Zion Park. How to go to Zion National Park, useful tips, routes. Family portrait in the interior of Bryce Canyon

National Park USA Zion in Utah. Helpful information, routes, practical advice. Weather in Zion National Park, what time of year is best to go, infrastructure, movement around the park, overnight stays and the most scenic roads near Zion National Park.

I remind you that for travel in the USA necessary, it is quite simple to do if you follow all the necessary procedures.

Zion National Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the southwestern and western United States. I wouldn't compare it with, it's completely different. Zion Park can be compared with although he is less known. The same picturesque rocks and waterfalls as in Yosemite, routes, ideal infrastructure. Definitely worthy of a separate visit for a few days, if time and funds allow.

Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful - information

How to get to Zion Canyon National Park

It is very convenient to combine a trip to Zion Canyon With Grand Canyon and other parks in Arizona and Utah, for example, traveling through.


The most interesting places in Zion National Park (Zion)

You need to understand that you can travel by car or free shuttle to all points with short forays into the most beautiful places and do it in 3-5 hours. You can explore the park by choosing long routes, leisurely admiring the beauty of wild nature.

Zion National Park map

You can start from Zion Canyon Visitor Center and move up Temple of Sinawava.

Zion Canyon Visitor Center

This is the starting point on the route along Zion Canyon. There is a picnic area, toilets, an information stand with maps and routes and many other useful things.

Zion Human History Museum

Many Americans love museums; we drove along the entire route but did not look at the museum to save time. The museum has an outdoor exhibition, toilets, and a bookstore. Just like in the information center, you can fill containers with drinking water for free.

Canyon Junction

The point where scenic roads intersect Zion-Mt.Carmel Highway And Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. From here beautiful views on Virgin River And Zion Canyon. From this place you can go on a trek along Pa'rus Trail, which is also available for cyclists.


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

Court of the Patriarchs

A short and steep climb to the view point with views of the peaks Abraham, Isaac, Jacob as well as mountains Moroni And The Sentinel


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

Zion lodge

Historic Zion Canyon Lodge, quite expensive. The conventional center of the national park with restaurants, bars, toilets, drinking water, souvenir shops and other tourist amenities. Here you can take a break before new tracks, of which there are quite a lot from this point.

Most popular routes – Emereald Pools Trail, The Grotto trail and Sand Bench Trail. A picturesque river flows nearby Virgin river along which you can find wild deer and other smaller animals.


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

The Grotto

The next bus shuttle stop after the lodge is Grotto, here big square for picnics, toilets, drinking water. Views of the Virgin river and Angel Landing - an observation deck that is worth walking to. Access to Grotto Trail, Kayenta trail and West Rim Trail.


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

Weeping Rock

From this place you can climb to the rock from which the dripping source of water formed hanging gardens. Views Angel Landing And Big Bend. Access to routes Weeping Rock And East Rim Trail(Eastern cornice), Hidden Canyon Trail And Observation Point Trail. We left a little late, after 16:00, and reached the observation points by sunset; we returned almost in the dark. Don't repeat mistakes, start all routes Before lunch, then there is a chance to walk along three or four routes in one day and see the maximum.


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

Big Bend

The bend of the Virgin River and the picturesque overhanging cliffs around it, offering views of Virgin River, Angel Landing and The Great White Throne.


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

Temple of Sinawava

The final part of the bass shuttle route, but not the end of the national park. Behind TempleofSinawava the route begins to a place called TheNarrows – a narrow crevice along the canyon along which the route is laid, as well as Riverside walk– hike along the river bed. All only accompanied by ranger guides and with a separate permit.

Hiking along the trail The Narrows– this is more than 20 km. along the river, sometimes through narrow crevices, hence the name of the route-terrain. It takes the whole day, this needs to be taken into account when planning. This route requires a separate permit, see paragraph How much does it cost to visit Zion National Park?


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

The Most Interesting Drives in Zion Park with Panoramic Views

The above route along Zion Canyon– small part Zion National Park. You won’t be able to see the entire park under any circumstances, but you can see the main places by driving along the steepest scenic roads in the park. There are only three of them.


