Zion National Park

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Zion National Park is probably one of my favorite National Parks! Due to a cramped trip we only had about one day here (the night before and the early day following). But this was worth the stop easily.

Typically we make a point to drive through national parks at night and we always get rewarding moonlit views and see wildlife so we made a point to start our trip off with this. Driving through the valley at night was really neat with the moonlight hitting the valley walls, but also the river sounds were incredible! Due to the storm rolling in we did only see a few foxes, but it was still worth the drive-through.

The next morning we made the same trek out to the park to drive the valley again, stop along the way and then head to the other end of the park on the way out to Bryce Canyon. One of the BEST reasons to go here during off-season is that the buses aren’t running and you can freely take your own car down the valley road. During main season you have to get bus passes and park outside. This is time-consuming and limiting if you cannot get tickets. Along our drive, we stopped at almost every pull-off area to walk around and take photos. Once we got to the end where the Narrows begins it started pouring heavily, but it made the rocks even more beautiful!

After this drive, we made our way out to the other side of the park. This drive was wildly entertaining and beautiful. The higher you got on the switchbacks the better the view got! Then directly after the tunnel we happened to pass “The Overlook” trail and saw it was only a mile long and thought we should try it as the ran just stopped. This was easily the best hike I’ve ever done. There were caves, footbridges, and a view to die for!

Since we didn’t feel we had time for the Angel’s Landing hike this was an amazing alternative. It is in NO way ADA accessible but would be simple for older kids to do and possibly younger ones when it’s NOT slick out! It was a bit of elevation but you didn’t really realize it since the trail kept your attention on where to put your footing as well as the sights! If you don’t have time to do much in the park - make time for this hike! (There’s also a restroom stop right by this if needed!)