Trip Report Part 2 (w/teens) - Zion, Bryce and Park City
Aug 19th, 2017, 05:41 AM
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Trip Report Part 2 (w/teens) - Zion, Bryce and Park City
We left Three Rivers after visiting Sequoia (I would do it differently if had to do again - would have left that afternoon and driven halfway) and drove all the way to Zion in one day.
We drove towards Bakersfield, through Barstow CA, across the Mojave and into Vegas for a 15 minute painful drive down the Strip (not our scene AT ALL), then followed the roads to Springdale, our "home" at Zion.
The scenery continued to fascinate us -- dry deserts and then the rocks and colors as we drove into Utah.
ZION - At Springdale, we stayed at the wonderful Desert Pearl Inn. It was absolutely worth the cost ... what an oasis in the middle of a very busy little park! Springdale is the town at the edge of the park. The Desert Pearl in was a 10 min walk from the park and the rooms are wonderful, roomy, have a kitchenette and it has a wonderful pool and laundry room!
We arrived around 5 after our long drive. We decided to walk the Watchman's Hike the next morning.
DH woke us up at 5 for the hike and we were out the door at 6, walking to the park. There were already people in the shuttle line into the park! This hike was fairly easy and short, with about 700 ft elevation gain. It was fairly sparsely "populated" and in the shade the most of the time.
The biggest eye-opener was the very very long line (at least 200 people) waiting for the shuttle at 9 am! We'd thought we would go into the park and check things out but decided not to after seeing the line.
Instead, DH found another short but scenic hike just outside the park - https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tr...overlook-trail. It was very scenic! I abstained as I am not the best with heights and those sides that just fall away hundreds of feet)
Getting there was quite an adventure as we had to climb a few hairpins and then enter into a 1.1 mile tunnel that was built in 1930, the Mt Carmel-Zion Tunnel, They only let 1 side of traffic in at a time. The tunnel is dark and you drive slowly.
We spent the afternoon at the pool and generally resting.
Then went to rent equipment for The Narrows hike ... I cant remember the name of the place but it was to the left from the Inn and across the street.
We drove towards Bakersfield, through Barstow CA, across the Mojave and into Vegas for a 15 minute painful drive down the Strip (not our scene AT ALL), then followed the roads to Springdale, our "home" at Zion.
The scenery continued to fascinate us -- dry deserts and then the rocks and colors as we drove into Utah.
ZION - At Springdale, we stayed at the wonderful Desert Pearl Inn. It was absolutely worth the cost ... what an oasis in the middle of a very busy little park! Springdale is the town at the edge of the park. The Desert Pearl in was a 10 min walk from the park and the rooms are wonderful, roomy, have a kitchenette and it has a wonderful pool and laundry room!
We arrived around 5 after our long drive. We decided to walk the Watchman's Hike the next morning.
DH woke us up at 5 for the hike and we were out the door at 6, walking to the park. There were already people in the shuttle line into the park! This hike was fairly easy and short, with about 700 ft elevation gain. It was fairly sparsely "populated" and in the shade the most of the time.
The biggest eye-opener was the very very long line (at least 200 people) waiting for the shuttle at 9 am! We'd thought we would go into the park and check things out but decided not to after seeing the line.
Instead, DH found another short but scenic hike just outside the park - https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tr...overlook-trail. It was very scenic! I abstained as I am not the best with heights and those sides that just fall away hundreds of feet)
Getting there was quite an adventure as we had to climb a few hairpins and then enter into a 1.1 mile tunnel that was built in 1930, the Mt Carmel-Zion Tunnel, They only let 1 side of traffic in at a time. The tunnel is dark and you drive slowly.
We spent the afternoon at the pool and generally resting.
Then went to rent equipment for The Narrows hike ... I cant remember the name of the place but it was to the left from the Inn and across the street.
Aug 19th, 2017, 06:14 AM
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The Narrows deserves its own paragraph!
We planned to hike up as far as recommended and were not about to do without gear.
The place we rented was great - very helpful and they also held an "Intro to Hiking in the Narrows" presentation while we were there. They had a map and went through some details about how to hike in the water, info on flash floods (talk about frightening) and gave us all a spot to aim for in the hike.
To say I was nervous is an understatement!
At 5 the appointed morning, we were up, making sandwiches, eating and packing fruit and water.
We got into our funny hiking boots (with neoprene socks) and got our sticks and started walking to the shuttle bus. Shocked to see there were 30-40 people in line ... we learned most people got off at Angel's Landing but there were 15 or so of us that rode the shuttle all the way (40 min) to the end for The Narrows.
Used the bathroom and filled all water bottles to the brim at the restroom.
We were the last down the path (with a cute German couple) and the walk from restrooms is a mile-long sidewalk.
