Zion National Park: Visiting Zion Canyon
In Zion Canyon , mighty walls of Navajo sandstone rise nearly half a mile above the groves of box elders and cottonwoods that line the loping North Fork of the Virgin River . The awe of the early Mormon settlers who called this "Zion" is reflected in the names of the stupendous slabs of rock along the paved six-mile Scenic Drive from the park entrance - the Court of the Patriarchs , the Great White Throne and Angel's Landing .Although Hwy-9 remains open to through traffic all year, the Scenic Drive is accessible to private vehicles during the winter only. Between April and October, all visitors, other than guests staying at Zion Lodge , are obliged to leave their vehicles either in Springdale or at the large new visitor center just inside the park (daily: April-Oct 8am-7pm; Nov-March 8am-5pm; tel 435/772-3256, ). Free shuttle buses run on two separate loops in summer - one between Springdale and the visitor center, with nine stops en route, and the other between the visitor center and the end of the Scenic Drive, with six stops including Zion Lodge .
The Scenic Drive ends at the foot of the Temple of Sinawava , beyond which the easy but delightful Riverside Walk trail continues on another half a mile up the canyon, to the point where the river fills the entire floor (a very welcome bathing spot in drier seasons). The current is too dangerous to continue upstream from this point, but at certain times of year (check with the visitor center), hikers determined to experience The Narrows - where the canyon is only 20ft across and the walls tower some 800ft straight up - can wade for eight miles downstream through the chilly river from a remote spot thirty miles north.
Less ambitious walkers might prefer to wander up to Weeping Rock , an easy half-hour round-trip from the road to a gorgeous spring-fed garden that dangles from a rocky alcove. From the same trailhead, a mile beyond Zion Lodge , a more strenuous and exciting route cuts through narrow Hidden Canyon , whose mouth turns into a waterfall after a good rain. Directly across from the lodge a short (two-mile round-trip) and fairly flat trail winds up at the Emerald Pools , a series of three clearwater pools, the best (and furthest) of which has a small sandy beach at the foot of a gigantic cliff; at certain times of the year a broad waterfall sprinkles down over the trail.
The single best half-day hike climbs up to Angel's Landing , a narrow ledge of whitish sandstone protruding some 1750ft above the canyon floor. Starting on the same route as for the Emerald Pools, the Angel's Landing trail switchbacks sharply up through the delightful coolness of Refrigerator Canyon before emerging on the canyon's west rim; near the end you have to cross a heart-stopping five-foot neck of rock with sheer drops to either side (there's a steel cable to grab hold of). That round-trip takes a good four hours, but backpackers can continue another twenty miles to the gorgeous Kolob Canyons district.
The high dry plateau above and to the east of Zion Canyon, reached by continuing on Hwy-9 at the Scenic Drive turnoff, is a complete contrast to the lush Virgin River gorge. Its most dramatic sight is the blind Great Arch , best seen from the turnouts before the mile-long tunnel, beyond which the Canyon Overlook nature trail gives a good introduction to the flora and fauna of the park, such as the speedy lizards that race from rock to rock.
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