Destination Accessible: Utah’s Zion National Park

If you’ve got a three-day weekend and are ready for a change of scenery, Zion National Park is the way to go. This park in southwest Utah can be for the mild to wild vacationer.

Zion is about a nine-hour drive via I-70 and I-15, so it’s easily achievable in a day. Unlike national parks like Rocky Mountain and Yosemite, exploring most of the park is feasible without spending as much time driving as you are hiking or exploring.

To access the majority of trailhead, you park at the visitor’s center by the entrance and take a shuttle. Shuttles come by stops about every five minutes and it takes about 40 minutes to ride from the visitor’s center to the final stop. Each shuttle stop has restrooms.

There are 13 trails rated easy to moderate ranging from just less than a half mile to five miles. For example, the Lower Emerald Pool Trail is the fourth stop on the shuttle and just a 1.2-mile loop. The five strenuous hikes range from 2.4 miles to 14 miles. The trails range from gentle to adventurous.

Riverside Walk is a paved 2.2-mile out-and-back trail. It ends at the Narrows — a trail that involves wading in water from ankle to knee deep through the canyon. Many people stop to splash around before heading back on the trail if they’re not traversing the Narrows.

If you decide you want go on the Narrows, it’s important to be prepared.

First, rent shoes from the visitor’s center. It’s worth to have dry socks and the water gets really cold, so you’ll be able to go farther and more comfortably. Second, make sure you have a waterproof case for your phone. You’re walking through water, after all, and there are slippery rocks below your feet. Tread carefully; a slip and fall is a possibility. My recommendation for the Narrows is to do it last. Remember, you’re in the Utah desert so after a day of hiking when the heat is pounding down, it’s a good time to wade through water in the shade of the canyon.

Another good hike for the adventurous is Angel’s Landing.

You start on the West Rim Trail and go about 2.5 miles to Scout’s Lookout. From the lookout you can see the top of Angel’s Landing. There are chains to guide and steady you, but this hike is not for the faint of heart. There are steep inclines and some sections less than three feet wide with a 1000-foot drop on both sides. There are chains on either side of this section. The best time for this trail is early. It gets crowded after 10am and the last thing you want is someone elbowing past you on a narrow section or having to navigate past the steady stream of oncoming people when you’ve decided you’ve had enough.

Your options for lodging are many. There’s a lodge within the park and camping adjacent to the visitor’s center. There are also electric and tent-only campsites roughly a quarter mile from the visitor’s center and shuttle pickup ranging $20 to $30 per night. There are many bed-and-breakfast options in small towns like Rockville and Springdale along the way. Hurricane is the nearest sizable town with many hotel options — even St. George isn’t too far. There’s free camping on a remote, rugged road if you turn on Bridge Road in Rockville, then turn onto 250 South until you get to Smithsonian Butte Road. This place was busy on a weeknight, so get there early unless you’re brave enough to take your four-wheel drive up a hill my Ford Escape couldn’t do.

Like all national parks, there’s a $30-per-vehicle entrance fee. A yearlong multi-park pass is $80, which is your best deal if you plan to visit Rocky Mountain National Park multiple times upon your return to the Denver area, or have plans for any other parks within a year.

As a bonus, the Grand Canyon is about a 2.5-hour drive from Zion if you have time and want to take a jaunt down for a few hours.