Zion National Park, Utah, USA - useful information

Kolob Canyons Road

Located in the northwestern part of the park (Interstate 15), this 5 mile road runs along the red rocks of the Kolob canyon and ends observation deck Kolob Canyons Viewpoint.

Zion - Mt. Carmel Highway

12 mile panoramic road connects the southern and eastern entrances to Zion National Park, prohibited for large trucks.

Kolob Terrace Road

Steep 20 mile road starts at Virgin city and rises north to the place in the park from which you can enter Lava Point. The road is often under repair and is not recommended for heavy trailers and cars with trailers due to its steepness and serpentines.

Where to Stay When Visiting Zion National Park

On Zion Park area There is a lodge and several hotels, the price of accommodation in them is high due to constant good demand, in the season it is more than $200. If you don’t want to sleep in tents at campsites, the best option find a hotel in neighboring cities Springdale or Kanab.

We liked it Kanab town- from there except Zion Canyon you can get to such interesting places as The Wave or, in the city you can find inexpensive comfortable housing for $60-$100 for two.

Zion is a US national park spread over an area of ​​593 km2. The main feature of the park is the Zion Canyon, which is 25 km long and reaches a depth of up to 900 meters in places. The canyon was formed by the Virginia River, which eroded sandstone.

The canyon was discovered by Mormons in 1858 and soon settled. Realizing the value of these places, in 1909 the territory was declared national monument Mukuntuvip, but nine years later it received its current name. In 1919, the monument received the status of a national park, and in 1956, Kolob Canyon was added to the park.

The Kolob and Zion Canyons began to form over 150 million years ago. Under the influence small seas, who left their deposits here. About 12 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau rose about 3 kilometers. Most highest point The park is considered Mount Horse Ranch, with a height of 2660 meters, the most low point has a value of 1120 meters above sea level.

Before Zion National Park was created, there was no tourism infrastructure. But already in 1910 they began to rebuild railway into a highway, and by 1917 the first road to Zion Canyon appeared here. The length of the road was 10 km and it ended at the temple of Sinawava (Sinawava is an Indian god in the skin of a coyote). Hiking trails to the Zion Narrows gorge already begin near the temple. Since then, the flow of tourists has only increased; in 1920, 3,692 tourists visited these places, and by 2000, the flow of tourists reached 2.5 million people, becoming one of the most popular national parks in the country, on a par with the Grand Canyon Park. To protect the environment, from April to October, all traffic except special buses is prohibited on the road. Buses take tourists to all important points of the park. In November - March you can drive around the park by private vehicle.

It is difficult to find a place in the United States comparable in grandeur and beauty to Zion National Park. Here the sky is unusually clear, and the landscapes that open to the eye amaze with their beauty. The park contains both deserts and forest areas; due to such diversity, a unique animal and vegetable world. In Zion Park you can find almost 300 species of birds, 75 species of mammals and 32 species of reptiles. Animals commonly seen include deer, mountain lions, condors and golden eagles.

There are many routes for tourists walking routes with varying levels of difficulty. Every year hundreds of tourists come here to stroll along dangerous path The Narrows are canyon areas near the Virginia River. The river has carved an incredibly beautiful canyon, and the excursion here will seem unforgettable. Another trail leads to Angels Landing Mountain. Many tourists strive to climb this mountain and sometimes accidents occur due to the difficulty of the climb, but the views of Zion Canyon are worth it.

From March to October, visitors can enjoy the following entertainment options: cycling and horseback riding, as well as mountaineering.

). A visit to Zion is often combined into one trip National Park and Bryce canyon national park, since the distance between these parks is only about 2 hours, here is the map:

google.com/maps/
We left home (Southern California) at 5 pm, and by 12 midnight we reached the city of St. George, we spent the night there and at 9 am we set off to explore Zion Canyon.

Entrance to the park costs about $20 (2013), cards are accepted. This is the road at the entrance to the park.

