Zion National Park was the fourth most visited park last year so we knew it was probably going to be a good one.
We also knew coming in that this National Park in Utah was so big that we'd need to allow ourselves multiple days to #explore. We originally scheduled 4 nights and five days, but we ended up staying 6 nights and 7 days. This was mostly because we were really enjoying ourselves, but also partially because we happened to land at this park over a holiday weekend. Up until this point we had been spoiled with virtually empty parks. What's not to love about that? We decided to bypass the park a couple days to avoid the "crowds" and in turn ended up really enjoying our free time at our dispersed camping site.
We arrived to Zion late Wednesday afternoon.
After taking the long drive from the East entrance to the West end of the park we checked in at the Visitor Center. The drive was a beautiful, allowing us to see many landmarks and a good portion of the park. Between the stop station you hit before driving through the 5,613 foot-long Zion Mt. Carmel Tunnel and the vast layout around the visitor center area, you could tell that this park was set up to accommodate big crowds. It reminded me a bit of an amusement park. Personally, this took away from the National Park feel, but I understand why it's important for this park to be set up in such a way. Nevertheless, we checked it all out and then headed inside to see what else there was to explore.
We had gotten into the habit of asking the always friendly and helpful park rangers about our camping options.
This time however, we were told that much of the land around the park was private land so it would be difficult to find anywhere on the outside to camp. Not being fully prepared ahead of time and with the day getting late we decided to settle down at a $30 campsite in the park for the night. While the site was nice, the fee was not ideal for our very small "affordable family travel" budget and definitely didn't classify as cheap camping. Nor did it afford us the space or privacy found at dispersed campsites.
Regardless, we took the opportunity to soak in the Zion National Park experience. The kids enjoyed a small game of soccer while we got things set up and then we took an exploration walk around the area. Afterwards we made dinner together as a family. We had flatbread cheese and pepperoni pizzas cooked on the grill. We had never done this before. To our pleasant surprise they turned out amazing. Our best homemade pizza attempt yet. Finally, it was time for some research.
Lucky for us, Kevin was able to find coordinates for a BLM site that sounded perfect.
Thursday morning we packed up and moved to the new dispersed campsite. It really was a phenomenal location. We were super grateful to find it as it ultimately saved us $150. We decided to spend the day at the campsite rather than turning around and heading right back into the park again. The downtime was enjoyed by all.
Friday happened to be Valentines Day so after a morning of opening gifts that Grandma was thoughtful enough to send along with us, we got ready for a day to explore the park. We took the Pa'rus Trail which is a nice paved path that follows along the Virgin River. You can also opt to take a path that runs along the same trail, but is on the sandy beach. We opted for the beach path much of the way which is where we spotted a rock that had been painted with a white heart on it. Suiting for the day.
The river was flowing with tiny waterfalls and rapids.
Listening to the water rush by was so relaxing even as we hiked on. Oliver enjoyed hopping from rock to rock while the girls were entertained by playing in the sand for a bit. Eventually we found a new path to follow towards the museum which was closed for the winter. We were pleased to run into a heard of deer enjoying lunch. They were nonchalantly munching away on grass and leaves. We decided to join them for lunch, but passed on the grass and instead went with Valentines Day candy and snacks that we had in our backpack. Eventually it was time to head back to our secluded campsite for some real food.
On our drive back, while we were waiting to pass through the tunnel, Emmylou spotted a big horn sheep on the hillside.
What?! That was super cool since we had never seen a big horn sheep in the wild before. #Wildlife!
Since the pizzas we made two nights ago turned out so yummy and we had extra ingredients, we made a last minute decision to make some heart shaped pizzas for dinner to keep up with a longstanding tradition that we started about ten years ago. After dinner and games it was time to turn in for the night.
We were so happy with our free BLM land campsite just 15 minutes outside of the park that we decided to skip the Saturday crowd at the park.
Once again, we really enjoyed some down time. Since we had very little cell service we were forced to be #unplugged - true freedom from the distraction of electronics. It was amazing to watch the creativity of the kids while they entertained themselves.
Eden built a replica of balanced rock and an arch while Oliver and Emmylou created their own mini golf course.
They made up some other games, explored the land, collected geodes, found a piece of petrified wood and had a great self taught geology lesson. A mega family wiffle ball game was played. Garbage was picked up. Campfires were made. Marshmallows were roasted and we had another awesome opportunity
to play with some night photography. We like to
call this #roadschooling. It was a great day!
Come Sunday we were back to braving the crowds.
The free shuttle just started running for the weekends so we took full advantage. Into the shuttle and along the scenic drive we rode. It was nice to sit back and listen to the narrative that told us all about the many landmarks surrounding us. Occasionally the shuttle driver would chime in with a "look at the deer to your left" or "way up there you'll see a mountain climber". The kids used this opportunity to fill out their Junior Ranger books.
Almost an hour later we arrived to our stop.
The final stop on the route. Riverside Walk was our plan for the day. We wanted to make it to the end to check out one of the most famous areas of this park, The Narrows. While we did make it to where The Narrows started we really couldn't see much without wading through the river. This is something that is common for that particular trail, but not something we were going to do that day.
We hung out for a while watching the river flow and the kids climb on the rocks. Eventually we started working our way back. At one point we were lucky to spot a couple of deer crossing the river. Once back to the start of the trail we jumped onto another shuttle. We took it to the lodge stop where we hopped out for a quick picnic lunch. One last shuttle would bring us back to the visitor center where we wrapped up our adventure for the day.
Although Monday was Presidents Day, we figured that most of the holiday weekend crowds would be heading home so we decided to spend one last day in the park. This time we took the scenic drive in our own car to the Grotto.
Our mission for the day was to make it to the Upper Emerald Pool.
The hike was a fun one and the views were fantastic. However, the Emerald Pool itself was a bit of a disappointment. I have a feeling the real beauty of this spot shines in the summer. Saving the day was a rock squirrel who served as our snack break entertainment. After hanging out for a bit down by the pool we started feeling pretty cold so it was time to pick up and hike back out. It felt so great once we made it back to the sunny spot. Instant warmth.
It's amazing how the temperature can change so much throughout the duration of one hike.
Once we were done we made one last stop to the visitor center where the kids received their Junior Ranger Badges. We took our final drive out of the park stopping for pictures here and there. Then, it was back to the campsite where we would spend one last night before heading on to park number ten.
This campsite and this park were very good to us. Definitely one of our faves. I've even given Zion a nickname. To me, it will always be the "Bob Ross" park.
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