Zion National Park

In the late 1800s, the first Mormon European settlers came to the area and called it “Zion” which is Hebrew for “Sanctuary” or “Refuge.” The Paiute Peoples who were native to the land called it “Mukuntuweap” which means “straight canyon” or “straight river.” As the lush landscape drew more attention, there was contention over what it should be called, beginning as Mukuntuweap National Monument and later becoming what we now call Zion National Park.

If you have ever been, you know both names are accurate representations of this beautiful, set-aside piece of land. Ever since people first started visiting in 1914, it stands as a haven – full of color, life, towering rocks, and astounding views. We expected to love Zion and planned our trip carefully with an early start and hikes picked ahead of time. What we didn’t expect was how great the love for Zion is, and how busy it would be!

We entered Zion through the East entrance, winding our way through the park to the Visitor Center. What we didn’t realize is that there is no parking in Zion and you can’t use your own personal vehicle to explore the park. So, if you can’t find a place to park your vehicle in the sole, small parking lot outside of the Visitor Center (as was our case) you have to exit the park through the South entrance and find parking in the town of Springfield and then take the shuttle back in. Doing so cost us whatever lead we thought we might have on the crowds and started our exploring later than planned. However, Zion has an excellent shuttle system running through the park. It was easy to navigate, (much easier than Yosemite!), we never waited more than 5-10 minutes to get on a shuttle and the drivers were super friendly and gave lots of good trivia information which made riding enjoyable. The shuttles are fairly run-down looking compared to some of the other parks shuttles but all we cared about was getting from A to B.

The first hike we did was the Lower and Middle Emerald Pool trails. Together, it’s an elevation climb of about 240 feet (though it felt like more!) spanning over 3.4 miles (5.5km) and took us a little less than 3 hours to complete, making sure we stopped for snacks, water and photo breaks. The Emerald Pools were beautiful, and glimpses off the trail over the panorama view of Zion Valley were breathtaking. Little plateaus of green grass intertwined along the river made the image of a rich savannah, and my imagination prompted me to think that it wouldn’t be totally out of character to see a herd of dinosaurs wandering happily there. Certainly, fossil evidence shows that they once did!

The biggest drawback was that the trails were super crowded. We were hiking en masse with hundreds of other people which was a new and slightly unsatisfying experience for us. We were used to being alone, or at least in proximity but independent from other visitors while exploring, and hiking in crowds was difficult for our sensory-sensitive kids as well as difficult to maintain our own pacing and breaks on such a long hike. It was extremely difficult to take pictures without tons of people in the frame!

Once we finished the hike we took a long break outside the Lodge, where the kids took off their socks and shoes and rolled around, ran, and wrestled on the grass. Behind the Lodge was a short 1 mile (1.6km) easy walk called the Grotto Trail that meandered through a quieter area under some trees that provided lovely shade. I had read that the trees in the Grotto are absolutely breathtaking in the fall when the leaves change color, but we were a few weeks too early in the season. This lovely trail brought us to the next shuttle stop as well where we boarded to head to the Temple of Sinawava and entrance to the famed Narrows hike.

Once again we were hiking with a throng of other people, many of whom were dressed in gear prepared for hiking upriver into the Narrows itself. We were determined to get to the entrance of the Narrows to see it, and at least complete the Riverside walk before heading home. Some of the kids were already tired and not too excited about doing another trail, but trading off who carried the backpacks, handing out snacks, and digging out the Beco carrier helped with motivation to complete this 2.2 mile (3.5km) final push of the day.

It was well worth it. While hiking on the main path was crowded, the canyon walls rose high above us on either side, standing with majestic ease while the river coursed along the bottom. On the way back we went via a smaller lesser-known trail that edged the river back. It was deliciously quiet and had super soft sand for tired feet with shallow spots we could dip our toes into the frigid water.

Altogether we hiked over 7.5 miles (12 km) in Zion which was the kids’ longest hiking day yet, but we really felt like we got to know, see, and experience a good portion of the park. Cole and Elias decided to go back early one morning a couple of days later to hike the Narrows. It was something we knew was out of the younger kids’ capacities, and they were tired from doing Zion and Bryce Canyon back to back – plus it was a great bonding time for Elias and Cole. As I wasn’t there, I’ll let Elias tell you in his own words what the adventure was like.

In 2021, over 5 million people visited Zion National Park! It’s easy to see the draw, we loved it there. At the same time, it’s impressive to see the commitment to maintaining the preservation of the park despite the crowds. Some hikes such as Angels Landing need permits to access, while other areas need Wilderness Reservations in order to explore, go canyoneering, backpacking, or climbing. Timed entry bookings may become enacted as the National Park Service works to keep Zion both accessible and unharmed by visitors.