We got to Zion Park in mid-December, so it was cold and we couldn’t walk much outside. But I was glad that there were few people. Although even just being in the car and driving around the park is already pleasant, because the views here are beautiful. If you come in the summer during peak season, then, firstly, it can be very hot outside, and secondly, you will have to move around the park on public shuttles, and you will need to park your car. You can come to Zion with a campsite, but you need to make reservations in advance. There are many equipped picnic areas and bicycle trails.

First view point. There are trails at each point.

We dressed warmly and decided to walk along a small path. Just got out of the car when we saw a small family of elk or deer. In general, there are a lot of animals in the park; you can see them everywhere.

The path led upward, so at first it was difficult and very dangerous to walk, because... the trail was narrow and slippery, but the views we had were worth it

This park is passable, so you don't have to go back to the entrance to leave the park, you can just drive through it and get on Highway 89, leading to Bryce Canyon. On the way we saw a beautiful river

The whole road along Route 89 is very beautiful: all around high mountains, rocks, trees. My idiotic smile, which appears when I see something beautiful, again did not leave my face all the way. Zhenya always makes her laugh. The road through the park and along Route 89 simply makes you want to keep your camera in your hands the whole time. It's simply impossible to resist capturing those amazing views.

Zion Park, of course, is beautiful, but if you compare other canyons, then I would still put Bryce Canyon in first place (there is a trip report), then the Grand Canyon and only then Zion. But it's still worth going there if you're planning a trip to Bryce or Colorado.

Utah has become the fourth American state on our trip. By the way, once upon a time we pronounced the name of this American state as Utah. Utah is part of the system of the Mountain States of the USA, which includes Arizona, which we just left, and besides them also Nevada, which we have already visited and will return to, as well as Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming.


All this mountain system Cardillera and predominantly Rocky Mountains. “Farewell to the Rocky Mountains, the Fatherland is calling for heroic deeds”... It’s a good song, but it’s not about these Rockies, but about ours. All these Mountain states stretch from north to south from Canada to Mexico and separate the western ocean states from the east of the country.


Utah is the 45th American state. Like California and Texas, like Arizona and Nevada, Utah was Mexican, but after Mexico's defeat in the war it became part of the United States. However, Utah received state status only in 1896, and before that it was called Utah Territory. The population of Utah is religious, but does not profess traditional Catholicism, but belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints last days. They are also called Mormons both in pre-revolutionary Russia and in Soviet times this religious branch was classified as sectarianism. They are not favored even now, and not only here. The founder of the Church is considered to be Joseph Smith, who, as he himself claimed, translated the Book of Mormons with the good pleasure of Jesus Christ himself. And when this book was published, Joseph Smith gathered about sixty of his associates in the log house of Peter Whitmer Sr. in Fayette, New York, and announced the formation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The church grew quickly. Smith's supporters, at his call, first moved to Ohio and then to Missouri. Mormons did not take root anywhere. They were oppressed by the authorities, their churches were ravaged by rioters, church leaders were imprisoned... in 1838, the first President Joseph Smith was shot dead in prison by rioters who burst into prison.

The second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was Joseph Smith's associate Brigham Young, the organizer of the resettlement of Mormons to the Greater Greater Salt Lake and construction of Salt Lake City. It was still Mexico then. Young managed to attract about 50 thousand immigrants from the Midwest and emigrants from Europe to Utah. From 1851 to 1858 (this was already America), Young served as governor of the Utah Territory, managing both ecclesiastical and secular affairs. But it must be said that the Mormons attacked the federal government with terrible force. With his love of freedom, desire for independence, failure to comply with the orders of the feds and, of course, polygamy. And who will like it if you have one, and your neighbor has four - and all are smart, beautiful and, God forbid, also rich! They started knocking, informing, signaling... And fulfilling the will of the people and the orders of voters, you can’t do anything! Here you will not only freeze the indexation of pensions, not only will you introduce a fee for parking, not only will you prohibit gatherings of more than three (the full list will be presented in the appendix), but it won’t take long to start a war! And so US President Buchanan decided to appoint a “Varangian” as governor of Utah - Alfred Cumming, an outsider who was not a Mormon. Well, just imagine if tomorrow some Ivanov-Petrov-Sidorov is appointed president of, for example, Chechnya... Can you imagine? So the so-called Utah War began, and a regular army was sent to Utah. War is always cruel. And it is always not those who unleashed it who die in it. And in this war, a detachment of Mormons massacred 120 settlers who were transiting through Utah on their way to California. At the same time, attacking the settlers, they disguised themselves as local Paiute Indians. However, fearing that the settlers would unravel this masquerade, the commander of the Mormon Southern Legion, with the blessing (as some sources write) of Brigham Young, organized a real massacre when everyone, including women and children, was slaughtered. And then Civil War- no time for investigations. It was only in 1874 that one single culprit was identified - the commander of the Southern Legion, John Lee, who was executed in 1877.

