I’m finally wrapping up our trip last summer. In case you missed it, you can read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.
Picking up from my last post, we had one full day at Zion after arriving the afternoon before. As you may recall, we spent that late afternoon and evening at our hotel and in the pool. The next day, we planned to hike and explore some of Zion National Park. Unfortunately, Osvaldo woke up sick, so it was just me and Philip.
Before going to Zion, we became familiar with the park page, even watching videos. If you stay in Springdale along the main road, you can either walk or take a Springdale shuttle to the park entrance or drive and park near the park entrance. At first, Philip and I tried to drive but could not find any open parking at the park entrance. We found parking a little further down but it cost. So, we went back to our hotel and took the Springdale shuttle. We chose not to walk because it was very, very hot, and I knew we’d be walking a lot in the park. Once inside the park, you can catch a Zion shuttle. Read up on the shuttle times before you go. This is really important to know the times of the last shuttles that go into and out of the park!
If you stay at Desert Pearl Inn, you can catch a Springdale shuttle to the left or to the right at a stop. I’d recommend going to the stop to the left (away from Zion) because it’s a closer walk. Also, if a shuttle is full, you have to wait for the next one. The closer you are to the park entrance, the more likely the shuttle will already be full as it is coming in from town.
Also, before going, decide which trail(s) you want to do. You can find the map online here or pick up hard copies at your hotel or at the park entrance. I really wanted to do the Narrows, but since I didn’t have Osvaldo with me, Philip and I decided to hike the emerald pools. As you’ll see on the map, the trails are marked by easy, moderate and strenuous. The Emerald Pool has three levels: Lower (easy), Middle (moderate), and Upper (moderate). At first, we were just going to hike the Lower Emerald Pool, but then we kept going. I’ll talk about our hike a little further down.
Once inside the park entrance, you’ll find the Visitor Center. There are various activities/learning opportunities for children. Given the heat (I think it got up to 100 degrees), we just wanted to do one hike. Before we left, I packed a lunch (sandwich, chips), snacks for Philip, and lots of cold water bottles in my insulated cooler backpack. I had read that it’s very easy to get dehydrated on these walks, and I didn’t want to run the risk of getting stuck without water.
Like at Desert Pearl, there were lots of deer around the Visitor Center and on our trail!
We took a Zion shuttle to stop #5 on the map, Zion Lodge. I believe this is a hotel and restaurant if you want to stay in the park. The great news was that it had public bathrooms and air conditioner! The green grassy area in front of the lodge was also beautiful. As soon as we got off the shuttle, Philip and I headed on our very hot hike!
At this point, Philip and I felt very confident and decided to hike to the Upper Emerald Pool. This was the worst hike of my life! Ha! (Of course, I’m not much of a hiker.) It felt like the trail went on forever, and there were so many stairs and rocks and people, not to mention it was 100 degrees. Philip struggled, too, but I was really proud of him. Like the lower pool, the upper pool didn’t have much water falling into it. We found mostly stagnant water. However, there was a good number of people sitting under trees, eating, and trying to regain strength for the hike down. We sat here and ate our lunch.
On our way down, we made the mistake of taking a different trail back down. It was a much longer and more steep trail back down. We hated it! At this rock pictured below, we took the trail to Philip’s left when we should have gone right, back to the middle falls. If you are to hike this trail, just go back the way you came.
Also, as you can see around our necks, we wore hats. This was a must with the hot sun. Don’t go to Zion in the summer without a good hat.
Once we arrived back at the lodge, we took some time to rest and use the bathroom. We then took the Zion shuttle back to the Visitor’s Center, and then caught the Springdale shuttle to our hotel. Once at the hotel, we rested and Philip was back in the pool. We ordered takeout from Oscar’s Cafe (see below), which was pretty good but with a very long wait. Order as early as possible.
The town was super cute. After dinner, with Osvaldo feeling better, we walked around and explored just a bit.
The next morning, I bought a croissant and coffee from Feel Love Coffee, which I mentioned in my last post, and brought them back to the hotel to do some work before we had to pack up and leave. The morning was divine.
Here’s just a few more shots from our hotel room.
We drove from Springdale to Las Vegas airport, where we returned our car and hopped on a plane home.
If you haven’t been able to tell yet, we had the best vacation and loved all the places we visited. However, our favorite place was Zion/Springdale. One full day was not nearly long enough at Zion. We hope to come back and spend more time getting to know the town, hiking more trails—including the Narrows!, and enjoying more time by the pool at Desert Pearl Inn.
Now that the vacation posts are over, I’m sure I’ll find something else to post about going forward.
Until then…
💛Kristen