Several years ago, I was about to quit the last few hundred yards to complete the long and sometimes treacherous Angels Landing hike in Zion National Park when I had to move to the side for a pre-teen literally skipping her way back down. It was just the encouragement I needed to finish, and well worth it for the amazing 360-degree view from the top and souvenir photo of me with the memorable background in the distance.
Zion and its next-door neighbor Bryce Canyon are two of the most popular in the 400-plus destinations of the National Park Service, less than two hours apart, a few hours’ drive from either Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. Although both offer spectacular geological formations, they are quite different—one with deep canyons of red rock, the other filled withs otherworldly formations sculpted by millions of years of wind. Both, of course, offer endless outdoor opportunities, whether you opt to stay in one of the tent or RV sites or a rustic-style eco-lodge in the parks or nearby
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John Manard John Manard, CC BY-SA 2.0
Riverside Walk
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Tobias Alt; CC BY-SA 4.0
Angel's Landing
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Murray Foubister; CC BY-SA 2.0
Checkerboard Mesa
from Bryce through Zion to St George Utah...
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Philip N. Cohen; CC BY-SA 4.0
Bighorn Sheep
Zion was Utah’s first national park, named in 1919. Its highlight is a grand canyon some 2,000 feet deep, with hiking paths down to and along its floor, including popular Riverside Walk, a 2-mile paved trail that follows the Virgin River. There also are some dramatic narrow slot canyons, heaven for photographers because of the fascinating play of shadows along the multi-colored walls.
The most popular part of the park is Zion Canyon, which is off-limits to private cars from March to November, when emission-free electric shuttle busses make numerous stops between the Visitor Center and the Temple of Sinawava, including at a natural history museum. Permits are now required to hike Angel’s Landing, issued daily by a lottery system to control crowding.
Zion Lodge is the only lodging inside the park. It’s a rustic log lodge and stand-alone cabins, built originally in the1920s from local trees, nudging against a steep canyon wall. Restaurants and a summertime beer garden are open to the public.
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Visit Utah
Bryce Canyon
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Anna Irene from Frankfurt; Deutschland; CC BY-SA 2.0
Mossy Cave Trail
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Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford; United Kingdom; CC BY 2.0
Fairyland Trail
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The Lodge at Bryce Canyon_04_lemay; CC BY-SA 2.0
Cabins, The Lodge at Bryce Canyon
The Bryce Canyon Lodge was built around the same time, also with a main building and individual cabins, plus campgrounds. There’s minimal outdoor lighting here after dark, since Bryce Canyon National Park has official Dark Sky status, so be sure to bring your own flashlight or head lamp for starry night walks.
During the day, there’s hiking, ranging from the easy 1-mile Mossy Cave trail to a small waterfall, to the strenuous 8-miler to Tower Bridge and tall sand-scrubbed hoodoos on the well-named Fairyland Loop. It is these hoodoos—misshapen sandstone spires that are the park’s main attraction.
The Amphitheater area is the most visited—and most famous—section of the park. Stretching 6 miles, it is the scenic heart of the park, with spellbinding vistas at every turn, especially in early morning or late afternoon light, when the pink sandstone literally glows. Watch the sun rise from Bryce Point, one of the park’s highest overlooks. The easy half-mile Rim Trail connects Sunrise and Sunset Point. The free shuttle bus, from April to October makes all those stops, plus Inspiration Point, where there’s yet another all-around view.
Find additional accommodations just outside the parks, in St. George and Cedar City.
When you go
Zion National Park, https://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm
Bryce Canyon National Park, https://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm
Visit Utah, https://www.visitutah.com