Brigham Young, they say, wanted to take the Mormons to Mexico and burn Salt Lake City, but he did not carry out his intentions, but refused the governorship. In June 1858, troops entered the city and Cumming took over as governor. But statehood was not given to Utah for a long time due to more than cool relations and mutual distrust of the population and federal authorities.

Brigham Young Having escaped punishment, he remained president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until his death in 1877. He had a total of 55 wives (!!!) and 57 children (!!!). The sultans are resting.

That's where we've come, guys!

Looking ahead, I remembered how during sightseeing tour in Las Vegas, having heard Russian speech, a family came up to us - a husband, wife and student daughter. The girl was born in Nizhny Novgorod and was transported to America in infancy. Perfect Russian, and I note that not all children of our emigrants have this. And he dreams of going to Russia. We came from Salt Lake City to unwind. "Mormons?" - I ask. “No,” they laugh, “but our neighbor is a Mormon, he doesn’t understand anything about cars, but he always offers to help.”

According to census data, there are still about 60 percent Mormons in Utah. There is a high birth rate and low death rate. I was surprised, but the state motto is “Industry”!


Utah State Flag

And indeed, with a very small (less than one percent) population, Utah produces oil, gas, coal, copper, produces components for aircraft and space, there is a chemical and mining industry here... And, of course, tourism is developed here and they were what we show. And although we did not reach the Great Salt Lake (included in the UNESCO list) and the capital of the state and winter olympic games We didn’t see Salt Lake City in 2002 either, but we visited two national parks fantastic and indescribable beauty.

Not all tours include a visit to Bryce Canyon National Park - its location is too inconvenient. But flying across the ocean, finding yourself in the wild west and not seeing Bryce Canyon would be both unreasonable and wasteful.

Most convenient place Our overnight stay before leaving for Bryce Canyon was in the small town of Kanab in Utah, which is locally called “Little Hollywood.” During the golden age of the Western, which took place in the 50s - 70s of the last century, many famous Hollywood film studios made their mark in the vicinity of Kanab more than once.


Along the main street of Kanab there are small tablets “UTAHS LITTLE HOLLYWOOD” indicating the films and the actors who starred in them.


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Main street of Kanab - MAIN STREET

In addition, Kanab has gone down in history as the city on whose main street one of the first Levi Strauss jeans stores was opened almost a hundred and fifty years ago.


Leib Strauss, who emigrated from Bavaria to America and later changed his name to Levi, started a business in New York, where he and his brothers sold fabrics. Then the family moved to San Francisco and the brothers began to supply ship canvas from Europe for sewing awnings and tents. It was an interesting time - a gold rush, and risky guys from all over America came to the Wild West in the hope of getting rich. And not only from America. Strauss's business was booming. Gold miners often had to work on their knees, which caused their pants to wear out quickly. So Levi Strauss decided to sew pants for them from durable canvas fabric. As for color, allegedly during a storm, indigo paint, which was made in Genoa, spilled in the hold of a ship that was transporting, among other things, canvas for Strauss. This happened in 1867, and the whole story was documented in the factory museum in San Francisco. Nothing, however, survived - the factory and museum were completely destroyed during a terrible earthquake in 1906. The very name “jeans” comes from Genoa, but these wonderful pants began to be called that way already in the middle of the twentieth century, when they came into fashion largely thanks to Marlon Brando and other Hollywood stars.

