This place isn’t called the Great Temple of Eternity for nothing! Zion National Park blew all expectations that I could have ever held for a national park. To think that this stop was not originally on this trip puzzles me. If there is one place to visit in your life, this is it! The Virgin River is what you see above, which has helped shape this entire canyon and national park. With more trails than can possibly be accomplished in one visit, we started our first visit to the park with a simple 2-mile round trip hike up to the Emerald Pools. The whole park is absolutely massive and the only way to get to a trailhead is by a shuttle that comes around every 7-10 minutes.
After a day of driving up and exploring a little bit of what Zion had to offer, we grabbed a tent site at Zion River Resort. The price was a bit steep for a tent site at $41/night, but the amenities are the best we’ve had at a tent site yet. The following morning, we had an early rise to get into the park first thing and hit the trails. The decision came down to which trail to do for the day: the Narrows trail which was an 8 hour, 9.4 mile round trip hike, or Angel’s Landing which was a 4 hour, 5.4 mile round trip hike. Both of these trails were labeled as strenuous, which makes it all the fun! After going back and forth on trails, we decided that the Narrows may be not as enjoyable due to the hike being predominantly through waterways going chest high that are currently sitting right around 42 degrees. Angel’s Landing was the chosen path! The reviews were great and pictures looked amazing from the top, so we packed up and hit the trail at 9:30 am sharp.
The trail began with a paved walkway that was extremely steep, gaining elevation fast, but the paved surface definitely helped with footing. After a lengthy hike up the steep walkway, we hit a flat spot to rest that was all red sand. Facing us was the toughest part of the hike: the traverse up Angel’s Landing. The trail consisted of uneven sandstone guided by one chain link rail on one side of the trail, only at some points. The narrowest point of the trail came in at roughly 2 feet wide with a 1,200 foot drop on both sides of you…don’t look down! At that point, staring down the half mile of almost straight up rock climbing, the nerves began to set in. There was no turning back, we had already come this far. Even more unsettling, a man who reached the top had tore his quad muscle and could not come down. Adrenaline was rushing through me in unbelievable amounts as I was preparing myself for probably the most intense climb I have done to date. This was not the White Mountains of New Hampshire anymore!
After each step was taken super carefully, we reached the summit in no time and you couldn’t get the smile off my face if you tried. A full panoramic view of the canyon surrounded us and it became very clear as to why the name of the summit was Angel’s Landing. Once the scenery was taken in and thrown in the memory banks for good, we started our way back down, fireman climbing down the metal chains to safety. The hike back to the trailhead seemed much longer than the hike up, but it was well worth it. We had the Virgin River awaiting us with its cold waters rushing underneath a bridge that we crossed. Being the wilderness men that we are, we naturally took initiative to jump right in the crystal clear pools of the river and I have never been so happy to relax in a river. At that moment in time, nothing could go wrong. That exact spot will forever be my own peace of nirvana and I absolutely will be going back sooner than later, hopefully to explore more of this beautiful park. My highest recommendations are to visit Zion National Park whenever you get the chance. Check out the amazing pictures we got from Zion National Park on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!
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