What to Know Before Hiking the Narrows at Zion National Park Utah : Ep.18

After a good sleep and a hearty breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon, we headed South from Cedar City, Utah and arrived in Springdale, Utah around 10:00am. Zion National Park is extremely busy in August and for good reason, the park has some of the most majestic geological wonders on the North American continent. It is not uncommon to see more Asians and Europeans than Americans. Unfortunately, Angel’s Landing was closed due to erosion to the trial from a major rainstorm two weeks prior so we settled for a just hiking the Narrows at Zion National Park.

As you enter the entrance of the park you will cross a bridge that takes you to the entrance gate. After paying admission you will line up in a queue for a shuttle. Depending on the time of year, the queue will be a 15-30 minute wait. The shuttle will stop at at all the major scenic spots along the way so it take about 45 minutes to get to the last stop which is the Temple of Sinawava.

At this point I would recommend you use the restrooms and make sure you have plenty of water as you won’t be back to civilizations for at least 5 hours.

The trailhead at the Temple of Sinawava starts out with an easy paved road that is ADA accessible. The trail is about a mile long and runs along the river. If you just want a sample of the scenery this a nice scenic troll. You will then come to the end of the paved pathway and enter the Virgin River. From this point on you will be hiking the narrows in water so make sure you are prepared with your hiking poles and good water shoes.

For the next mile you will be winding up the Virgin River in ankle to knee deep water. I really enjoyed the scenery right out of the gate. The slot canyons widen and narrow at various points allowing the sun to warm you as you make your trek up the river. Even in the middle of August the temperature will remain in the 70s due to the cool water from the river and the shade provided by the massive canyons.

The variety of scenery along the hike is amazing. The canyons twist and turn every few hundred yards making the narrows hike very interesting and kept me curious for what I might found around the next bend. After a few hours of hiking we stopped on a sunny river bank and found a few boulders that we used as a makeshift park bench. We then continued up the canyon for another mile and discovered Wall Street, a section of the Virgin River with towering cliffs that resemble the banking district of New York City.

After 3 hours of hiking up the Narrows at Zion National Park, we decided to stop and rest and then make our way back down. The return hike only took 2 hours as we had no need to stop and take pictures and videos.

We worked up quite an appetite hiking the Zion Narrows and decided to stop and grab some ribs at Oscar’s on our way out of town.

TIPS: Arrive early (8am) to beat the crowds on the shuttle buses. Make sure you have some food or snacks. Observe rain and flash flood notices posted at the entrance of the Temple of Sinawava. Wear good shoes. No flip flops. HIKING POLES ARE A MUST!

Shoes: Tevas, Tennis. Hiking Shoes if you have unsteady ankles or knees
Gear: Hiking poles and day pack highly recommended
Difficulty: 4/10
Duration: Approx. 6-10 hrs depending on how far up you hike
Park Entrance Fee: $35.00/group up to 8 people
* Disclaimer: Flash flood danger. Lots of rocks under the surface that you can not see.

LINKS:

https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/most-visited-parks/zion/ : VisitUtah.com Information Site
https://oscarscafe.com : Oscar's Cafe

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#zionnarrows #zionnationalpark #zion #mightyfive #utah #utahisrad #utahnationalparks

Видео What to Know Before Hiking the Narrows at Zion National Park Utah : Ep.18 канала Lava Lifestyle Co.