Zion / Bryce Canyon National Parks
National Park enthusiasts are probably thinking “who does this dude think he is lumping Zion and Bryce Canyon together!” Would you open a restaurant that serves Mama’s Italian meatballs AND Szechuan food together? Would you talk about the greatness of the Red Sox and the Yankees in the same breath? DO CATS AND DOGS GET ALONG?
Anyways, yes I should dedicate separate entries for each one. But I’m cutting this corner b/c:
Bryce Canyon is only about 80 miles from Zion
If you’re gonna do one, you really oughta do the other
I am lazy
Zion National Park
Things to know before going
Zion isn’t like most National Parks I’ve been to. You can’t just drive in, fumble around on a scenic drive, and park at the hike you want to do. It don’t work that way at Zion. You can drive in but parking is limited to the visitors center and spots are super scarce (like driving in circles for an hour eyeing people like hawks hoping they’re getting into their cars rather than out of their cars). Instead, Zion has a shuttle system. Which would be great and all if you could just hop on, hop off like you were on one of them double decker red buses in London. But that won’t fly either. You have to reserve your ticket(s) on a website (recreation.gov). The tickets are released every day at 5pm for the following day (I think you can reserve tickets in advance too but don’t quote me on that). BUT! The tickets go faster than the opening night to a Backstreet Boys concert in 1998. Seriously, my wife and I both had our computers out at 5pm on the dot and the tickets sold out in about a minute. So if you’re gonna go the shuttle system, be prepared!
Orrrr…..
You can ebike! Which is what we did and I would highly recommend it! We used Zion Adventures and they could not have been friendlier or more helpful. It costs around $85 / day per bike which I know is steep but the freedom and flexibility to just go (mostly) where you want is pretty fantastic. We took the bikes from downtown springdale all the way to the hike leading to the narrows (about 9 miles) and loved every moment of it. We chose Zion Adventures b/c they were the only one we could find that had a trailer attachment to haul our 2 and 4 year old. One thing to note about Zion Adventures: there is no phone number or online reservation system so you have to email them and they will call you back.
What to do
Kid friendly (think 2 and 4 year old)
Court of the Patriarchs (.4mi roundtrip fairly steep) — ok let’s get real. This isn’t a hike. It’s a stroll up a hill. But it’s on the way to the narrows and it presents really nice views of the three “patriarchs” (mountains). Great spot for pictures
Narrows Riverside Hike (2 mile roundtrip, relatively flat on mostly paved ground) — If you’re like us and have young kids in tow, hiking the Narrows is likely out (more on that below). However, you can hike to the Narrows which is a great place to take kids. There’s a gentle riverside down there where kids can climb and play in the water. I suggest taking a change of clothes for the kids and some river shoes / sandals. Also a great place to have a picnic
Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel — save this for your drive to Bryce. Because you’re going to Bryce, right? RIGHT?
Canyon Overlook — to be clear, we did not do this hike so I can’t personally attest to it. But it’s on the other side of the tunnel and supposedly pretty rad. If we had stayed longer, we would have hit this hike up. I have been told you can’t ebike to this hike — you can only get there by shuttle or car.
Note: we were going to do Weeping Rock but it is closed indefinitely because of a rock slide.
Not kid friendly
The Narrows — My wife did the Narrows about a year after she gave birth to our oldest. I guess one way to celebrate an arduous labor is to….do an arduous hike? I dunno but the woman is nuts. Either way, The Narrows is probably Zion’s most famous hike. You’ll need to rent river hiking shoes and my wife swears it’s a good idea to get walking poles (she almost didn’t and is very glad she did)
Angel’s Landing — Just look at the pictures to know why we didn’t take our kids on this hike. I mean the distance (4.4mi) and elevation gain (1,600’) would be daunting for any kid, it’s the steep drop offs that made this hike a no go for us. But the friends I know who’ve done it swear by it. You can apparently easily hike portions of Angel’s Landing without actually the “you might die” part.
Where to stay
I would suggest staying in Springdale, the town closest to the park. It might be a bit pricier but you can walk / bike into the park from there and there’s a few really good restaurants / shops to hit up. A few:
Oscar’s Cafe: tex-mex kinda vibe. Get the tamales
Deepcreek Coffee: good breakfast options. Line starts early so be prepared to wait
Pizza and Noodle: I thought it was gonna be gimmicky but honestly pretty good
Remember, you’re in Utah so getting a decent beer is a real pain in the ass (sorry Utah, y’all know I ain’t lying). If you’re coming from Vegas (which most of you will be) bring some booze with you. Or if you’re not a degenerate like me, you can just get Dirty Soda while you’re in Utah.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Getting to Bryce Canyon is a really pleasant drive through Zion National Park. Located about 80 miles / 2 hours northeast of Zion, Bryce is so unlike Zion it’s not even funny. Where Zion makes you feel like you’re shrouded in huge overwhelming mountains, Bryce looks like a pleasant grass field with trees until you come to the canyon and see this eerie, almost otherworldly array of red rocks and formations called Hoodoos. Even though we only spent about 2 hours in Bryce, I’m gonna say this is my second favorite NP in Utah.
Thor’s Hammer on the Navajo Loop Trail
I would love to tell you all the amazing things we did in Bryce but in reality, we did just one thing. But if you’re going to do one thing, this is the thing to do.
Navajo Loop Trail (2.5 mi roundtrip with 500+ feet elevation gain) — this is rated as difficult and there are some steep drop offs on this trail. That said, we did take out kids and our 4 year old handled it fine (she did say at the end “I can’t believe I finished that!”). Our 2 year old rode in the backpack so adding 35lbs of dead weight on our backs amplified the difficulty. But holy smokes as it worth it. The trail is a loop with an additional “add on” at the bottom to Queen’s Garden. If you go to Bryce, you have to do this. If you take your kids, be prepared for lots of stops and starts
Note: the parking at the main trailhead books up quickly but the lodge next door has ample parking and only adds about a 1/2 mile to the total hike.
