Morning of day2 of a road trip with my son from AZ to WA. We stopped in Hurricane, UT overnight so…read morewe could visit Zion National Park the next morning. It was a beautiful overcast day in the park where we got a few short showers. We parked in the visitor lot just early enough to find a few open parking spots (when we returned the lot was full and cars were everywhere trying to usher people out so they could take their spot). We took the shuttle to the stop at the end and did a casual hike along the river and the canyon walls. It was an amazing spot and we wished we had time for the 7-hour experience but was had to get to Boise before the end of the day. After about 1 hour we arrived back at the first stop and did another 1 hour hike around one of the main intermediate trails. The beauty of Zion is everywhere- the rock formations, the rivers, the waterfalls, the vegetation, the animals and more. We spent an hour more than we planned just to soak as much in as we could! I'm definitely coming back here in the future to spend a full day or more with the family. We only saw the tip of the iceberg and it was amazing!

First and more importantly, arrive early. Zion's visitor center has a small and limited parking…read morelot, if no spots are available, then your option is to First and more importantly, arrive early. Zion's visitor center has a small and limited parking lot, if no spots are available, then your option is to park in town at Springdale and shuttle in. We parked at the closest parking lot to the park, it was $42, I am not sure if other lots have a charge but I would assume so. This park is primarily accessible by shuttle, after passing the ticket booth, you will proceed on the shuttle to your desired destination. We first did the 3 Emerald Pool hikes, we were not impressed with the hikes, the pools were primarily dried up and there was not much to see. We proceeded to the Narrows, a 1/2 mile trail ended up in the river and the rest of the hike is on foot. We proceeded 2.5 miles into the river and the deepest the water reached was mid-thigh. We did hear the water got as deep as chest high a bit farther. The rapids were strong, so chest deep water would've been difficult to maneuver. We wore keen hiking sandals and did not rent water shoes or sticks. The sandals worked fine, we could see how it is beneficial to have a walking stick to test the depth of the water or where a rock might be. High risk for rolling ankles so move carefully. This was an enjoyable hike. We spent 1 full day at Zion, we later determined we needed a second day to get more of a Zion experience. With everything, bring plenty of water and salty snacks. There are some water refill stations along the way but be sure to check in advance. I recommend having a hydration pack with a water bladder, plenty of sunscreen, bandaids and a hat. It was 102 degree F our day in Zion mid sept.

Our family of three rented gear to hike the narrows and booked a canyoneering tour through Zion…read moreGuru. Both were excellent and easy. Our guide was Nate and he was fantastic. We had a great day with him (including our 9-year old daughter). Nate made the day enjoyable, educated us about Zion National Park, the surrounding area, and some info about the rock formations. He also gave us great options along the way to help us choose our own adventure. We will definitely be back and we will definitely reserve a guide again!

We booked e-bikes and a canyoneering tour. Booking process was very easy. our canyoneering guide…read morePierce was fantastic. One of the best experience I've ever had. Pierce is from the area and knows so much of the history. He explained everything and paid close attention to details. It is a private tour and catered to your skill level and ability. I can't say enough about how great this experience was for my boyfriend and I. We had so much fun! E-bike rental process was very quick and easy. We picked ours up the night before. The battery went a little low the next afternoon so we popped in for a quick battery exchange. E-bikes are definitely the way to travel around the park. Everyone at Zion Guru was friendly and helpful. I highly recommend this business.

I love how there's a variety of hikes in Zion National Park that visitors with different levels of…read moremobility can use. The Pa'rus (Paiute for bubbling water ) Trail follows the Virgin River and so it's pretty flat. The trail is paved and so if you have wheels (as in bike, wheel chair, walker, etc) or have a dog, this is the trail for you! The view of the river is beautiful, and gorgeous views of the Watchman. There is some shade from the vegetation lining the riverbanks, and I feel like that the temperature is cooler due to the water nearby, although this might be placebo. I didn't see many people on this trail, probably because it's underrated. Occasionally, there are information panels alongside the trail, which discuss ecology, geology, and human history. Great for learning!

We drove up to Vegas for the day and had an incredible time on this trail! It was so beautiful my…read morefirst time in Zion and it was absolutely stunning! Fairly easy trail and we took a dip in the ice cold water too! Looking forward to going back again soon!

Located at the Temple of Sinawava, which is shuttle stop #9 when the shuttle is running, this is a…read morenice paved two mile round trip walk alongside the Virgin River. I got to see turkeys and deer though, so don't go rushing through or else you might miss some sweet wildlife viewing. If it has rained recently, there might be puddles or spots of mud. The trail ends at the river where The Narrows begin - aptly named as it's the most narrow part of the gorge. This hike passes through some swampland which is unusual terrain in the desert. It's due to the erosive forces of flash floods. Speaking of which, you shouldn't enter the The Narrows if there's any rain in the weather forecast or any rain in the surrounding areas. It's too risky to be caught in the canyon with any chance of flash floods. The trailhead/parking lot has water, as well as a lot of porta-potties.

