When we went on our cross-country road trip, Zion National Park was one of all 5 National Parks in Utah that we were able to visit. Initially, Zion was one of the top parks we were looking forward to since it was super hyped up by people we know who have visited as well as all over Instagram. We did enjoy our time there, but it wasn’t as magical or exhilarating as some of the other parks we were able to visit, and the experience was a bit of a let down for us even though it is beautiful!
We still highly recommend that you visit Zion National Park, but for my adventurers, explorers, and create-your-own trip people out there this won’t be the same as most of your visits!
Here’s why.
Zion Visitor Center
The first stop we suggest making is the visitors center (which is usually the best place to start at any NP). But the thing with Zion is that you’ll need lots of good luck finding a parking spot in the busy summer months. We were super lucky to snag a spot at the visitor’s center, but most people have to park in town and get bused into the park. It took us about 15 minutes of circling the parking lot to catch someone leaving their spot and it was pretty early in the day still, just before noon. Keep this in mind because later in the day you arrive the less likely it is that you’ll find a spot. And make sure you account for the time it will take to bus into the park!
The main reason for starting at the Visitor’s Center is to find out what in the park is open and what isn’t.
I want to note that we visited in the summer of 2019 which is important because each year there are different closures of trails due to what nature is up to. For us, there were many closures for landslides and falling rock. We also went earlier in the summer when the water of the Virgin River was super high. The river runs through the canyon and carves the canyon that is Zion National Park. In the early summer, it runs faster and higher because of snow melt from the winter.
Going back to having to find a parking spot, the visitors center is the main stop for the shuttle bus. Yup, Zion has a shuttle bus system. This can be great for most people that just want to see everything and be told when to go where, but for us taking our time from place to place and usually exploring at a much different pace this was a bit restricting.
I will say it breaks the park up nicely so you feel like you “get to see it all”, and it also is nice that there’s not a lot of traffic in the park because of the shuttle system (which was the point of creating it).
Here you can see the map that the ranger wrote on to inform us what was open and what wasn’t (with the Xs over the trail name), and circled what he suggested we do. We ended up doing everything open over 2 days except for Angels Landing because it was super crowded.
Towers of the Virgin
Since Zion is in a canyon there isn’t great light in the canyon for sunset or sunrise, but the ranger told us to catch the light dipping below the Towers of the Virgin. We made it just in time, and it was very beautiful! You can find the Towers right behind the Museum which is stop number 2 on the shuttle. No hike necessary for this view, which applies to a lot of Zion.
Canyon Junction
There’s not much to say about Canyon Junction besides that it is STUNNING. Yes, there’s a bunch of people lined up with their tripods taking the same photo (isn’t this the case anywhere nowadays?), but it is a beautiful view. You can get off of the shuttle at stop 3, cross the street, and be right there.
Again keep in mind that Zion is a canyon so it only has so many hours of the day where the light is hitting the inside of the canyon. This is great for hiking because it keeps you cool, but you have to be strategic with your timing for taking photos if you want the pretty magical light.
Lower Emerald Pool (Upper Emerald Pool)
We were excited to see the Upper Emerald Pools, but they were closed due to rock fall, so we did the short hike up to the Lower Pools. I’ve seen some nice photos of bother the Upper and Lower Pools, but the lower pools weren’t too impressive, we weren’t able to hike to the overlooking view because of the landslides, but the water falling off of the rock was pretty cool to walk behind.
The path was super wet and muddy so keep that in mind when hiking to the pools. I hope that we can go back someday soon to see the Upper Pools which I’ve seen stunning photos of before.
We were able to enjoy our hike, but it was the most crowded park we visited on our trip and we didn’t feel like we could hike at our own pace without being in other peoples way or vice versa.
Weeping Rock Trail
The trail up to Weeping Rock was misleading! It’s a super short hike, but it’s steeeep! We were out of breath hiking up that small but steep hill!
The Weeping Rock itself wasn’t as grand as I thought it would be, but maybe it would be a bit cooler if there were more water coming off of it which just depends on the day. It was an interesting rock to stand under, and it was almost chilly under it even in June.
I would suggest checking it out, but it’s more of an experience stop rather than a photo op stop.
Riverside Walk (The Narrows)
As mentioned earlier, we didn’t show up to Zion at the most ideal time to hike the Narrows, which was what we wanted to do the most (Do your research before hand!). The waters were way too high for anyone to hike through to the Narrows, which is the way nature works in the early summer. Just another reason why we need to revisit the park!
The Riverside Walk though is a nice leisure stroll kind of path along the river. This is where the crowds had a bit more space to thin out.
Something to note is the aggressive squirrels! They do bite and there’s signs everywhere to not feed them. They come right up to you, so make sure not to reach toward them or get close enough that you put yourself at risk of getting bitten. Though they are very cute, stay away from them! There is also lots of deer, and outside of the canyon we saw Big Horn Sheep too! Make sure you’re always appreciating the wildlife from a safe distance for you and the animals. Remember you are in their habitat!
We really would love to visit Zion again when more of the trails are open, especially Upper Emerald Pools and The Narrows, as well as when there is much less crowds! This was the busiest National Park we had visited yet and it kind of ruined our experience a little bit. It’s always important to do in depth research on where you would like to visit before hand to avoid things you know you won’t be pumped about (like huge crowds at the busiest times).
You can check out how I ranked the 5 Utah National Parks Here or our Ultimate Moab Adventure. Here's all the other road trip blogs so far as well - if you’re curious about that! We LOVED Utah and can’t wait to return soon!
