Zion National Park

Zion is a busy, bustling little park - and there's a good reason why it gets almost 3 million visitors each year. These canyons are truly unbelievable. Due to the high number of visitors, personal vehicles are not allowed on the main road and instead there is a shuttle service that ferries visitors through the park. We actually really enjoyed using the shuttle - it wasn't too busy, they run every 10-15 minutes, and we found it relaxing to sit back and cruise through the canyons without needing to worry about navigating our way around. Our campground was a short walk from the visitors center shuttle stop, so all we had to do was roll out of our sleeping bags, throw on our shoes and walk over! This was very convenient as we tried to get an early start each morning to beat the crowds on the trails. I would highly recommend this if you want a more relaxing and secluded hiking experience because the trails get very busy by 10am. Even though it means waking up and hitting the trail in the dark & cold, we found it was definitely worth it! We'd start at the trailhead with just a handful of other hikers who'd soon disperse based on varying hiking speed; but on the way back down we'd pass dozens and dozens of hikers heading out, making for very crowded trails.

We stayed at the Watchman campground at a walk-in tent site. The campsite is usually booked but we managed to get a few nights mid-week! The view from our campsite of the Watchman was kind of epic:

We also had some very friendly visitors every evening:

We did a lot of hiking in Zion - many of the trails we wanted to do were closed, but we hiked a few small trails and some of the bigger ones that have been on our bucket list!

The Watchman Trail (1.8 miles) This trail took off from our campground. We hiked it one evening just before the sun set.

Emerald Pools (1 mile) A quick hike to the lower emerald pool - the upper emerald pool is the main attraction, but the trail was closed.

Angel's Landing (4 miles) This was one of my favorite hikes ever! It definitely pushed me past my comfort zone. The first stretch of the trail is steep, with a section called "the wiggles" including 21 switchbacks. The second part follows a narrow, exposed ridge with thousand-foot drop offs on either side. It is lined with chains to hold on to as you scramble over the rocks. Because we started out so early, it was cold and the wind was icy as we came up the ridge. When we got to the top, it was 100% worth it - the views were incredible!

The Narrows (5 miles) This hike was epic. The Narrows "trail" is really just the Virgin River flowing through the narrowest section of Zion Canyon. Starting at the Temple of Sinewava, a short paved trail takes you down to the river's edge. From then on, you're in the water most of the way. There were quite a few sand bars along the way to get out of the water for a rest. We rented waterproof boots and pants because it was about 40 degrees when we started out on our hike. We made it about 2-3 miles in before we got to a section of the river that was too deep for us to cross - I would have been up to my chest in the water to get past! Most of the rest of the way was about knee deep. I would love to go back and do this trail in the summer when it's warmer and possibly make it deeper into the canyon. However, doing the trail in the fall had its perks - we only saw 2 other hikers during our hike in!