences when traveling on the west coast. Park admission is $ 35 per car and is valid for one week. We can also make use of our Annual Pass. It is a pass valid for 12 months with which we can enter all the National Parks of the United States. The NPS Annual Pass (1) costs $ 80 and will be profitable when we plan to visit more than 2 national parks.
Zion National Park receives more than 4 million tourists annually, from April to early October. It can only be visited through the park's free shuttles. This makes the environment free of vehicles parked anywhere, and clean both physically and environmentally. The rest of the year private vehicles can enter, but only because the number of hikers drops too low and the activity of shuttles is forced to stop.
You can park in the Visitor Center and from there take the bus that introduces you inside the Zion canyon, stopping at 9 different places. And if you are staying in Springdale, a town located at the south entrance, you can leave your car at your hotel and take the bus that connects this town with the Visitor Center.
In summer they operate from 5:35 am to 11:15 pm, with a waiting time of 15 minutes or even less. Internal shuttles allow access to some of the most beautiful views and trails in Zion National Park. A round trip takes approximately ninety-five minutes..
What to see in Zion National Park
In Zion National Park you start from the bottom, to go up while exploring the park on one of its walking routes. This is unlike the Grand Canyon or the Bryce national park, where you start from the top to go down trails.
In Zion there are steep cliffs, narrow canyons, panoramic routes, spectacular viewpoints and rocks with amazing beauty. The Virgin River has carved the Zion Canyon, the centerpiece of this park, for millions of years. Zion National Park is named for the first Mormons who came from the East Coast to find a place to settle, referring to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. And they did it here.
Temple of Sinawava is the last stop of the park buses and therefore the end of the road. There begins the Riverside Walk, a 1-mile paved path that runs alongside the Virgin River along a narrow canyon.
When the pavement ends, the Narrows gorge begins. This tour is the most famous in all of Zion, and also the most difficult. This journey is made through the Virgin river bed. To complete the total 14 miles round trip, it is essential to go to the Visitor Center the day before to prepare and find out both the conditions of the Virgin River and the state of the weather
It is advisable to wear Trekking shoes, if possible with goretex. bathing suit and also a second outfit. hermetically sealed. It is also advisable to bring hiking poles to maintain balance while moving along the riverbed. For the complete tour it takes 9 hours at least. but most of those who walk the park barely make half the journey. It is that the views in that part are amazing
At The Grotto Shuttle stop, we have access to the path that leads to the Angels Landing. This hike is the best in Zion National Park. The variety of ways in which we can find our trek to Angels Landing. This 5-mile excursion can be done between 4 and 6 hours (depending on the physical condition of each person). Not recommended for people suffering from vertigo
The tour Starts by the Virgin River to quickly zigzag up a path carved into the rock face, until you reach Refrigerator Canyon. This is a narrow canyon where the light does not usually reach the bottom, so the temperatures are usually lower than in the rest of the park.
When you reach the bottom of Refrigerator Canyon, you trekking a zigzag until you gain height. From here the views start to be amazing.
Then you walk along a ridge that offers vertigo perspectives looking down.
There are places with steps carved into the rock, others with chains to trekking and advance. The final destination is a full panoramic view, one of the best in the Zion National Park.
From The Grotto stop you can also take the path called Kayenta Trail, which takes us to the Emerald Pools in just 1 hour walk. It is about small lagoons, and it is a walk that does not take great effort. You can keep going, ending at Zion Lodge, and continue to experience new sights along the way. Zion Lodge has beautiful meadows to rest, with shops, restaurants, bathrooms and fountains where you can fill your canteens
The Weeping Rock stop is a place where three trails start:
- Hidden Canyon Trail (4 hours round trip), Weeping Rock Trail and the East Rim Trail that takes you to:
- Observation Point (6 hours round trip).
Weeping Rock Trail is an easy hike for all ages, which ends under a slope of rock that weeps water. This trail can be covered in 30 minutes. Hidden Canyon Trail and Observation Point share the beginning of the trail, traveling through places not suitable for people suffering from vertigo.
In Court of the Patriarchs you can see a set of peaks called Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, alluding to the patriarchs of the Bible. These formations can be seen along a path from the Shuttle stop. Canyon Junction gives access to the Pa'rus paved trail, easy and flat so that those with reduced mobility and traveling with a wheelchair can also enjoy the Zion National Park.
This Trail. It is a path in which only 60 minutes are used between the return trip. You reach a scenic point from Pine Creek Canyon with views towards Zion Canyon. The perspective is different from those we may have at Angels Landing. The beginning is as soon as you pass the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, where there is a small parking lot where you can leave your car and start the half-mile walk.
The dimensions of this tunnel are not very large, because when it was built in 1920, heavy vehicles were not very common. So if you go with a trailer, you will have to pay $ 15 to be escorted as you go through the tunnel. The price includes two escorted routes.
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