The sidewalk ends at the river ... and you're off!
We hit the water at 7 and could see one other group in front of us and we just followed them.
I can't explain what it's like to hike in knee-deep water, upstream with bowling-ball size boulders in the water that you are trying to walk on and around.
For most of the hike, the river runs into the canyon walls which means no choice but wading in water. In a few areas, you can hike on rock "beaches" on the sides.
I can't describe how cool this way, even ole Nervous Nelly here! It was peaceful, quite cool (no sun made it into the canyon until afternoon) and an adventure. Wall Street, which I swore I would not do, wasn't bad at all.
I'm guessing we hiked 6 hours in and about 2 out. There were absolutely no crowds until we got about halfway back down and the sun had made it into the river. There it became the start of Disneyland! There were literally hordes of people .... not at all pleasant and quite a different experience.
Getting out was a small nightmare between dodging people hiking gingerly on Teva sandals and without hiking sticks.
All in all, a great day and fantastic experience!
We planned to hike up as far as recommended and were not about to do without gear.
The place we rented was great - very helpful and they also held an "Intro to Hiking in the Narrows" presentation while we were there. They had a map and went through some details about how to hike in the water, info on flash floods (talk about frightening) and gave us all a spot to aim for in the hike.
To say I was nervous is an understatement!
At 5 the appointed morning, we were up, making sandwiches, eating and packing fruit and water.
We got into our funny hiking boots (with neoprene socks) and got our sticks and started walking to the shuttle bus. Shocked to see there were 30-40 people in line ... we learned most people got off at Angel's Landing but there were 15 or so of us that rode the shuttle all the way (40 min) to the end for The Narrows.
Used the bathroom and filled all water bottles to the brim at the restroom.
We were the last down the path (with a cute German couple) and the walk from restrooms is a mile-long sidewalk.
The sidewalk ends at the river ... and you're off!
We hit the water at 7 and could see one other group in front of us and we just followed them.
I can't explain what it's like to hike in knee-deep water, upstream with bowling-ball size boulders in the water that you are trying to walk on and around.
For most of the hike, the river runs into the canyon walls which means no choice but wading in water. In a few areas, you can hike on rock "beaches" on the sides.
I can't describe how cool this way, even ole Nervous Nelly here! It was peaceful, quite cool (no sun made it into the canyon until afternoon) and an adventure. Wall Street, which I swore I would not do, wasn't bad at all.
I'm guessing we hiked 6 hours in and about 2 out. There were absolutely no crowds until we got about halfway back down and the sun had made it into the river. There it became the start of Disneyland! There were literally hordes of people .... not at all pleasant and quite a different experience.
Getting out was a small nightmare between dodging people hiking gingerly on Teva sandals and without hiking sticks.
All in all, a great day and fantastic experience!
Aug 19th, 2017, 07:53 AM
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BRYCE
Gorgeous drive towards Bryce.
This is one area we made a big mistake ... stayed in Brian Head without knowing that it was 90 minutes from Bryce. It is a tiny ski resort and we stayed in a dumpy condo facility called Copper something.
It was cool which was nice, though, and in the Dixie National Forest so the drive to Bryce was lovely but long.
Bryce was great - we got there around 8 am and had missed the sunrise but went on a hike into the canyon - the Figure 8 Trail, which is basically an 8 mi combination of lots of trails, including Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden.
It was HOT down there in the Hoodoo's and also stunning. As the day wore on, there were more and more people on the trail.
The lodge is also pretty cool to check out quickly.
One day in Bryce proved to be enough -- we did not do the drive because we walked into the canyon but that was probably impressive as well.
Gorgeous drive towards Bryce.
This is one area we made a big mistake ... stayed in Brian Head without knowing that it was 90 minutes from Bryce. It is a tiny ski resort and we stayed in a dumpy condo facility called Copper something.
It was cool which was nice, though, and in the Dixie National Forest so the drive to Bryce was lovely but long.
Bryce was great - we got there around 8 am and had missed the sunrise but went on a hike into the canyon - the Figure 8 Trail, which is basically an 8 mi combination of lots of trails, including Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden.
It was HOT down there in the Hoodoo's and also stunning. As the day wore on, there were more and more people on the trail.
The lodge is also pretty cool to check out quickly.
One day in Bryce proved to be enough -- we did not do the drive because we walked into the canyon but that was probably impressive as well.
Aug 19th, 2017, 08:31 AM
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You did see the best part of Bryce. I do like to drive out to the end and do the Bristlecone loop trail just because the idea that these trees are so exceedingly old is amazing. It is also a nice flat trail. But after that hike, you weren't going to want to do more 
Sep 4th, 2017, 03:40 AM
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Oops, got a little sidetracked.
