The Great Western US Road Trip: Zion National Park
September 30th, 2009 by Ashley Mikulik
Ashley Mikulik joins the Flight Centre Travel Blog with part two of her Great Western US Road Trip. In this post Ashley travels to Zion National Park in Utah and reports back with great vacation, camping, and holiday ideas and suggestions. Over to Ashley -
It’s Ashley (also known as Writergal from the WriterGal Blog) and this is my second installment of my adventures on our Great Western US Road Trip. We left Vancouver, drove for two days, and we’re now in Zion National Park in Utah.
This is a must visit if your road trip takes you anywhere near here. It’s so breathtaking that you’ll find your mouth hanging open and the words “wow” or “amazing” coming out of your mouth after every corner. The park charged $25 per vehicle to drive in the park, or $12 per person (to a max of $25 per vehicle) to walk into the park from Springdale, just south of the South Entrance. This national park fee gives you unlimited access to the park for 7 consecutive days.
We decided to camp about 45 minutes outside of the park at a KOA site (Kampgrounds Of America) because they had free internet and hot showers! In the morning we drove to the East Entrance of Zion. This is one of only 2 entrances to the park, the other one being the South Entrance by the town of Springdale. The East Entrance opened in the 1920s. The terrain is steep (there are several switchbacks), and they had to blast a 1 mile long tunnel through the mountains. It is a spectacular drive if you have the chance to do it. There are many pullouts where you can stop to take pictures of the amazing rock formations and rock faces.
A great feature of Zion National Park is their free hop-on/hop-off shuttle bus system. Throughout the summer, private vehicles are prohibited from most of the Zion Canyon (there isn’t really any parking at the trails anyway). You can park in a town just south of the park, or at the Visitors Centre, and the shuttle takes to you all the main trails and lookouts up the canyon. I recommend taking the shuttle to the last stop, Temple of Sinawava, then working your way back. This is what we did and found the shuttle was less crowded going down the canyon (towards the visitors centre), than going up the canyon so it was easier to get a seat when we were done at each stop.
Zion has trails for every skill level, including kids. There are several short trails that only take about 30 mins to half an hour to do, and are relatively flat as well as more challenging hikes that take anywhere from several hours, to all day. You can also get a permit for some backcountry hiking too.
One surprise was that the food available at the Zion Lodge café inside the park was reasonably priced. We each got chicken sandwiches (that included generous amounts chicken, lettuce and tomatoes) for about $5-6. I’ve found that most tourist attractions hike their prices inside because they know you have nowhere else to eat. It was very relieving to know that we could buy a reasonably priced food inside the park.
Pick up or download a park guide from their website. It is full of information about Zion National Park including shuttle details, trail maps, free programs and tours, and much more.
Extra Note: If you go to Zion, also check out Bryce Canyon National Park. About 1-2 hours north of the east entrance. It is simply amazing as well. Visit Flickr.com and do a search for Bryce Canyon and you’ll see what I mean.
From Zion, we’re off to the Grand Canyon…
Bio: Ashley Mikulik (aka WriterGal) is a Vancouver-based blogger, writer, editor, print and web designer, Social Media and communications consultant, and amateur photographer and videographer. In her spare time, she loves to take photos, travel the world, drink Tim Horton’s coffee and cook (especially desserts). Ashley is an avid traveler and has visited over 19 countries in the past 2 years.
Follow WriterGal’s local adventures, product and movie reviews, and tips for small businesses on her blog or via Twitter.
Zion National Park is highlighted on the Flight Centre travel map.
Tags: Byrce Canyon National Park, National Parks, US Travel, Zion National Park
Categories: Off The Beaten Path
