Zion National Park - Travel Report
Feb 4th, 2017, 07:55 AM
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Zion National Park - Travel Report
It was in December and I was in Las Vegas for the week with friends. Apart from walking down the Las Vegas Strip, playing slots, watching shows, visiting the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam and the Fremont Street… (which I will write about Las Vegas in the future) I wondered was there somewhere outside the city that we could see. So, we drove there on a Saturday morning.
The drive took a little bit more than 2 hours and we arrived at the South entrance of the park. I supposed the park would be much busier in the summer as it would be much warmer and the park has wonderful campsites and facilities along the Canyon (like the Zion Lodge). Visiting in December though, there was no crowd and we kinda had the park all to ourselves. However, some of the activities and services (like shuttle bus) may be closed in the winter time.
The weather was nice with cleared sky and we had a nice good view of the entire site from ground level; after a quick visit to the visitor center, we hit the ground and go up, up, and up. There are quite a few walking trails along the canyon, and it’s impossible to finish all of them in a day. We selected a few and the trails usually take about 1-2 hours to complete. Check out the beautiful sceneries and landscape for the photos @ http://wp.me/p5Lw9a-1yU
*Zion-Mount Carmel Highway*
Before entering the scenic drive, we turned to the Zion-Mt Carmel highway. The highway connects Zion’s south and east entrance. It was built in 1930 and it consists of a series of steep switchbacks, a tunnel and lastly a highway that was constructed on eroded sandstone slopes. The colors and the shapes of the slopes were spectacular and there were occasional turnouts that allow drivers to pause safely and enjoy the scenery.
On our way back to the south entrance, we entered the Overlook Trail. We saw a giant arch, called the Great Arch of Zion, on our way up to the tunnel and the Overlook Trail ends on top of this Arch. At the overlook, a thousand feet above Zion Canyon floor, you saw patterns that were not evident before: the greener world along the river and the sheer volume of the canyon the streams have excavated. The viewpoint looks across at a panorama of classic Zion cliffs and sandstone towers – from there, the Pine Creek Canyon could be seen and we could look all the way to the Bridge Mountain, Canyon Junction and beyond.
The trail took about an hour to reach the overlook and it crosses slick rock slabs of the high desert. The trail was generally flat but some parts could be rocky and uneven. It could be slightly challenging to those afraid of heights as it passes some drop-offs (although most of them are fenced) and some connections are merely wood boards.
The fear, though, could be distracted by the joy of seeing the bighorn sheep, peacefully running around on the rocks as they were looking for food.
*Zion Canyon*
Afterward we returned to the Zion Scenic Drive. The Zion Canyon is the most well-known feature of the national park and it’s the largest canyon that covers 147,000 acres of sculpted sandstone canyons and high desert plateaus. The scenic route stretches through the canyon from the south entrance to the Riverside Walk in the north with a paved drive following the path of the Virgin Rover along the canyon floor. Scenic spots include Weeping Rock, Angels Landing, Temple of Sinawava and Great White Throne. Zion is an outdoor laboratory where researchers and visitors alike can find remarkable biological diversity and observe geological processes in action.
For the intro for the Trails and Watchman Trail, Weeping Rock Trail, Court of the Patriarchs, Emerald Pools Trail, and Riverside Walk, check out http://wp.me/p5Lw9a-1yU
*The Great White Throne*
The secret at the end of this trail is Hidden Canton itself, a deep, narrow chasm separating the Great White Throng from the Cable Mountain. The Great White Throne could easily be recognized based on its distinctive feature: a gigantic, steep and smooth cliff that stands among the eroded rocks and canyons.
The magical moment happened by the end of the day as we were chilling at the Great White Throne viewpoint and we were chatting with 2 rock climbers who just finished climbing the rocks and loading their cars with all the professional equipment, it began to go dark and suddenly the canyon were changing colors dramatically as if there was a multi technicolor light show – If only a man-made light show could have such a scale. The color changed from pink to orange to white and then purple… I was too busy turning my head around in amazement and luckily I took a few photos (while my jaw was still dropped) that captured the moment that ends my visit to the national park perfectly. #jawdropped.
