Utah May 2018

Looking for adventure and beautiful scenery southern Utah is a great choice. The temperature can become extremely hot in this state so choose the time you want to visit with what you want to do. We were interested in hiking and there are lots of opportunities. You can choose National Parks, State Parks, and the National Forest Areas. The elevation was high so it is important to make sure you are careful about how fast you are walking and don't forget that you are in a desert area so you will need plenty of water. For more information on the parks in the area check out this link Parks in Utah

Backside of Mountain at Brian Head

We stayed at Brian Head which is a ski resort area in the winter and the chairlift operates in the summer for a trip to the top of the mountain. The elevation is around 10000 ft so it was cool and you could still see snow drifts in the area in May. The summer activities on the ski hill were not open yet so the area was very quiet. From this location, we could visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks easily. These parks are extremely busy and you need to plan accordingly. 

Zion National Park has thousands of visitors each year so they have restricted access to the park. You need to take a shuttle bus into the valley.  The bus can be caught at the visitor's centre. The queue to catch the bus can long so arrive early to get a parking stall and avoid the lineups for the bus. Don't park outside of the designated parking stalls or you will be towed and the current rate was $300 US to get your vehicle back. If the lot is full at the Zion visitors centre there might be parking along the road within the park. We chose to drive the road through the park and to return earlier the next day to get good parking. Parking in town costs $20.00 US but they do provide a free shuttle to the park where you can transfer to the National Park shuttle. If you are planning to visit three national parks within a year it is worth purchasing an Annual Park Pass which was $80.00 US.

Overlook of the valley road going up to the tunnel.

 Trail to Overlook

The drive you can do within the park is spectacular. It is very twisty with lots of switchbacks as you climb the mountain towards the tunnel. The road is very congested so be prepared to take your time an the views are spectacular.  The tunnel its self is an engineering feat when it was built. If you are driving a motorhome you will need to pay extra at the Visitors Centre to drive through the tunnel because they have to stop the traffic and make it one way to accommodate the height of a bus or motorhome. On the east side of the tunnel is a great hike to a viewpoint that overlooks the valley that you just drove up. After the tunnel, there are numerous pull-offs so you can stop and hike or just admire the scenery which is different from the valley below. You can continue on this road to Bryce Canyon if you wish. We decided to visit Pink Coral Sands State Park for a picnic before return to Zion in the late afternoon when the park would be less busy.

Pink Coral Sands State Park will cost a small fee to enter. The sand has been created by the break down of the pink granite in the Escalante and the wind blowing the sand into the valley. The tallest sand dune in the park is 100 ft high. The park allows ATVs on the dunes and there is an interesting interpretive trail talking about the sand dunes and native plants. 

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Quiet Oasis

Returning to Zion National Park after 6 pm was a quieter experience that at 10 am. Most people have left the area so to drive through the tunnel there was less of a wait and no queue for the shuttle into the restricted area. We decided to do a short hike into a waterfall and enjoy the park before returning the next morning earlier.

Because the trial had fewer people in the evening we encountered2 wildlife.

Surprise Visitor

The next day we arrived at the visitor's centre before it opened but the parking lot was already filling up. There was a short lineup for the shuttle but we did not have to wait long. This time we were riding the shuttle all the way to the end of the valley where the narrows trail starts. Because we had stopped at the visitor's centre the day before we had already planned our hikes for the day.

walking path to the narrows

At end of the shuttle road, we jumped off to start the walk up the valley to where the stream crosses the trail. This short hike is very popular and is the start of the trail that follows the river up to the narrows. You need to watch the weather when near the river at the end as flash floods can be a problem when it rains. The water temperature was 50 F so wading across the river multiple times was not very exciting but there were lots of people with special hiking boots and walking sticks doing the full trail.

Hanging Gardens

On the walk up to the river, you pass several rock walls that have hanging gardens. The plants have found small crevices and cracks in the rock face to grow from and there is dripping water that helps to keep them alive.  

Survival in the rock face

Start of the Narrows

This is the end of the easy hike up the valley. From this point on you have to cross the river numerous times to reach the slot canyon. If you look closely at the picture you can see numerous groups of people walking up towards the end of the river.

Along the trail, there were lots of squirrels.