My brother claims Zion as his favorite National Park, so I finally gave it a try this year. While the trip didn't change my favorite NP, it was still pretty terrific.
Day 1
After a mid-day flight into St. George (love tiny airports like these - we were out with our luggage and rental car in no time flat), we headed up to the Kolob Canyons section to buy an annual pass, drive the Kolob Canyons Rd, and take a short warm-up hike on the Timber Creek Overlook trail. It was definitely uncrowded. I was hoping to stay closer to sunset, but was anxious to get into Springdale for the night.
Day 2
I have to admit, the Narrows was a pretty amazing hike. It was TOUGH. The hike had only reopened a week or two before, after being closed for several months due to snowmelt. The flowrate was in the mid-90s, I can't imagine how much harder it would be near 150 when the hike first reopened. It was hard to get an early start - we had to rent gear (special shoes, neoprene socks, and sturdy sticks - all very much appreciated) and shuttle to the trailhead at the end of the park, but we were still able to get started before 9 am, and still beat the mass of crowds.
The start of the Narrows.
Mystery Falls.
Tall canyon shot.
Wall to wall water.
Calmer spots.
Even though we were staying at the Zion Lodge for the next three nights, we still had to drive back to Springdale to return the rental gear. Surprisingly, I got a parking spot at Canyon Junction for a classic shot of the Watchmen.
Day 3
Hoping to escape the crowds and do something off the beaten path, I decided we'd hike the West Rim Trail, top-down from Lava Point (ish) to the Grotto. I have mixed feelings about this hike. On one hand, the scenery was varied and I enjoyed pretty much everything along the way. On the other hand, it was pretty long, and I was hiking with a novice hiker and while we tried to prepare for this, the look on his face was pretty miserable all day, in spite of his claims that he was enjoying it. We did successfully avoid crowds most of the day - aside from the one guy who took the shuttle with us, we saw no one on this hike until we got to Cabin Springs (mile 10 of 14.5). And after than, only a handful more until we got to the base of Angel's Landing. I'm disappointed that I didn't try Angel's Landing, but my feet were tired, it was hot, there were people (though not as packed as I imagined), and my BF was definitely not going to do it.
Morning views on the "boring" side.
The more exciting side.
Descending.
We came from somewhere up there.
Zion Canyon.