4 days in Zion and Bryce National Parks!  

Just get off the couch, get on a plane, and get hiking!

How do you get there?

Zion is not super easy to get to- but you can tackle it from a number of different airports. Zion is three hours from Las Vegas, 4 hours from Salt Lake City, and 7 hours from Los Angeles.  So what is your pleasure?

My recommendation would be to rent a car and drive yourself. There are shuttles out of Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and St. George Airports, but who wants to wait for a shuttle? Get yourself and Budget-rent-a-car and enjoy the view as you drive through the desert.

Getting around Zion

Could it be easier? There is a free shuttle that makes stops along the main road in Springdale/Zion Park - up to and back from the park entrance. Parking can be a headache, so this is your best option if you are staying just outside the park. The shuttle makes all of the stops to the trail heads and points of interest in the park - I think there are nine stops total?  Depending on the time of year you visit, the shuttle starts as early and 6:00 am in the summer (7:00am in the Spring) You can’t beat it for convenience!

So where should you hike?

Well, if you are going to make the effort and get off the couch, you might as well get a good work out, right? So we opted for the more “challenging” hikes since I needed to burn off a few calories from Labor Day. I ate one too many cheeseburgers, I think!

Day 1- Observation Point:  This hike calls for a pony-tail! (Hair-down hikes are when you barely break a sweat…) It is an 8 mile strenuous hike up  to one of the best viewpoints in the Canyon - including Angels Landing.  Oh yeah…you hike ABOVE Angels Landing- so settle down braggers…The hike climbs 2300 vertical feet.  Set that alarm and start early- it can get super hot and exposed in the afternoon. The Trailhead starts at Weeping Rock shuttle stop # 7.   (See how easy that is?)

As of this writing, the trail is closed due to a rock slide. So check the park website for the latest updates.  Be sure to bring a fancy camera, as you can get great canyon views as you climb. You may even run into a goat or two!  This hike is not as crowded (the harder ones never are) and thins out once you get to the middle third of the hike - the elevation gain is constant.  Its pretty much all uphill, so trekking poles, good hiking boots and water are a must! Pack a lunch so you can hang out at the top, ponder all of life’s misgivings, and enjoy the view of Angels Landing, suckers!

Day 2- The Narrows: The trail starts at the Temple of Sinawava- shuttle stop #9. The trail has amazing views of the canyon from water level.  Just look up!

The Narrows is, ironically, the narrowest section of Zion Canyon! It is a super cool gorge, with walls a thousand feet tall and the river twenty to thirty feet wide. It is not technically challenging from a hiking perspective, but it is crowded as hell so get there early. We arrived there from the first shuttle at 6:00am, and I am so glad we did. We only had a few hikers wading through the river with us as we left, so we got our Insta shots early. The way back, however, was a totally different story. It is one of the most popular areas in Zion National Park, so as we were leaving the Narrows, a few thousand of our closest friends were just rolling out of bed and getting there. Enjoy that fiasco! Anyway, you can see the beginning of it by walking along the paved, wheelchair accessible Riverside Walk for one mile from the Temple of Sinawava without even getting wet. Otherwise, come prepared to get soaked from the legs down (at least).

A hike through The Narrows requires wading in the Virgin River. There is no dirt trail. Most people start the hike from the Temple of Sinawava via the Riverside Walk and then head out knee-deep upstream before turning around. There are no permits required to do the hike in this direction. If you go all the way to Big Spring, its 10 miles round-trip. Since you are walking through a river, you may want to rent the “water-resistant” boots from one of the Canyon operators, or just wear water shoes with a good rubber sole. Its not the smartest idea to hike barefoot. You are walking on the bottom of a river! Its rocky, slippery and slimy. God knows what you might be stepping on. Gross.
You can also hike top down for sixteen miles downstream over one or two days, entering the park soon after starting the hike and then exiting at the Temple of Sinawava. If you want to do this option must get a permit and arrange transportation for the one and a half hour ride to start the hike outside the park at Chamberlain's Ranch.

