The UT NP bucket-list countdown has begun!
I’ve lived in Utah for over 35 years and have explored a lot of this state and know it’s geography pretty good however, I have neglected visiting Utah’s National Parks.
So, the bucket list was established and it was time to start working on visiting the national parks within Utah. I’ll work on the National Monuments next.
Our first NP to visit was Zion. Wasn’t sure what exactly to expect with the government shutdown and all but was willing to take a chance. We staged out of Hurricane, UT which is a short distance from the park entrance, about 24 miles. Our first day in the park was very casual with no itinerary set. We headed into the park and just kept driving and pulling over often to take in the view and snap some pictures. At some point we realized that we’d like to check out the Zion Scenic Drive loop. Once we got back down to the turnoff we noticed that the NPS rangers had it blocked off. The ranger we talked to said there were over capacity in the loop and had to restrict further traffic going in. The ranger estimated about a 3-4 hour restriction. We didn’t feel like waiting so we headed towards Hilldale/Colorado City. That’s a story for another time. We had some friends in the area attending the Winter Jamboree which we visited the evening we arrived. We had planned to check out some of their gnarly 4×4 adventures but we really wanted to finish checking out Zion NP. We got up early the next day and headed towards the park. Once again the traffic was pretty light and there was no one at the park entrance to collect entrance fees. I’m told that visiting in the spring and summer months travel in the park is quite restricted and you have to rely on the shuttle services. We we’re able to run the Scenic loop and even stopped to do a short hike towards the Emerald Ponds. Unfortunately the ponds themselves were closed off due to trail damage but it was a fun hike nonetheless. We all look forward to visiting this NP again with the hopes of doing a lot more hiking. This views in the NP from the road are just breathtaking, I can only imagine what they are like off the beaten path.
California Condor’s
Mollies Nipple viewed from Sand Hollow State Park
Sand Hollow Reservoir
Emerald Pools waterfall
Buck Mule deer crossing the North Fork of the Virgin River.
Very nice collection of the park. Definitely want to get down to this one in the near future before the throngs start showing up. The National Parks here are on our bucket list too. Looking forward to hitting them all.
Thank you Mr. McBride. Talking with some friends, this was a great time to visit Zion. It’s the off season and with the govt. shutdown it allowed us to roam mostly free throughout the park.
I would like to go back when things are a little greener but this place is just amazing.