USA Guide
The Southwest
Zion National Park
With its soaring cliffs, riverine forests, and cascading waterfalls, Zion National Park is the most conventionally beautiful of Utah's parks. Too many visitors see Zion Canyon as a quick half-day detour off the interstate but, beautiful though the canyon's Scenic Drive may be, Zion deserves much more of your time than that.
Summer is the busiest season, despite oppressively high temperatures. Ideally, come in April or May, to see the spring flowers, or in September and October for the fall colours. The admission charge, valid for seven days, is $25 per vehicle, or $12 for motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians.
The awe of the Mormon settlers who called this "Zion" is reflected in the names of the stupendous slabs of rock along the paved six-mile Scenic Drive – the Court of the Patriarchs, the Great White Throne, and Angel's Landing.
The Scenic Drive ends at the foot of the Temple of Sinawava, beyond which the easy but delightful Riverside Walk trail continues another half-mile up the canyon.
An easy hike leads up to Weeping Rock, a half-hour round-trip from the road to a gorgeous spring-fed garden. From the same trailhead, a more strenuous and exciting route cuts through narrow Hidden Canyon, whose mouth turns into a waterfall after a good rain. Directly across from the lodge a short and fairly flat trail (two-mile round-trip) winds up at the Emerald Pools, a series of three clearwater pools.
The best half-day hike climbs up to Angel's Landing, a narrow ledge of whitish sandstone protruding 1750ft above the canyon floor. The trail switchbacks sharply up through cool Refrigerator Canyon before emerging on the canyon's west rim; near the end you have to cross a heart-stopping five-foot neck of rock with sheer drops to either side.