October 15-19, 2020
I saw a video on Instagram of someone hiking the chains section at Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. The view from the top looked just like The Great Valley from the movie The Land Before Time. I knew I had to go there. We booked this trip pre-Covid, so some of what drew us here changed drastically. Getting hit by back to back hurricanes and losing electricity for so long didn’t make it any emotionally easier to leave home for a long weekend. Despite all of this the trip turned out to be just what we needed.
>>Getting Around
Springdale Shuttle – free shuttle that runs from the south entrance of Zion National Park throughout the town of Springdale
Zion Park Shuttle – typically free and runs through 9 different stops up the scenic byway, required prepurchased $1 tickets that sell out within minutes for this trip, half the stops were closed for Covid/damaged trails
Private Shuttles – there are numerous shuttles you can hire to drop off and pick up at specific trail stops on the scenic road, often sell out quickly on weekends
Bikes/E-Bikes – bikes are available to rent and ride around Springdale and in the park, all e-bikes were expensive and sold out so book before your trip if that’s your thing, arrival at Zion Outfitters at the park entrance when they opened at 7 am resulted in the rental of regular bikes for us
Rental Car – we rented a car to get from Las Vegas airport to Springdale (2.5 hours), parking at our hotel was free, driving through the east side of Zion is highly recommended, IMPORTANT: check the address of your car rental place and see if it matches the free airport shuttle car rental address (we had to Lyft)
>>Stay
La Quinta by Wyndham Springdale/Zion – 360º views of mountains, had a more upscale feel (like a little lodge), rooms were spacious and clean, there is a nice heated pool area, free parking and free breakfast (was grab & go style instead of buffet due to Covid), front desk attendants were friendly, deer were wandering around and the place was very cute, beds were comfy and water pressure was good
>>Eat
Oscar’s Cafe – a local favorite, fusion Mexican & burgers, local beer on tap, my bacon avocado and turkey sandwich was delicious
Zion Canyon Brew Pub – higher priced with great views near park entrance, snacked on yummy nachos that were on homemade potato chips with bacon jam followed by bread pudding, good selection of different style brews on draft
Zion Pizza & Noodle Company – cool atmosphere, the recommended glass of wine was very tasty, good pizza, okay pasta
FeelLove Coffee – interesting coffee/tea selection, very hippie vegan friendly vibe, the vegan ice cream was actually very good (they had free samples out), our iced coffees were fantastic
*Deep Creek Coffee Company – worth the wait, decent hot coffee, very good breakfast, outside seating at picnic table only due to Covid
*River Rock Roasters (in La Verkin) – one of my favorite meals, short drive from Springdale, the coffee beer ($4 draft pints!) and food (I had pizza & Jason had a HUGE salad) was all perfection, the views are gorgeous and you can hear the river
Jacks – more American food style sports bar, they smoke their own BBQ and it was tasty but not very seasoned (to be expected)
*MeMe’s Cafe – I wish we’d eaten here more than once but we didn’t go until our last day, the food was both our favorite of the whole trip (Hawaiian & Cubano sandwiches), also had a few local beers on tap
Casa de Amigos – the only true Mexican place around, very large portions (think 2 tacos instead of 3-4), delicious chips and dip, the margaritas looked good but we went with Mexican Coke
>>Play
ZION NATIONAL PARK:
*Angel’s Landing – this is exactly what we came for, the trail takes time due to numerous switchbacks and the one way “trail” of the chains section (which luckily reopened just 4 weeks before we visited), mentally challenging trek for many, the views were worth it
Lower Emerald Pools – the waterfalls were barely a trickle, I imagine this can be beautiful but everything was pretty dry when we visited so we skipped middle and upper pools
*Pa’rus (aka bike trial) – we rode this on our bikes on our way down the mountain and it was wonderful, no cars go this way, the scenery from down in the canyon is amazing, the only spot where we saw mountain goats!
Riverside Walk (leads to Narrows) – enjoyed this trail on our walk back as we thawed from the water at The Narrows, beautiful water and lots of greenery, be prepared to walk in sand
The Narrows – not our cup of tea, it is very pretty but the water was WAY too cold for us so we did not go very far and have no regrets about it
Watchman Trail – gradual winding easy hike to a view looking out over Springdale, pretty but not amazing
Grotto Trail – connects trailhead from Angel’s Landing to Zion Lodge where you can buy snacks and drinks, we opted for hot coffees to finish thawing out, more practical than scenic
*Canyon Overlook – on other side of tunnel when you drive east, really great hike with pretty scenery, views all around from the top, cool rock formations to climb once you’re up there
Checkerboard Mesa – this is right off the road and easy to climb on, the scenery/mesas on this side of the park are vastly different from what you see from the scenic drive
Closed Hikes – we were unable to Weeping Rock, Observation Point, and Hidden Canyon because they were closed
Wilderness Trails – there are way more trail options than where these shuttles drop you off, but there is only so much time in one day and we did everything we could in our long weekend, this just gives us a good reason for a return trip
ALL TRAILS APP – I didn’t think to utilize this once we were driving through the east part of Zion because there is very little cell phone reception there, PLAN AHEAD and map out where some unlisted trailheads are because there are a few more (shorter) trails we would have liked to check out
GRAFTON:
Ghost Town – minutes south of Springdale there is a small road called Bridge Road (can ya guess why?) where you can swing the next right and keep on driving, the scenery is gorgeous and the road turns to dirt, eventually you will get to the quaint but beautiful Grafton Ghost Town, there has been preservation of buildings that you can walk through
Cemetery – back track a little to see some really old graves, then venture on the bike trails for a nice hike for some better views, it was way quieter and there were no crowds on these trails
SPRINGDALE: besides eating, there are a few ice cream shops, gift shops, and some really great local art galleries to stroll through with the mountain scenery surrounding you on all sides
Other Stuff Worth Mentioning – we stocked up on beer and water for the mini fridge at Walmart in Hurricane on the way in, it’s cool at night and warm during the day this time of year so bring some easy layers, park entry for 7 days in a car was $35 and we only did this on our last day #facepalm, whether you want to actually hike in the park or not this area is gorgeous and worth visiting!
Breauxs Geaux 