Published May 11, 2022

The annual national park tour heads to Zion National Park out in Utah, and the trip did not disappoint! Located in Southwest Utah, Zion is a huge state park filled with canyons, hiking trails, and cliffs. I am nowhere near a hiking expert, but this national park offers a variety of hiking levels, ranging from beginner to the more advanced/treacherous hikes.

Day 1: The Overlook

The initial hike was up to the Canyon Overlook Trail, which is exactly it says: you get to overlook one of the canyons in Zion. The hike was the simplest of the hikes, as the elevation climb was very little (around 100 feet), but the views around were amazing to see. It's a great introduction if you're new to hiking, and you can sit on the rocks and enjoy the small wild life (like the chipmunk in the photo to the right!)

Since it was the easier of the hikes, we ran into small crowds of people. Nothing too uncomfortable, but do expect to have a couple of stops to allow people to ascend/descend, since some parts are a bit more narrow. I'd recommend doing the hike during sunset primarily because the sun won't be so high and beaming down on you, but do be prepared to bring a jacket as the air does get rather cooler up there.

Although the overlook had a perfect view of the canyon with the sun setting over it, it wasn't the best spot to get the sun setting colors, if that makes sense - you can visibly see the sun itself set, but to get the actual glow of the sun hitting all the mountains around Zion, it was not ideal. Learn from my mistakes, friends...

....or not learn! The glow of the sun bounced off the pavement of the winding road below perfectly, setting up for this glorious shot. As the sun is setting, it's a great perspective as the sun rays shoot through the clouds, and all the dust/mist being kicked up to gave this image depth that is, more often than not, tough to take in a photo.

It's hard to believe that these canyons located out in remote/desert locations can have so much green and life still. It really does make you enjoy the beauty of nature!

For the photographers - something to remember is to expose for the brightest part of the image, as it is near to impossible to recover that part of an image in post.

Hiking difficulty:3/10 (some small spots were you may have to shimmy)
View: 10/10 (as you can see!)

Day 2: The Canyon

Located out in Kanab, Utah, this place was a little bit more of a trek (about an hour away from our lodging), but definitely worth the journey! Peek-a-boo Canyon got its nickname from the children of the local Native American tribe that used to play peek-a-boo around the winding curves of this slot canyon. From walking around it, too, there were enough of curves and crevices that you could definitely that game, easily.

The canyon walls were easily 100 feet tall, and navigating through it just awe-inspring. Because of the high walls, the weather stayed a lot cooler since there was no beaming sun to heat everything up. Be sure to check the weather forecast and be sure that there hasn't been rain around the area, as this place is susceptible to flash floods - how else would you expect this canyon to have formed?

Since this was one of the smaller slot canyons, this was a lot quieter than the larger, more popular ones, like Antelope Canyon. This was also a much simpler hike, as there was not any elevation gain, and we were practically traversing through the maze of the canyon, and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Hiking difficulty: 0/10 (no elevation gain, and it's almost like a stroll in the park)
Overall experience: 9/10, mainly because being the photographer I am, I wanted the peek of sun shooting into the canyon somewhere, but none to be found

Day 3: The Narrows

This was the hike I was looking forward to the most, as it was one of the more unique experiences. The Narrows, named because this is the narrowest part of Zion Canyon is a hike where we ford through the Virgin River with the canyon walls covering our entire walk.

Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! We showed up first thing in the morning, around 7:30am, to begin the hike. There was about a mile hike from the shuttle drop off to get to the entrance of The Narrows, which marks the beginning of the 10-mile round trip journey. The river flow, along with the rocks lying at the bed of the river, made it a bit tricky of a hike, since a good portion of the time spent is keeping yourself stable with each step.

There were twists and turns that keep you interested in the hike the entire experience, but do keep in mind that how far you walk in means you have the same distance you have to go to hike back! The canyon walls were a sight to see - you don't see how little you truly are until you see something so imposing. Every corner we turned, it was a different view/mood, and it kept us entertained the entire six-hour journey.

My favorite part was when the river went a little deeper, about waist deep, rather than ankle/knee deep. With the water flow constantly moving, the water pressure acts like compression therapy, and it turns it into a rather nice massage.

Hike: 10/10
Overall: 10/10 (I LOVED IT, and was, by far, my favorite hike so far!)

Some things to note:

• pack food/snacks/ample water because you will get hungry, and though you may not feel it, stay hydrated!
• go to one of the local outfitters prior and rent the neoprene socks/waders/bib/walking stick. That will keep your body dry!
• go early in the morning to avoid the large crowds of people as the day progresses.

Altogether, this was a fantastic getaway if you're into hiking, and in terms of activity, Zion offers a lot of different experiences that you wouldn't necessarily get at the other national parks. I may be speaking mainly because this trip is fresh on my mind, but The Narrows definitely stands out among one of the funnest (is that a word?) hikes I've done.

Where to next??? Stay tuned...