While the other parks I have driven in (all two of them) have roads in nondescript forest areas, at Zion the main roads go through canyons and provide wonderful vistas in your windshield. Driving the two main roads and stopping in parking areas along the way gives a good view of the park. It should be noted, the road has some steep drop offs with little (1 foot high) or no barriers to keep cars on the road. Getting a couple of feet off the pavement at any of several turns will send a car flying off the side of a cliff.
We were visiting at a great time to see waterfalls. A lot of rain had fallen in the previous few days and it was raining the entire day. Since we only made a day trip to the park, we took several short trails. The four I detail below are all one or two mile round trip trails with little elevation change. They were all a few minutes drive from each other. The first three of these are classified as easy, with the Canyon Overlook being moderate with a paltry 163 ft elevation change. In comparison, the ones we took at Bryce Canyon were termed strenuous and had over 1,000 ft in elevation change.
Emerald Pools
This loop trail started as a paved sidewalk, which is hardly a trail. We came across a big waterfall. Then we had a choice, we could either follow the trail behind the waterfall and get wet or backtrack and follow the trail the long way around and see the rest of the trail. The second way would be longer, but we would avoid the thick mist the water was generating. Which way do you think we chose?
We took the adventurous way and went behind the falls. The signs indicated an upper, middle, and lower pool as part of Emerald Pools. We followed the signs and came upon another water barrier.
The trail was crossed by a 6 foot wide rapidly moving mini-river. The Park Service had placed a chain across to aid in crossing it. I did some scouting and tried to see how deep it was. I determined a crossing could be attempted if the stream did not get too deep. However, this would get us very wet so we decided to turn back. We ran into some friendly people who snapped this picture of us in front of the falls.
Weeping Rock
We took a few steps to see the Weeping Rock. It gets its name from how water oozes out of its sides and it appears to be crying. This effect is from the geology of the rock formation. Over time, different layers of sediment and different types of rock got laid down. When the top of the formation gets wet and water seeps into the rock, different layers absorb different amounts and it drips out of the side.
Riverside Walk
This trail goes from the end of the road and follows the Virgin River into a canyon. However, the narrows continues much further and can be hiked with a permit. The trail was closed after a mile because of the danger of flash floods.
Canyon Overlook Trail
Part of the main road was an impressive 1.1 mile tunnel that was blasted through solid rock. Our last trail started next to the east entrance to the tunnel. Most of the trail was along rocks on the side of the canyon with some long drop-offs which were mostly fenced. The sun was setting as we started the trail, so everything was colored from a darker pallet.
At some points the ledge we had to walk on was less then a foot wide. However, it had some great views and was a lot of fun. An observation point was at the end of the trail. By the time we started back the sun had set and the landscape was mostly silhouettes. On the way back we would have walked straight off the edge if we did not have flashlights. Both of these pictures were artificially brightened.
Since we finished our Bryce Canyon activities a day earlier then expected, we were planning on coming back to Zion and hiking Angel's Landing on the way back. We figured this hike was a big deal because the gift shop sold shirts that said "I made it to the top of Angel's Landing." Larry encouraged us by telling us about the people who died hiking to Angel's Landing or falling off the sides of the steep trail. We decided the night before to skip the Landing because it would be raining all day and the trails were already saturated with water.
While we did some good little hikes in Zion, there is still enough to warrant a trip back there. We have to hike the Narrows, Angel's Landing, and probably some other things.
The Drive There
At Bryce Canyon we were staying at Ruby's Inn. As we were eating dinner at their restaurant, I noticed the placemats had maps. I saved mine and used it to navigate to Zion. Now the route I took. From Bryce Canyon, I drove north on the 63 and went west on Utah 12. When that ended, I took US 89 south and then Utah 9 west which went directly through Zion. The entire trip was around 190 miles, but I did not keep careful track.
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