Different sources give different figures for the cost of the first jeans. In general, we can say that they were sold for no more than one dollar. Now there are simply no jeans in this store that cost less than $100. And to be honest, I didn’t like the quality.

So, left without jeans, but enriched by the history of their creation, we moved forward, ready to enjoy the beauty National parks Utah. Zion Canyon is not far from Kanab, but first we have Bryce according to plan.



We stop at a fork near an Indian store - everything a tourist’s soul desires! Another hundred kilometers and we are almost there. From the 89th road we turn onto the 12th and I already thought that here it was - Bryce Canyon.

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But no, this is just a prelude - Red Canyon, located in the Dixie National Forest.

The name of the canyon generally corresponds to the color of the rock formations. Although these are not rocks at all, but sandstones. And the red color comes from an excess of iron oxides. And such beauty against the green background pine forest!


We pass by the small Bryce Canyon airfield. For example, a plane of tourists is taking tourists to Bryce Canyon. When the pilot saw the sign BRYCE KANYON AIRPORT on the roof of the barn (hangar), it was time to land.

There is very little left to the canyon, and it’s time to tell you more about it. Why Bryce? I have already written that in the mid-19th century, Mormons began to move to the Great Salt Lake area. One of the settlers was Ebenezer Bryce. Subsequently, Bryce, along with several other families, decided to move to the south of Utah Territory and settled on the high mountain plateau of Paunsaugunt in the area of ​​​​the then unnamed canyon. He was engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture, built a road and, together with other settlers, even dug a seven-mile irrigation canal. This place, however, is not the best for living - mountains, heights, severe winter, and after some time Bryce and his wife, who did not have the climate here, left for neighboring hot Arizona, and the canyon, which local residents called by Bryce's name, and so it remained Bryce Canyon.


8300 is the altitude in feet. And in meters - 2500! For comparison, this is almost the height of the Third Cheget in the Elbrus region!

And now to the beauties.

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Winds and erosion, rain and snow and, of course, time, turned the canyon into a fairyland.

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It seems to me that no imagination of the most brilliant sculptors in the world would be enough to create something similar to what nature has created here! For millions of years, slowly, she created this masterpiece, which, if the world does not completely go crazy, our descendants will admire for thousands of centuries to come.

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Legends are always created around beautiful and unusual things. The legend of the Paiute Indians (hence, I think, the name Utah) says that rock spiers of unusual shapes and colors are fossilized ancient people, punished in this way for some misdeeds. Strange! Were there really so many bad people among the Indians, since there were no Europeans in these parts at that time? Moreover, there are so many of these spiers, called hoodoos, that the whole of modern America, no matter how much someone might want it, would not be enough to create such a “sculptural group.”


No photograph can fully convey the grandeur and beauty of Bryce Canyon.

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The gesture is involuntary. What can you do, I want to somehow express my emotions from being in this beauty.

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Does it look like a fist? Threatens from under the ground!!!

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How lucky! In a natural arch in bright light there are two small figures!

Everyone standing under the camera lens in the background amazing beauty and the expanse of Bryce Canyon, there is some kind of irresistible desire to flap your arms like wings.

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It is better to take photographs from each observation deck at certain hours.

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For example, Sunrise Point - Sunrise Point (pictured) or Sunset Point - Sunset Point. All guidebooks write about this.

"Maybe. But for this, at a minimum, you need to come here, a) specifically; b) alone; c) without time limit. This is not for us! We need to go, hurry, run in order to catch something on the go, see something else on the fly, shoot, photograph and then, returning home and looking at the photographs we took ourselves, painfully remember - what is it, who is it, where am I and what am I am I doing here? This is me modestly quoting myself from the article “Journey to the Land of the Rising Sun”

Bryce Canyon is home to snow leopards, foxes, black bears, deer, antelope, and moose. But the undisputed ruler, who has no competition here, is the mountain lion or puma - the largest specimen of the cat family in North America. Fortunately, we did not encounter any of the mentioned predators, and therefore the size of our group (to some regret) remained unchanged.