Park City:
We decided to take a quick detour (2 nights) to Park City. It was the same weekend as a big arts festival so crowded and not easy to get a place to stay. The room was very clean and service super nice. Breakfast, which people tend to rave about, was average hotel fare ... it is laid out better than most but still average. The lobby is modern and laid back.
We were able to book the Hyatt Place Park City, which was on our way into town and partway between the Olympic Park and the town itself.
Had a lovely lunch at Harvest in the town. We were able to sit outside and look up at the mountain and wonder what it would be like to be there in the winter!
We meandered around town and had dinner that night at 710 Bodega, where we missed the outdoor seating but had a lovely meal. Service is slow, which we expect from having lived in Europe but they were incredibly nice.
There is a free city bus system which we caught at the hotel. It made evening parking and getting out of town easy amid the thousands of people who were there for the great-looking arts festival.
The next day we took the kids to the Olympic Park, bought them a ticket, watched them go down the insane 1500 ft zip line and then DH and I took off to do some easy hiking in the park and let them hang out and do all of the cool stuff. They loved it.
We did a hike up above the park which was a bit of a climb but completely do-able. We got back down just in time to see them jump from the ropes course. We all met back up and watched the ski jump show, which was done into a big pool and was pretty darn amazing.
Lunch at a little cafe inside the Chamber of Commerce building. Can't remember the name.
Kids were pooped and cranky so we dropped them off and found a 3-4 mile hike right outside of town called the Gambel Oak Loop. We connected with some other trails but this was the basis. Nice hike with not too much elevation gain and despite it being a popular hike, we only saw 2 other hikers. It was really really hot on the sunny side of the hill.
Dinner at Vessel Kitchen, in Kimball Junction. Think of Chipotle concept (quick) but amazing food ... don't miss it!!!!
After some cards (spades) in the lobby, we were off to bed and ready for the next stage - Grand Teton National Park.
Park City:
We decided to take a quick detour (2 nights) to Park City. It was the same weekend as a big arts festival so crowded and not easy to get a place to stay. The room was very clean and service super nice. Breakfast, which people tend to rave about, was average hotel fare ... it is laid out better than most but still average. The lobby is modern and laid back.
We were able to book the Hyatt Place Park City, which was on our way into town and partway between the Olympic Park and the town itself.
Had a lovely lunch at Harvest in the town. We were able to sit outside and look up at the mountain and wonder what it would be like to be there in the winter!
We meandered around town and had dinner that night at 710 Bodega, where we missed the outdoor seating but had a lovely meal. Service is slow, which we expect from having lived in Europe but they were incredibly nice.
There is a free city bus system which we caught at the hotel. It made evening parking and getting out of town easy amid the thousands of people who were there for the great-looking arts festival.
The next day we took the kids to the Olympic Park, bought them a ticket, watched them go down the insane 1500 ft zip line and then DH and I took off to do some easy hiking in the park and let them hang out and do all of the cool stuff. They loved it.
We did a hike up above the park which was a bit of a climb but completely do-able. We got back down just in time to see them jump from the ropes course. We all met back up and watched the ski jump show, which was done into a big pool and was pretty darn amazing.
Lunch at a little cafe inside the Chamber of Commerce building. Can't remember the name.
Kids were pooped and cranky so we dropped them off and found a 3-4 mile hike right outside of town called the Gambel Oak Loop. We connected with some other trails but this was the basis. Nice hike with not too much elevation gain and despite it being a popular hike, we only saw 2 other hikers. It was really really hot on the sunny side of the hill.
Dinner at Vessel Kitchen, in Kimball Junction. Think of Chipotle concept (quick) but amazing food ... don't miss it!!!!
After some cards (spades) in the lobby, we were off to bed and ready for the next stage - Grand Teton National Park.
Sep 4th, 2017, 06:48 AM
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Wees,
Glad you had a fun time in my town! The Arts Festival was so amazingly good this year! There were 60 first time artists and that was a great treat. The quality of the work was higher than I have ever seen and this is a festival where the artists have to jury to get in.
I always recommend the Utah Olympic Park because the aerialists show, The Flying Aces, is a real highlight. Helps you appreciate our Olympic athletes more to see it in person. They do get some air dont they?
Your trip is sounding like a fantastic adventure!
Glad you had a fun time in my town! The Arts Festival was so amazingly good this year! There were 60 first time artists and that was a great treat. The quality of the work was higher than I have ever seen and this is a festival where the artists have to jury to get in.
I always recommend the Utah Olympic Park because the aerialists show, The Flying Aces, is a real highlight. Helps you appreciate our Olympic athletes more to see it in person. They do get some air dont they?
Your trip is sounding like a fantastic adventure!
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