National Park #23: Zion

We moved back to Southern California in the summer for some Mary’s great career opportunity and got the itch to explore some national parks. With our kids having Thanksgiving week off, we decided to explore Southern Utah at Zion and Bryce Canyon. We considered a day trip to Capitol Reef as well, but the drive times were too long. We also had a new addition, our adopted puppy from Mexico, Uno!

With our kids not having class during the week of Thanksgiving, we decided to take this trip during the shoulder season when permits and park density aren’t as much of an issue. For lodging, some of the campgrounds were closed or too cold for tent camping, so we opted for an AirBNB in Hurricane, UT, about 40 minutes away from the entrance of the park. It ended up being a great location as it was also near some state parks that also were phenomenal. We’re going to try and do some camping with Uno, but this trip was not going to be the maiden voyage.

The plan was for a few days in the park to explore its signature locations, including hiking in The Narrows and exploring as much as Angels Landing as possible pending our ability to get a permit.

Having the new puppy threw a few curveballs into our planning. Dogs aren’t allowed on the shuttle buses and are not allowed in the The Narrows since the Virgin River is around 40 or 50 degrees. I hung around the Visitors Center with the dog while Mary and the girls rented drysuits, took the shuttle bus, and hiked a few miles up into the Virgin River as the Zion Canyon gets very narrow and steep. Uno and I walked around the Pa’rus Trail for a few miles and saw a nice buck wandering around the valley. We also said hi to every single person who walked past us. The temperatures peaked around 63 degrees which was really awesome to relax in the sun in between our hikes.

The next day had the four of us out the door early to hike up to the Scout Lookout via the West Rim Trail. It was a 4 mile roundtrip hike that put us as the base of Angels Landing, a crazy intense hike around a very narrow walkway. We didn’t get a permit for Angels Landing, but we still had some nice views followed by some explorations around Weeping Rock and the Canyon Overlook Trail.

Looking back on Zion, below we each had a our favorite parts of the trip:

Mary: hiking with my chickies in the Narrows was a really special time. Seeing their faces as we entered the water and then wandered further and further up the canyon was really memorable.

Quincy: The Narrows in the drysuits was cool. My feet got a little cold, but I loved it.

Leona: The Narrows. It was really fun to hike in the river.

Sean: Hiking up the West Rim Trail was a cool little trip with the ladies. The girls were sprinting ahead of us and really loving their time in nature. Which is always the goal.

If we ever make it back in the future, we’ll come in the warmer months and consider hiking further up the Narrows to do some backpacking camping at some primitive sites.