Day 3- Subway: This hike is not for the faint of heart! It is a 9 mile strenuous up and back country canyon hike with no trail markings.  However, it IS offered as a guided tour from the top down for the adventurous types- which includes canyoneering and rappelling in certain sections.  It also requires a backcountry permit that you can obtain via lottery, 3 months in advance. It was just $15 for the two of us. We scheduled our whole trip around this permit! Once you are notified that you got one, pick it up at the visitors center. Its not hard to get- most people do not want to attempt this hike.

We opted to hike from the bottom up and did not hike the last mile (climbing sections from the top down). The trailhead for this hike is the left Fork Trailhead, off of Kolob Terrace Road (just outside the park and 10 miles from Springdale). Plan on an all day hike, and come prepared in case you get lost. Bring a flashlight, extra food, water, and an extra layer! The top of the trail is steep scrambling which requires some navigation to get down into the canyon. Believe me, this was the easy part. You can just “slide” down on the skree. Make sure to pay attention once you are at the bottom for some land markings to locate the trailhead for the way out. We had some difficulty with this and it. was. scary. (Picture yourself curled up in a ball, covered in dirt, shivering as the Park Ranger finds two lost hikers the next morning.)  

Tip: Take a picture of the trailhead sign at the bottom, once you get into Subway. Take pictures of landmarks, vegetation, or anything that can guide you out. Don't forget the level of the sun changes the appearance of the landscape. and makes everything look different depending on where the sun hits. People have died on this hike and the on skree hill...it is no joke. Climbing OUT of the skree was FAR worse than sliding down. Forget the selfies, just focus on the task at hand!

Despite the tricky skree hill and lack of navigable trail, the Subway is an amazing hike and an incredible experience. After the hill you walk along the river, and sometimes IN the river (pictured above) until you reach waterfalls and the amazing Subway rock formations. It was by far my favorite hike at Zion…but, my Pepper and I were both happy to be back at the parking lot at the end of the day. Not gonna lie…we lost our way for a bit and couldn’t find the trail out….eek!

Note: Do NOT do this hike if there is a threat of rain. Flash flooding is a real issue here. If you are doing the Narrows too, you can wear the same water resistant boots that you would use hiking there. You will most certainly have to scramble rocks and wade through the river for The Subway hike. It is just quite a bit more intense and more technical than the Narrows.

Gear you might need for Subway/Narrows:  River boots/socks and walking stick, water, food, waterproof bag. Details on gear rental can be found here: https://www.zionadventures.com/gear-rentals.html

Angels Landing - If one of the other Trails is closed or you have 4 days in Zion. This is a 5 mile out and back hike that gains 1600 feet in elevation. The trail starts at The Grotto shuttle stop #6.  (See? Easy.) The hike culminates with Walters Wiggles (21 steep exposed switchbacks), and the last half mile from Scout Lookout to Angels Landing.

Spend day at Bryce-that is all you will need!

Driving from Bryce from Zion takes about an hour and a half . You can go for a day trip or hike the park and stay overnight - we stayed in Bryce but in hindsight we should have just gone for a day and stayed in Zion. The town of Bryce has limited amenities-Zion is so much cooler.

Where should you park?

Park at the Bryce Canyon Lodge or Sunset Point parking lot to access the Rim trail and Queens Garden/Navajo Loop trails.

Bryce Canyon is pretty cool to see- but it all looks the same after awhile. You can see the most popular attractions on the main hike, Queens/Navajo Loop- a 2.9 mile hike which descends into the Canyon. Take note of the huge difference between Bryce compared to Zion: pink cliffs, red rocks and Hoo Doos!  It is SO much different than Zion in terms of scale and scenery. You also hike into the canyon from the top whereas in Zion you hike up from the canyon floor so you get a much different perspective.  It is not as crowded here as at Zion, but there is also not as much to see.  My Pepper and I hiked part of the Rim Trail, the Queens Garden trail (2 miles), and the Navajo Loop trail to see the best of the park: Gulliver's Castle, Queen's Castle, Wall Street, Twin Bridges, and Thor's Hammer. 

Tip: Be sure to stay for the sunset over the canyon (Sunset Point)!!! It is pretty cool-and the hoodoos look different than they did during the day hike.