Zion National Park Favorites

Favorite thing: Zion means sanctuary and peace. These are things I routinely feel every time I visit Zion's canyon. It is a refuge from the world, spend even a day here and the cares of the world disappear. I have camped, hiked and played here and felt like it was my own private park. Even during the heat of the summer crowds I have found quiet and peace off the beaten path.
If you take the opportunity you can enjoy the beauty of this park and come away renewed and centered on the important matters of life.

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Favorite thing: Go through the mile-long tunnel in your car. Either way you are traveling, you'll want to stop at the east entrance of the main tunnel (park your vehicle), and hike the overlook trail (1/2 mile each direction). This is the best way to see the park, from the top-down without significant effort.

Fondest memory: Two of the best things to do in Zion are to catch a view of the bighorn sheep that wander on the east side of the tunnel at Zion National Park. You can see a photo of one of them on this site: http://www.dozionnationalpark.com. and I have attached a few pictures of the bighorn sheep.

And we hiked the Angels Landing trail. See a picture from the top in this post.

We also stayed at Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort on the east side of the park and we enjoyed their activities (climbing wall especially). We stayed in a vacation home that was quite deluxe.

Fondest memory: We finally broke through to some incredible slick rock formations in hues of pale orange and cream, more reminiscent of though still quite different from Zion's more famous valley. This was however fleeting and we again found ourselves in a forest, though this time one obviously ravaged by a fire. The scenery became mundane and the lack of hikers was easy for us to understand. Spectacular it was not. We got to camp on the late side but it too did not seem of special merit. After setting up, I went off to look for the elusive spring on our map. The gurgle I found was hardly a spring and I wished I'd had a pump filter rather than the chemical purification we'd brought at that point.

Back at camp, we cooked dinner, and sat eating it, washing it down with water stocked with various floaters, all the while looking out at the unremarkable scenery. Despite just about perfect climatic conditions, we got in the tent as soon as it got dark, as much due to boredom as it being spooky in the burned down forest.

The next morning everything looked a lot better and our breakfast was much enjoyed. Our camp started to look more and more like a homestead. We felt like Mormon pioneers who'd been dealt a nice cleared plot of land, perfect for farming. Well, I was reminded of our meager water source on fetching the morning's supply and again to get plenty for the day's hike. It was quite a walk but I figured the pioneers must have had it a lot worse than we did. (concluded below in Fondest Memory)

Fondest memory: That day's hike to an overlook of the Zion valley and Angel's Landing in particular was far better. The scenery was more varied and the goal a better reward for our efforts. We passed a campsite we had debated on reserving but it was really too far in for an overnight trip. It would be more suitable for a three night hike. We enjoyed a snack there and carried on to Zion's valley which was surprisingly quite a drop down from where we were. The views were magnificent and we only saw one other party the whole day, something very rare in this level of splendor.

The slog back up to our plateau was grueling but at least we were just carrying a day pack and we were soon back at our dream camp spot wishing our tent had been magically transported there. But the truth was we still had quite a bit of hiking to do so set off quickly and with purpose. Our homestead awaited us and somehow now looked forward to getting back to it. The final stretch of trail was boring and we were tired. Our little tent never looked so inviting on our return and even the burnt down forest seemed friendlier. After fetching the water, we sat once again to have our evening meal but unlike the day before there was no breeze to keep the bugs at bay. The reality of life is springs don't always spring, sometimes they gurgle. Sometimes the breeze blows and other times it doesn't You have to learn to appreciate the things given to you by nature when given. It might not always be what you came looking for but if you look just a bit closer, it might just be exactly what you need.

Fondest memory: Small gnats flew around my head, a reminder to enjoy what you have when you have it. Just twenty-four hours earlier in the very exact spot, sans the insects, I had sat, sadly looking at the remnants of a burned down forest, wishing our choice of a camping spot had been more lush and vibrant. It's funny what some perspective and a little breeze can do.

Arriving at Zion National Park in Utah just under a week earlier, we had not planned on doing any backpacking. We'd just finished a two night hike into the Grand Canyon and looked forward to some medium length walks in Zion and especially not lugging our backpacks around. But after tackling just about every hike in Zion Valley we had not had enough of the gorgeous valley and looked for more to do to enjoy a bit longer. A two night backpacking trip on the West Rim was too easily arranged and for only $10; it was hard to resist.

The drive to the remote Kolob Terrace area of the park was pretty and if we had wanted to escape the crowds, we couldn't have made a better move. The trail head at Lava Point was not only empty but showed ample signs that winter had just barely ended in that part of Zion. There was lots of ice and we felt guilty leaving our car in the frigid, lonely patch that was to pass for a parking area. We marched off through some sizeable snow drifts through a rural area that looked more like a closed for the season ski resort than a National Park and were soon tramping through mostly forest, wondering who had turned the light switch off on all of Zion's breathtaking red rock scenery. (continued below in Fondest Memory)

Favorite thing: This is a wonderful site for anyone wishing to visit Zion National Park. Some of the items covered include activities to do in the area, lodging information, dining information, shopping, services, events, shuttle bus, and information about the park itself. This is a very valuable site; well laid out with extensive information, addresses, web sites, phone numbers, and descriptions.
Web site www.zionpark.com
Address: P.O. Box 331, Springdale, Utah 84767
Phone 1-888-1518-7070

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Favorite thing: My favorite things about Zion National Park are the number of different things to do there. If I had to pick a favorite hike it would have to be the Narrows.

Fondest memory: While Zion wasn't our favorite National Park, it was still serene and beautiful. You can't go wrong if you choose to visit there.

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Favorite thing: this picture was taken from the campground after a hard long day in the wild !! was amazing how short the sunset is there... due to this is a valley with mountains ahead and behind. It took just 5-10 min to get this beautiful light on the walls.. so so few time ..so pay much attention if u love sunset pics and u wish to catch it !!