Admire the photographs of Bryce Canyon, while we have lunch, because, of course, you will be full of beauty, but not for long. And if you haven’t forgotten yet, another miracle of nature awaits us today - Zion Canyon.

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The photos of details, small groups are really beautiful.

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Family portrait in the interior of Bryce Canyon

American topographer Thomas Bailey described it this way: fancy shapes hoodoos: ...the surface drops off almost perpendicularly to a depth of several hundred feet - it appears as if the bottom had disappeared, revealing cliffs displaying all the shapes and configurations of a picturesque landscape. There are thousands of red, white, purple and scarlet colored rocks of all sizes, evoking an association with guards on castle walls, monks and priests in their robes, cathedrals and their parishes. There is deep caves and spaces like the ruins of prisons, spiers and battlements, secluded places and recesses, representing the wildest and most beautiful scenery ever seen by man; in fact, it is one of the wonders of the world.”

We return along the same road 89 and turn right at the Indian store. It's already close. Our guide tells us about American bison and that there are almost none left in America.

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Before he had time to say this, on the left side we see a small herd of buffalo - forty head. But what alarmed me was that a little further away, but quite close, a white cow with black spots was walking calmly. True, her horns are no worse than those of bison. And why did she get involved with the bison? Somewhat frivolous...

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Zion Canyon's signature feature is Chess Mountain.

This is our first stop. Tall, cone-shaped, similar to a chessboard. All that remains is to paint it in black and white checkered. They write: “it is divided into squares under the influence of winds and water flows.” But how can this be? Why are all the neighboring mountains, blown by the same winds and soaked by the same rains, not divided into any squares? Guys, this is just an ordinary miracle. And a miracle needs no explanation. Watch and be surprised!



We enter the gorge. These are real rocks here. Granite! Firmament!

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To the right of the road, it’s not a herd, or a flock, but a group of mountain goats that is quietly moving. Horns - be healthy! In general, I wouldn’t want to have anything in common with “goats.” And I wouldn’t want to meet such a goat on a narrow road either. mountain path. They're probably clicking on granite, but we can't hear it on the bus.

The gorge either widens or narrows and it seems that we will never miss oncoming cars or that the bus is about to hit its side against a rock that has suddenly crept up on the right. But no. Despite the impressive size of our bus, nothing like this happens.


After Los Angeles, we stopped in Las Vegas for a few hours, thus completing a circular route through Nevada and California, and went to continue exploring American national parks, this time in the most beautiful states - Utah and Arizona. We have 10 days ahead of us to visit natural masterpieces!

On the section from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, we probably set a personal record for cruising speed - we covered a distance of 440 km in less than 4 hours! Between these cities, among the endless desert, surrounded by bizarre cacti, there is an excellent highway - smooth and straight as an arrow, with virtually no bends or turns. The air temperature outside changed as we approached Las Vegas - from 17°C on the coast it gradually rose to 36°C in the desert.

From Los Angeles we took with us a travel companion - a young Frenchman from Marseille named Francois, whom we met through couchsurfing. In this way, we killed two birds with one stone: firstly, it’s more fun to travel together, and secondly, we divided the cost of gasoline, this way it turned out cheaper than taking a bus and we saved a little =)

Francois lost his job and, before looking for a new one, went traveling; he has been in California for 2.5 months. Lives in hostels, surfs during the day, and hangs out in bars/clubs in the evening, moving from city to city, cooperating with other couchsurfers.

From Las Vegas to Zion we traveled another 230 km - the speed on this section, of course, was less, but this was more than compensated for by the stunning scenery. Nevada, with its endless deserts, ended very quickly and the fact that we had entered Arizona became immediately clear - people began to appear on both sides of the road impressive canyons and mountains


When we entered Utah, there was no end to our delight. If just the road and the mountains and gorges framing it are so fascinating, then what will happen in the national parks? It’s not for nothing that Utah is considered the most beautiful (from a natural point of view) state in America.

