Zion

To enter Zion National Park from the east, you have to drive through a tunnel more than a mile long hewn from the nearly impassable mountains surrounding the park. The tunnel was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Core in the late 1920s and opened in 1930.

Exiting the tunnel, you come out into a lush, green valley surrounded on all sides by rough, rocky mountains.

The sky overhead was dark and gloomy as we made our way into Zion, the third-busiest national park in the country (as of 2023). The scenery around us was stunning, but the traffic and crowds put an early damper on our visit. It was almost impossible to get a parking spot at the overcrowded visitor's center, and since most of the park's roads are closed for shuttle use only, we were forced to exit the park and pay a premium to park alongside the road in nearby Springdale.

It took more than an hour to find an available place to park in town, and some of us were starting to feel very grumpy. After a quick picnic lunch in the car, we were finally able to take the free shuttle into the park, but by this time it was already past noon.

Zion, like Grand Canyon National Park, does not allow private vehicles to drive inside the park. Instead, to cut down on traffic, the country's busiest parks operate a free hop-on-hop-off shuttle service which stops at various points of interest.

It's not too much of a hassle to take the shuttle, but it does mean that you sometimes have to wait for the next one to arrive.

Temple of Sinawava

The late start meant that we would really have to rush if we wanted to see some of the park's top sights. We ended up taking the shuttle to the very end of the loop where we got out to explore the Temple of Sinawava.

Named for Sinawava, the indigenous Paiute people's coyote god, the "temple" is a natural amphitheater carved by the Virgin River. In springtime, when snowmelt rushes down from the nearby mountains, the river can be extremely dangerous, and flash floods are such a common occurrence that The Narrows and other trails which follow the river are closed off during flood season.

On the day we visited, however, the river looked safe and tranquil, and we saw several people wearing rubber waders and carrying heavy wooden walking sticks, ready to begin their journey down The Narrows.

We took a walk down the Riverside Walk, a flat trail following the river to the beginning of the Narrows Trail.

Court of the Patriarchs

The Three Patriarchs, a trio of towering sandstone monoliths were named by Methodist minister Frederick Fisher after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob respectively.

Jacob Peak, however, sits slightly behind the more prominent Mount Moroni (named for the angel Moroni, who, in Mormon theology, presented Joseph Smith with the golden plates from which he translated and published the Book of Mormon), and is less visible.

Tracks on the sandy ground indicated that this was a popular equestrian trail, although we didn't see any horses when we were there. In fact, this was the first time we were able to get away from the crowds, and the first time that I felt we could really enjoy the peace and natural beauty of the park.

The one thing that really struck me on our journey through Utah is how, despite their relative physical proximity, each park is so vastly different from the next. The landscape and biology at Zion are totally unique amongst the Mighty Five, and even the colors of the rock are different at each park.

Human History Museum

Zion wasn't always named so. In 1909, President Taft crated the Mukuntuweap National Monument. When it was elevated to become a national park in 1918, however, the director of the National Park Service thought that an indigenous name might put Americans off from visiting and renamed it "Zion" in reference to the term used for the area by early Mormon pioneers.

Unfortunately, due to the overcrowding, traffic, late start, and rushed visit, I didn't end up with a very good impression of Zion. It's a shame, because I know it's one of the country's most beautiful parks and super popular for a reason. I'd like to give it its fair dues sometime now that I know a little better about how to visit it and when I have more time to explore.

There are a few big adventures in the park as well which would be away from most of the crowds. The Angel's Landing trek looks a bit too dangerous for a clumsy guy like me, but hiking down The Narrows, a stretch of river between two tall rocky cliffs, might be doable. I'll add it to my adventure bucket list for someday in the future when I will give Zion a second chance.