A group of us are celebrating our 30th birthdays at Zion in late July. The stronger hikers are flying in ahead of time to do a backpacking trip. The rest of us (aka the "weaklings")are flying in later. Temps have been running in the high 90s/low 100s.

What are some good hikes or other activities that we can do as a group (in other words, no overnights or super strenuous hikes) that would include water to splash around in to cool down? On the Zion web site I saw that several hikes were around pools/waterfalls, but I was unable to tell which ones would actually allow you to get wet. Any other heat-beating tips are appreciated.

Take the river walk in the Narrows. You actually walk in the river through gorgeous scenery (you'll want river shoes or old tennis shoes without slippery soles.)

Jubil,

We had a very, very low snowfall year, so the Emerald Pools and waterfall will probably be totally dry by end of July. Other posters here reported not much water even in early June.

Temps in the St. George area have been actually been at 114 during the day - cooling off to 90's at night.

the Narrows is the hike for you, but go prepared with proper foot gear and walking sticks for balance.

Tubing in the Virgin River in Springdale is a good idea, as long as the river is high enough.

Hope you have a good time!

PS - if you have never visited Bryce, you might consider a long day trip there. It's much higher and will be cooler.

They don't allow swimming in the Upper Emerald Pool any more, so even if there was water...you couldn't do that.

You can pretty much go anywhere in the park and get wet in the Virgin River. There are some nice spots near the visitor center and campgrounds. As others have mentioned, the Narrows is an excellent place to hike and get wet.

Tubing is a lot of fun, but that's only allowed outside the park now.

Utahtea