Already at the entrance to Hurekein, a small town next to the park where we planned to spend the night, we stopped to watch the sunset. For just 10 minutes, the sun illuminated the red hulks of Zion, after which it disappeared behind the mountains - if we had arrived just a few minutes later, this beauty would have gone unnoticed

In Hurekein, we stopped at Walmart for groceries and again couldn’t leave without cheesecake)) It’s no joke - we recently bought a cake for $15 and were happy about the cheapness, and then we discovered a huge assortment of all kinds of cheesecakes (real ones, with Philadelphia cheese!), weighing more than 1 kg. at a discount, for $7.50 (the expiration date expired in 3 days, so I had to work harder). Apparently, here we will fill up on cheesecakes for the year ahead :)
Spent the night at the hotel Travelodge Hurricane Zion National Park Area for $45.

We started our acquaintance with Zion Park with its wild part - Kolob Canyon

it is not at all equipped and almost deserted

We didn’t meet a single tourist there, only in one of the clearings where the trail to the bottom of the canyon begins we found a couple of parked cars. The trails from the canyon are distinguished by their complexity, designed for several days, and also very wild, difficult to pass in places

On the way deep into the canyon, we occasionally encountered ranches that looked half-abandoned, and of course, picturesque views - mountains and canyon crevices painted in orange and red colors

Although in some places there were also birch trees familiar to the eye
We went deeper and deeper, the road got worse and worse, and eventually turned into a dirt road. Although Kolob Canyon is considered part of Zion Park, direct message There is nothing between them, so to get to the main part of the park we had to go back to the main road.

The walk in Zion, unlike Kolob, takes place mainly along the bottom of the canyon, along a small but stormy river

There is a shuttle system to travel inside the canyon, as in many other parks (for example, Yosemite). Directions by car to interesting places- scenic views and hiking trails are severely limited or completely closed (for example, from April to October, during peak tourist activity), thus park visitors are encouraged to use buses.

This restriction is explained by concern for tourists - reducing traffic on the roads, saving gasoline, time and money. They also note that riding a shuttle is more useful from an informative point of view - they stop at all the attractions, the beginning of trails and treks, and, in addition, the drivers, while following the route, talk about the park, communicate with passengers, and give advice on what to see and what to pay attention to.

So, during one of the trips, the driver drew our attention to rock climbers on one of the walls of the canyon; we ourselves would hardly have paid attention to them, because... the climbers seemed like small dots, and who would have thought that there could even be people on such a steep wall?
It turned out that Zion is a favorite place for rock climbers. Only professionals can climb here - the gorges are too difficult and dangerous, there are no marked routes, so to practice rock climbing in the park, you need to get a special pass.

With the help of the guide in the information center, we compiled optimal route, chose 3 interesting hiking trails and visited the most famous points. One of the memorable ones, the weeping rock is a sheer wall, passing next to which you get splashed
Is not the only place in the park where we got wet. After walking along a scenic 2-mile trail, we came to the beginning of a difficult 9-hour route, through a gorge in a canyon along the river
Having seen how tired, wet, but happy the travelers who started at 7-8 in the morning were returning, we also decided to partially walk along this route

The trail began by crossing the river into a ford. The river in this place, although not deep, has a rather stormy current, a slippery, rocky bottom and icy water
Once on the other bank, and having walked about 100 meters along the path, we saw a new ford crossing, where the water rose even higher

We asked the travelers walking towards them further route and found out that around the bend a new ford awaited us, where the water was already, in some places, chest-deep. In the heat this is probably a good route - the temperature at the bottom of the canyon during the day is about 35 degrees, but the sun was already setting and it was getting cool, so we turned back

During a small picnic, two Korean women approached us and asked permission to photograph us. They gave us a backpack, showed us how to stand up and took some pictures - it turned out that the girls work for a Korean travel magazine. They wrote down our address, promised to send us a copy of the magazine, gave us souvenir scarves with national symbols and spent a long time explaining what it meant =)

 

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