This hike is everything I read about it - chill, easy, paved, and CROWDED. Lots of families with…read morekids and strollers and people just headed to the narrows along this path. I still enjoyed it and had fun going to the beginning of the narrows before turning back (which lots of people do who don't want to get wet). It's not a long walk either, like a mile or so so you can do it fast. It starts at the temple of Sinawava, plenty of signs point the way towards it. Would rec the walk even if you aren't going to do the narrows itself, just for the vibes :)

This is an amazing hike! The NPS implemented a lottery system to cap the number of hikers per day…read moreto ensure safety. There are chains which you use to help navigate the trail, so if the trail is overloaded it could get backed up and potentially increase the number of slips and (potentially life threatening) falls. When I visited, someone had actually fallen to their death a day or two prior (RIP), and when I got to Scout Lookout, I overhead several people deciding to not complete the trail despite having permits. I think this helped reduce congestion. Another tip is that not a lot of people want to hike this later in the day, so if you start hiking past 2-3 PM, not a lot of hikers will be on the chains. The end of the trail will give expansive views of Zion Canyon. You will definitely want to take a rest here and enjoy some snacks of one of the most scenic views in the United States. The ground squirrels and chipmunks are also quite friendly, having associated people with accidentally dropped food during snack breaks. They will literally crawl on you and are quite persistent on trying to share your food. There are bathrooms on Scout Lookout, but no water. There's an NPS ranger and a volunteer who will check your permits. They usually leave by mid afternoon. Have permits printed out as reception may be spotty. 100/10 hike

This was a thrilling hike and definitely a national park bucket list item to check off! We were…read morelucky to both get next day lottery permits for Friday afternoon, but it turns out there were no rangers stationed there in the afternoon. I have heard rangers are usually only there in the morning, so one could probably hike without permits if you wait for later in the day. Including breaks and 20 minutes at the top, we took three hours in total. Even in March, it was hot, and I probably should've brought more than 1.5 L of water. I logged a 4.8-4.9 mile hike from the Grotto trailhead up to Angels Landing and back down again. The hike up to Scout Lookout was challenging because of the elevation, while Angels Landing was more challenging due to the technical aspect. They have chains to hold on to in most of the sections. People brought their young children to hike, which I think is irresponsible and dangerous when one small slip could mean a tumble down the canyon.

We did the morning Half Day Family Slot Canyon Tour at Lambs Knoll, and our guide Forrest made the…read moretrip. While some of us had rappelled before, none of us had been canyoneering. Forrest struck the perfect balance -- fun, knowledgeable, and great with kids -- so everyone felt completely safe and comfortable while still having an amazing time. Our 9- and 11-year-olds crushed 50-foot rappels and were so proud of themselves. Highly recommend, and we'd book with Forrest and Zion Adventures again without hesitation. We also rented our Narrows gear through them, using the new Virgin location instead of Springdale. It was more convenient for us since we were staying in Hurricane, making it easy to pick up gear the night before. Easy process, and Maile made sure we had everything we needed plus all the info necessary to stay safe on the hike. One tip: if you're not staying in Springdale and are booking a canyoneering tour, book the Virgin location. It's right by Kolob Canyon Road where Lambs Knoll is, so it saves you the drive into Springdale.

Rented e-bikes for the day to ride around in zion. All of the employees are wonderful and you can…read moretell really love working there, but just wanted to shout chandler out for helping our group out. We had never ridden e-bikes before, and he was so helpful in answering all of our questions and making us feel comfortable with the bikes before we took off on our adventure. He was so friendly and charismatic and made our experience go smoothly and a great time.

I really enjoyed this hike!! It ended up being quite a bit longer than I'd anticipated but I think…read moreit was worth it. It starts near the visitor center but wraps around the canyon face to end with a lovely overlook view of the canyon, with the watchman mountains to your left and the visitor center/springdale straight ahead. It's rockier than I thought it would be here, definitely watch your step. It took me a solid couple hours to do round trip and I'd already done several hikes that day/was tired so bear it in mind! But of all the hikes I did in Zion, this was actually one of my favorites (aside from Angel's landing). Would recommend!

My favorite hike we did over the 3 days at Zion. Beautiful views of the town of Springdale and…read moresurrounding area. Moderate hike up and good for children if they are behaved. Few parts of the trail get a little narrow but for the majority it wasn't too bad. I recommend getting up early and beating the day time heat.

