Zion National Park, Utah

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So, the first stop in our tour of southern Utah and northern Arizona was Zion National Park. On the first day we took in the main canyon and on the second we did a full day hike in Kolob Canyon. The 13-mile hike through Kolob Canyon to the Kolob Arch is a highlight that not many people get to experience. We stayed at the Best Western in Springdale that is just outside the park. Very nice hotel, convenient, with great views (and we snuck in on the winter rates by one day). On day 1 we started with the Sandy Beach trail that was a little traveled out and back trail in the main canyon. The payoff was a nice view at the turn around point. The hike took us less than 2 hours. Later we did the Grotto Trail that leads up to Angels Landing. We took the trail up to the chains on Angels Landing but didn't continue from there. The hike was about 3 hours. Also, a nice waterfall view can be seen by driving to the end of the canyon with no hiking required. The true highlight of Zion for us was getting away from the mainstream sightseers to do the Kolob Canyon hike. The views were incredible with a payoff of seeing the largest freestanding natural arch (Kolob) in the world at the turnaround. Now on to the challenges. First, I would have to recommend doing the trail when the conditions are drier. We slogged through snow and mud much of the day. Also, the water level rose significantly on our return so that we had 24 creek crossings in freezing cold water!! Somehow, the park brochures neglected to mention this detail. Second, we saw fresh mountain lion tracks most of the day. Although we only saw a handful of people the whole day, one young woman who we came upon was still reeling from encountering a mountain lion just in front of us.

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Photos

Kolob Arch
The largest free standing natural arch in the world - 6.5 miles out from the trailhead