Zion National Park

Picnic lunch at Kolob Canyon
see all photos »

For the following two days, we moved on further south to Zion National Park. On our way, we stopped for a picnic in Kolob Canyon (in northern Zion NP) and also for a round of golf near Hurricane, UT at Coral Canyon Golf Course. We loved our round and it was a great course. We saw at least 75 rabbits during our round – better than the geese that we always see at home on the course!

For our time Zion NP, we stayed in Springdale. It’s a charming little town with fabulous eats. Highly recommend 1) Bit & Spur (mexican) 2) Oscar’s (burgers) and 3) Whiptail Grill (shrimp tacos).

Nature pic of the day - at the golf course
see all photos »

Zion National Park is gorgeous and very different from the last two parks we visited. Here, it’s all about rock and water. The Virgin River runs through the gorgeous Zion Canyon. We chose for our first morning hike up to Angel’s Landing. It’s about a 1500 foot high landing with very narrow footpaths along the way and there were no less than 21 switchbacks to make our way up to the landing. It was actually quite scary at some points and they have heavy chains along many portions for you to hang on to in case you slip. We also found out that a man died just last Friday when he fell off. It’s a good thing we did not find this out before our hike or we might have rethought our day. Thankfully, we did the hike as the views and experience were worth it!!

Car pic of the day - Red Rock Canyon
see all photos »

We did a few smaller hikes the next morning before heading out to St. George. One thing we didn’t get to which will be a must-do next time around is hike through the narrows. The narrows is the point in the canyon where the river and surrounding walls narrow to just 20 feet wide so the hike is basically through the river. Didn’t have the time this time around, but most certainly will in the future.

Our final night was spent in St. George, UT. We enjoyed one more round of golf here – in mere 105 degree temps. Quite hot, but not so bad with no humidity like we have at home.

Zion NP
see all photos »

We plan on spending the next week or so in San Diego with family before heading up the California coast.