I was lucky to spend 1.5 days in Zion National Park with B + M in September. I had driven through Zion a couple of times before and can’t really say why we had never made time to spend a day or two at the park itself. I guess we were always ‘squeezed for time’ and prioritized other destinations. But what a mistake!
Come to find out: Zion is an amazing park! Duh!
There is lodging in Springdale, right outside the southern entrance of the park, but as you can guess: it’s expensive. At least for students on a tight budget. There is also a lodge inside the park, but again, out of our price range. The cheapest option we could find was an AirBnB in Kanab, which is about an hour east outside of the park. It wasn’t ideal (especially since we were coming back to the park the next day), but it was also not completely terrible. After all, the drive was scenic and relatively uncrowded.
If you want to ask why we didn’t stay at one of the campgrounds in the park and its vicinity, the easy answer is: I am not an experienced camper (especially not with the wildlife that is present in the Southwestern US) and we weren’t equipped for it. I also suspect (although I didn’t check because of the above reasons) that it would have been difficult to find a campsite on relatively short notice (at least in Yosemite NP, campgrounds are booked months in advance).
Either way, the AirBnb worked out just fine and I would recommend it. (See more travel tips below.)
We had 1.5 days in the park and had to decide which hikes we wanted to do. We settled on the Upper and Lower Emerald Pools for the first half day and Angel’s Landing for the full day.
EMERALD POOLS
We parked our car near the Visitor’s Center and hopped on the shuttle bus that loops through the park.
We got off the bus at “Zion Lodge ” and entered the trailhead to the Emerald Pools Loop Trail. It’s a 2.5 mile round-trip hike to all three – upper, middle, and lower pools.
Zion Lodge Trailhead
Virgin River
The trail was partially paved and only the trail part to the upper pool had a bit of a steeper part. It was the perfect hike for the first day. The views were gorgeous and the waterfalls and pools almost a bit of a surprise in the otherwise arid climate.
Upper Emerald Pools
Lower Emerald Pools
Canyon Overlook Trail
Before we left the park to head to our lodging in Kanab, we stopped to hike the Canyon Overlook Trail. We had a bit of time to spare and it’s a 1-mile round trip (moderate) hike to an overlook of lower Zion Canyon.
We almost turned around after a close encounter with some wildlife. I had just told M that yes, there were some unusual (for German standards) animals in the southwest but that I had never ecountered any in all the years that I lived here, when M stopped dead in her tracks and pointed at the trail ahead of us: a tarantula.
I know, I know, the tarantula was probably more scared of us than we were of her, but it definitely took us a minute to ‘squeeze’ by her. (I know, I am a wuss.) I can now appreciate the experience of seeing a tarantula in the wild, especially because one is apparently quite lucky to see them out during the day.
The Canyon Overlook is the only trail I had previously hiked with my parents and we arrived at the perfect time to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Canyon Overlook
This was the road out of the park to Kanab. Not a bad view, right?
Some travel tips:
+ If you’re looking for cheaper lodging, stay in Kanab. It’s about an hour outside of Zion National Park, but it’s definitely not too bad of a drive, even if you’re looking to spend multiple days in the park.
+ Kanab has a supermarket where we stocked up on water, snacks, breakfast, and lunch food. As I mentioned, B + M are students and were on the budget, so we tried to keep the cost for eating out as low as possible.
+ Bring water bottles. You can refill your water bottles in the park for free, but food is expensive.
+ If you plan to visit more than 2 National Parks on your trip, consider getting the annual National Park Pass. Entry for each park (per car) is around $30-40, but the National Park Pass grants you entry to all parks and only costs $80. You can save quite a bit if you’re visiting multiple parks on your trip.
Make sure to check back for the recap of our hike of Angel’s Landing.
Tanja
November 6, 2017 at 8:17 amWhat a great view / hike. It has been way too long since I visit Zion……
san
November 9, 2017 at 9:29 amYou gotta go… or should I say, we gotta go? ;)
Tanja
November 9, 2017 at 9:51 amWE!!!
san
November 11, 2017 at 4:47 pm:) :) :)
Beth
November 6, 2017 at 1:26 pmThis looks like a lovely trip! The pictures are breathtaking, so many gorgeous sites! I would have been quite fearful of the tarantula too, I can’t believe you saw one up close! Wow!
san
November 9, 2017 at 9:30 amBelieve me, I was scared of the tarantula , too…. M and I literally contemplated going back to the car LOL (now I can laugh about that)
Megan @ Meg Go Run
November 6, 2017 at 2:04 pmIt’s absolutely breathtaking. Utah is on our list. Where would you recommend? I assume Bryce and Zion. What else?
san
November 9, 2017 at 9:30 amYes, Zion and Bryce (they’re fairly close together)…and Arches and Canyonlands, if you can get to it and Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyons near Page, AZ.
Akaleistar
November 6, 2017 at 4:30 pmWhat an incredible place to explore!
san
November 9, 2017 at 9:30 amLOVE IT!
ShootingStarsMag
November 6, 2017 at 5:28 pmThat’s great you found a place to say that wasn’t too far away and was in the budget. Looks beautiful!
san
November 9, 2017 at 9:31 amIt was amazing.
Lisa @ Mile by Mile
November 7, 2017 at 2:00 amLooks like an amazing trip! I would have freaked out too seeing the tarantula. Sounds like a smart decision to stay a little farther away from the park, especially if you get to enjoy a scenic drive to get there!
san
November 9, 2017 at 9:31 amThe tarantula totally freaked me out… LOL Silly, I know.
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
November 7, 2017 at 7:45 amWow, those views are gorgeous! I have never been to Zion but it’s one of the parks that I would love to visit some day. I can’t wait to hear about your Angel’s Landing hike. I have heard such great things about it!
I would have been terrified by the tarantula, too. I hate spiders. My brother actually ordered a tarantula in the mail when he was in high school. He wanted it as a pet. he did not tell my mom that he ordered it so she was VERY SURPRISED when it showed up in the mail one day!! I was so terrified of that thing. I knew it would never get out but it just creeped me out SO MUCH.
san
November 9, 2017 at 9:32 amYOUR BROTHER ORDERED A TARANTULA TO YOUR HOUSE??? OMG!
What didy ou do with it?
I freaked out just seeing it outdoors, I could not imagine having one at home. One of my friends on IG has a pet tarantula and I literally drop my phone whenever she posts a video of it (because it freaks me out so much). I have her pay for a new phone if I ever shatter my screen because of that.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
November 12, 2017 at 11:36 pmThis sounds fun! I actually think we did the Emerald Pool hike. At least the images seem so familiar. And we didn’t much prepare just jump off the car somewhere and started walking. But it was gorgeous and we saw a turkey family on the way which I learnt later is rather rare too. I mentioned it before Zion was my favorite park of all.
Happy Monday
Tobia
Terra
November 17, 2017 at 8:57 amLOVE IT! I saw my first tarantula when I was in New Mexico and after the initial shock I calmed down about it. The path was pretty wide, but still, I gave that sucker a lot of space when I walked around him.