This might just be my fave hike that we did during our whole trip to Zion! It's quite an adventure…read more- made me feel like a true explorer!! You'll be walking in dry creek beds and scrambling up dry, smooth waterfalls with chains of little pools (some really deep!) spilling down the mountains- and lots of rock scrambling up the mountains too- very similar to Angels Landing, but without the chains and maybe not quite as steep or dangerous for the most part. You start out going down the steep hill from the parking lot down into the Clear Creek bed and follow that until you get to the cool tunnel that takes you under highway 9. That's when you get into the Pine Creek bed that you'll pretty much follow the whole way. We definitely needed our poles and proper hiking boots. The rocks are smooth, slanted greatly in lots of places, and slick. This trail is definitely NOT for beginners - it's moderate in places and pretty strenuous in others. We made it up over 6000 feet as well! The trail isn't marked at all - very unclear - you'll really be dependent on a trail map - and it's not on the National Parks website or their maps! I think they like to keep it a secret lol. Luckily I had downloaded the trail map on the AllTrails app or we wouldn't never been able to do the whole trail. I highly recommend you do the same - and be sure to do it before you come into the park Bc we had ZERO signal most of the time. It's very much a hidden gem - we didn't see another soul and had the whole hike to ourselves! That being said, I would strongly recommend you don't hike this alone and bring bear spray and take all back country trail safety precautions. Parking is in a small lot not too long after the Mt Carmel tunnel (the big, main tunnel) and it'll be on your right. It has a tiny little building in it with a green roof which is the bathrooms yay!! They were fairly clean and well maintained but hardly had any TP so you may wanna bring some just in case.

It was a bit hard to locate the trailhead, but so happy we didn't give up wandering in circles &…read morewere able to run into people who pointed us in the right direction, because it was gorgeous & fun! When parking at the main lot, where GPS "Many Pools Trailhead" will bring you to, stand facing the bathrooms, with the larger river on your right. Then head all the way to the left, down the hill towards the woods. You'll be able to see a small trail in the sand headed down the hill around the left, almost seemingly under the road...that's it! The trail leads through the wooded area, through a tunnel (easy to navigate despite having ample water), and into a clearing where you being to hike up flat rocks, seeing the pools as you ascend to the top. We thought the pools were fascinating, as they had various shapes, depths, and the occasional waterfall. Would say this is a moderate hike, because of the incline, timing is based solely on how long you'd want to wander around each section- we also explored the river section opposite the trail if you go right from the parking lot down to the "beach area"

When the Zion Canyon Shuttle is running, Weeping Rock is shuttle stop #7…read more This trail is pretty short at 0.4 miles, but it is pretty steep with stairs at the end! If you are fit and fast, maybe you could do it in 10 minutes, but if you want to enjoy a slower pace or have small kids, maybe budget closer to 45 minutes. This area drips continuously since the Navajo Sandstone layer is porous like a sponge and so water runs through it and seeps out due to gravity. Do not expect a waterfall at the end of this hike. Standing in the alcove, you can see down the valley and admire Angels Landing, the Great White Throne, etc. The hike is definitely unique and worth checking out if you have some time in your schedule. It does get crowded and there were a bunch of people filming themselves at the end of the trail (for social media?) so if you're looking for solitude this place isn't it.

Weeping Rock was one of my favorite hikes at Zion National Park!…read more It's considered an easy trail, but just a heads up, it is steep going up. It's not a long hike at all, but that incline definitely caught me a little off guard. If you take your time, though, it's very doable and completely worth it. You get to it from shuttle stop #7, so it's easy to add into your day if you're already using the Zion shuttle. Once you make your way up, the view is beautiful. You get this really pretty look at Zion, and then you have the water dripping down from the rocks, almost like little waterfalls. That part was my favorite. It felt peaceful, cool, and different from the other stops I visited in the park. There's just something about standing there with the canyon around you and the water coming down that makes it feel special! Even with the steep walk up, I'm so glad I did this trail! It was short, scenic, and ended up being one of the most memorable parts of my Zion trip! If Weeping Rock is open when you visit, I'd definitely make time for it.

Yes, it's pricey, but the quality is excellent and the convenience can't be beat…read more I'll admit I was skeptical. Seeing crowds of tourists in identical boots carrying the same poles felt like classic herd behavior and an unnecessary upsell. I was wrong. The rocks in The Narrows are uneven, slippery, and constantly changing. The boots provided great traction, and the pole was invaluable for both balance and gauging water depth. Could you buy cheaper gear for about the same price? Probably. But it likely wouldn't be as good, and you'd have to carry it around. Sometimes there's a good reason to follow the herd. This was one of those times.

If you are doing the narrows I would def recommend getting at the very least a walking stick even…read morefor dryer season. The water and rocky terrain can be a bit tough. The boots are a bonus if you don't like wet socks. The location is right by the entrance of the park and opens early compared to other places so even if last minute (like I was) you can still make purchases before your excursion. The value in terms of price for me was good and the customer service was really good (clear directions and orderly set up).