The drive took a little bit more than 2 hours and we arrived at the South entrance of the park. I supposed the park would be much busier in the summer as it would be much warmer and the park has wonderful campsites and facilities along the Canyon (like the Zion Lodge). Visiting in December though, there was no crowd and we kinda had the park all to ourselves. However, some of the activities and services (like shuttle bus) may be closed in the winter time.
The weather was nice with cleared sky and we had a nice good view of the entire site from ground level; after a quick visit to the visitor center, we hit the ground and go up, up, and up. There are quite a few walking trails along the canyon, and it’s impossible to finish all of them in a day. We selected a few and the trails usually take about 1-2 hours to complete. Check out the beautiful sceneries and landscape for the photos @ http://wp.me/p5Lw9a-1yU
*Zion-Mount Carmel Highway*
Before entering the scenic drive, we turned to the Zion-Mt Carmel highway. The highway connects Zion’s south and east entrance. It was built in 1930 and it consists of a series of steep switchbacks, a tunnel and lastly a highway that was constructed on eroded sandstone slopes. The colors and the shapes of the slopes were spectacular and there were occasional turnouts that allow drivers to pause safely and enjoy the scenery.
On our way back to the south entrance, we entered the Overlook Trail. We saw a giant arch, called the Great Arch of Zion, on our way up to the tunnel and the Overlook Trail ends on top of this Arch. At the overlook, a thousand feet above Zion Canyon floor, you saw patterns that were not evident before: the greener world along the river and the sheer volume of the canyon the streams have excavated. The viewpoint looks across at a panorama of classic Zion cliffs and sandstone towers – from there, the Pine Creek Canyon could be seen and we could look all the way to the Bridge Mountain, Canyon Junction and beyond.
The trail took about an hour to reach the overlook and it crosses slick rock slabs of the high desert. The trail was generally flat but some parts could be rocky and uneven. It could be slightly challenging to those afraid of heights as it passes some drop-offs (although most of them are fenced) and some connections are merely wood boards.
The fear, though, could be distracted by the joy of seeing the bighorn sheep, peacefully running around on the rocks as they were looking for food.
*Zion Canyon*
Afterward we returned to the Zion Scenic Drive. The Zion Canyon is the most well-known feature of the national park and it’s the largest canyon that covers 147,000 acres of sculpted sandstone canyons and high desert plateaus. The scenic route stretches through the canyon from the south entrance to the Riverside Walk in the north with a paved drive following the path of the Virgin Rover along the canyon floor. Scenic spots include Weeping Rock, Angels Landing, Temple of Sinawava and Great White Throne. Zion is an outdoor laboratory where researchers and visitors alike can find remarkable biological diversity and observe geological processes in action.
For the intro for the Trails and Watchman Trail, Weeping Rock Trail, Court of the Patriarchs, Emerald Pools Trail, and Riverside Walk, check out http://wp.me/p5Lw9a-1yU
*The Great White Throne*
The secret at the end of this trail is Hidden Canton itself, a deep, narrow chasm separating the Great White Throng from the Cable Mountain. The Great White Throne could easily be recognized based on its distinctive feature: a gigantic, steep and smooth cliff that stands among the eroded rocks and canyons.
The magical moment happened by the end of the day as we were chilling at the Great White Throne viewpoint and we were chatting with 2 rock climbers who just finished climbing the rocks and loading their cars with all the professional equipment, it began to go dark and suddenly the canyon were changing colors dramatically as if there was a multi technicolor light show – If only a man-made light show could have such a scale. The color changed from pink to orange to white and then purple… I was too busy turning my head around in amazement and luckily I took a few photos (while my jaw was still dropped) that captured the moment that ends my visit to the national park perfectly. #jawdropped.
Feb 7th, 2017, 04:15 AM
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carolv
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