2 Amazing Days in Zion National Park
Zion National Park is one of our all-time favorite national parks! We visited in late October and the weather was perfect. The fall colors made our visit even more gorgeous.
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Things to Know before you go
- If you are visiting during the COVID pandemic, make sure to buy shuttle tickets during the pandemic. This shuttle ticket will allow you onto the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, which is the only access to some of the major hikes in the park. More information on how to get tickets is on the NPS website.
- The shuttle tickets will give you an hour allotment of time during which you can hop on the shuttle at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. Leftover tickets go on sale at 2PM towards the end of the day. We were so glad we had tickets to get on the shuttle – we saw the line at 2PM and it looked long!
- Another option is to bike the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive to your designated hiking trailhead. There are bike rentals available in Springdale, the small town located immediately outside Zion NP.
- During the pandemic, not all of the shuttle stops are actually open. If you would like to do some of the less popular hikes, you’ll need to walk from a different stop.
- Parking at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center gets really busy! One option is to park in Springdale, and ride the free shuttle to the park gates. Please add an extra 30 min -1 hr of time to find time for parking and walk/take the bus into the park if you’re entering mid-morning to afternoon.
DAY 1
We drove from Vegas to Zion in the morning and reached Zion around mid-day. Keep in mind the time zone change when traveling from Nevada to Utah. We forgot and lost an hour of park time!
STOP 1: RIVERSIDE WALK TO THE NARROWS
After spending ~20 minutes looking for parking in the Zion Canyon Visitor Center lot before we got lucky and found a spot, we hopped on the shuttle to start the first hike of the day.
The Riverside Walk is an easy, flat 2.2 mile trail that leads you to the Narrows. The Narrows is basically a walk through the Virgin River – it can be anything from wading in the water to walking upstream. Walking up along the Virgin River from the Riverside Walk is a “bottom up” hike.
The Narrows can also be done as a “top down” hike – starting north and walking 16 miles south through the Virgin River. You will need a backpacking permit for this.
WARNING: The Virgin River as of fall 2020 is contaminated by cyanobacteria. Despite warning signs telling people to stay away, we saw plenty of people wading through the water. A ranger we ran into later in the day also said he would never wade through that water. We stayed away.
After taking some photos at the Narrows trailhead, the sun started setting and we knew time was running out for our next hike. Everyone else must have had the same thought, because the line for the shuttle was long! It took about 20 minutes to get through and back to the visitor center.
STOP 2: CANYON OVERLOOK at Sunset
Our next stop was to see the sunset from the peak of the Canyon Overlook trail. We didn’t realize this is also a popular hike, made worse by lack of parking. The parking lot here only holds about 10 cars, so most cars have to park on the street nearby. However, the road nearby is windy with drop-offs so be wary of the spot you choose to park in. We had to park about 1 mile away from the trailhead!
PRO TIP: Do this hike before you do Angel’s Landing because nothing beats the Angel’s Landing view. The Canyon Overlook pales in comparison.
By the time we reached the trailhead, the sun was almost set. We zoomed up this hike (1 mile, moderate, 163 ft elevation), so we could at least catch some sunlight to enjoy the view. This is why our picture below is so blurry – there was barely any light left! We hiked back down in the dark with our flashlights and the walk back to the car was a little bit creepy and dangerous.
That night we stayed in Springdale. We highly recommend staying in Springdale if you’re planning to visit Zion the next morning and not canping. It’s basically as close as you can get to the actual park.
DAY 2
Day 2 is a strenuous one. We began the day by entering the park early and watching the sunrise from our car. We were on a mission – be on the first shuttle to the Angel’s Landing Trail.
STOP 1: ANGEL’S LANDING TRAIL
Angel’s Landing is one of the most dangerous hikes in the US. It is THE HIKE you CANNOT MISS in Zion NP.
We are at beginner to moderate fitness level and THIS HIKE IS NO JOKE.
You’ll start off this hike heading up the West Rim trail for the first 2 miles. This one contains many switchbacks as you slowly make your way up the trail. Although we were one of the first people on the trailhead, here is when we started to realize that we had underestimated this hike. Hikers with better fitness levels easily passed us. We recommend taking the pace slow, because you still have a long trail ahead of you.
After the West Rim Trail, you hit a shaded area with more switchbacks and more of an uphill climb.
Finally, the trail opens up to the ridge portion. This is what Angel’s Landing is known for and is the more dangerous part of the hike. We took another mental break here to prepare ourselves for what was coming.
By this time, more people had shown up and the waiting game began. The “trail” now becomes more of a rock climbing adventure with rock scrambling helped by the support of a chain link as you climb up. It is strenuous and hiking shoes with good traction are recommended. If it’s busy you will be waiting for hikers to pass and extend your hiking time as this portion of Angel’s Landing is a one-way street.
About a 1/3 of the total hike time is on the chain section. With words of encouragement from fellow hikers traveling back down, we made it!
The views at the top made the strenuous hike worth it.
The hike down is the same way up and it’s rough on the knees. By now it was already near noon for us, and the way down involved a lot of waiting for crowds of people to pass. This part of the trail is only wide enough for one-way traffic.
Total Time to Hike round trip: 3-5 hours (took us 4 hours), Distance: 5.4 miles, Elevation 1488 ft, Strenuous
TIPS FOR ANGEL’S LANDING: This should be the first hike you do for the day. It gets too busy later in the morning and you’ll extend hiking time waiting for one-way traffic to pass.
STOP 2: EMERALD POOLS TRAIL
Our last hike of the day was the Emerald Pools Trail, starting from the same shuttle stop as Angel’s Landing. The Emerald Pools Trail is a long trail with three lookout points – the Lower, Middle, and Upper Pool.
The Lower Emerald Pool takes 1.2 miles to reach and the hike is rated as easy. It brings you to a nice waterfall with a pool underneath.
The Middle Emerald Pool is next. Once you reach the Lower Emerald Pool, take the stairs up to the Middle Emerald Pool to enjoy a view of the water against the canyon backdrop.
Then keep hiking 0.5 mile up to the Upper Emerald Pool. Although it was only 100ft elevation gain, it was a steep hike up and felt strenuous. The hike up is sandy and involves some rock scrambling. I will say in comparison to Angel’s Landing, this hike wasn’t as awe-inspiring, but still offered a great photo op.
The way down is the same trail you took up.
Total time: 2.2 hours, Distance 2.2 miles round trip, Elevation gain 269 ft, Moderate
View our other National Park Itineraries, 8 DAYS IN CALIFORNIA AND UTAH: Joshua Tree + Death Valley + Vegas + Zion + Bryce Canyon