Zion National Park

For two years I worked 7 miles away from the East entrance of Zion National Park. I helped many people make their plans for which hikes fit them best. There are many popular hikes but also some hikes that most locals recommend trying Today I'm going to give you my top favorite hikes that are both beautiful and fun. 

THE NARROWS

My personal favorite hike is called The Narrows. This picture does not do it justice!  The best part about this hike is the water. This hike through water has some areas that are deep enough to swim through and for those that don't want to go that deep USUALLY have the option not to. It is extremely family friendly which also means that it is generally the busiest. The further up you go, the less people there are. You'll find that younger families don't go up as far and just play in the water. 

The Narrows starts off with a short walk next to the water. The pathway is paved making it easy for families with strollers or wheelchairs to have access. When the path ends, you are welcomed to continue your hike while cooling off at the same time through the water. Make sure to bring your water shoes because there are many sharp rocks at the bottom of the river.

I've hiked this several times with friends and family. One hot summer day while we were hiking down The Narrows, a poor deer was trying to escape the crowd of people. People kept trying to trap it in a corner and were scaring it. I wanted to go up to them and give them a piece of my mind, but the deer got away from them and was able to keep travelling down long enough to escape. As you can see in the first picture, the problem was that The Narrows is a river surrounded by giant boulders of rock, so the deer really couldn't have gone anywhere. The deer only had the choice of going up or down the river. 

There is one rappel (a way for people to get down a canyon) in The Narrows for the people that go Canyoneering in Mystery Canyon. This is one of the reasons why I love Zions National Park. There are so many hikes that intertwine with each other. 

***For those that aren't sure what Canyoneering is, keep an eye out for a blog post on it. There will be one soon!***

To keep this short I just want to recommend trying one more hike. 

OBSERVATION POINT

The observation point hike is a longer one, but it is easy. I believe there are two different points that you can begin this hike. The one I always use begins 7 miles outside of the park. Remember when I told you that I used to work near the park? I worked at a ranch resort called Zion Ponderosa. To get to the start of the hike you need to go to the resort. The lovely ladies at the front desk will give you a map to the hike and you just start right there and then it leads you into the park. Most of the hike is covered by tall trees and then opens to this beautiful overlook that you see in this picture. The drive up to the resort climbs high so when you start the hike there isn't much more elevation you need to climb. I would love to take my kids here one day. 

These hikes that I've mentioned are fairly easy, and that's how I like to do things. Grab some friends and get outside! Going hiking doesn't always need to be strenuous. But if you prefer a challenge, there are plenty of difficult hikes through Zion National Park. And remember when you are hiking to always bring sunscreen, snacks, and water! You can also go over to our store and snag yourself an Adventure Snapback Hat to keep that sun out of your eyes! You don't want to have to cut your trek short for not being prepared.

I would love to hear your own experiences at this beautiful place in Utah. Has anyone else hiked some of these trails? Share your story with us!