With our annual India travel just around the corner, we usually don’t plan anything during Thanksgiving break – I think our last Thanksgiving trip was New Orleans in 2019! This year, Manasi was gone all summer for her internship – and how could we let a whole year go by without a family adventure?!! So it was time to bring out the bucket lists – and this year, one of Manasi’s must-sees made the cut – Zion National Park! She had the whole week off, which helped with the flexibility, and we were able to avoid the horrendously expensive Thanksgiving weekend airline tickets, and plan for the weekend before instead! And for a change, we flew from Peoria to Las Vegas – not the direct Allegiant flight though – but with a stopover in Chicago on United. So here goes – Zion National Park, with a garnish of Vegas!!

Getting to and around Zion – Our flight got into Vegas at about 10pm, and we left for Zion bright and early next morning. An easy 3 hour drive, Nevada to Utah, with a tiny slice of Arizona – very distinctive landscape with dramatic red sandstone cliffs, the flat-topped mesas and the carved canyons! Our hotel was a brand-new Holiday Inn at La Verkin, with a spectacular view of the snow-capped Pine Valley mountains and about 20 minutes away from the park entrance. The town of Springdale is located just outside the park, and offers several options to stay – of course, the closer location does mean higher prices! There’s also an option to stay right in the park at the Zion Lodge. Entry to the park requires a fee – since we had a car, we paid $35 for a 7 day pass – this can be purchased online here. During peak travel months, a shuttle operates in the park – the Zion scenic route is closed to private vehicles – the shuttle runs every 15 minutes or so, and has stops for the most popular trailheads. Loved the shuttles – they did get a bit crowded – but the drivers were great, pointing out landmark formations and even slowing down to take pictures of deer!

Parking – Except in big city downtowns, abundant parking is something we take so much for granted! So the parking situation at Zion totally took us by surprise! Directions were simple, park in the Visitor Center lot, and then take the shuttle. Our first day, we got there about noon-ish – to find a parking lot completely at capacity, and tons of cars prowling around the lot looking for a space. It was a total nightmare – at one point, I had jumped out of the car to stalk folks who looked like they might be heading out, freeing up a spot! We did manage to find a spot eventually, but it took the better part of an hour – and ended up being so stressful! The next day, got there a little earlier – about 10am – and still no luck! That day we parked at one of the parking lots in Springdale – hello, price gouging! – and took the shuttle that runs from Springdale to the Visitor Center. Our third day, we were at the park at 7am, and bingo!! – finally, plenty of spots to choose from! It was freezing, so we literally stayed in the car till it warmed up a bit!! And when we returned from our morning hike, we were the ones being stalked for the spot!!

Angels Landing – Unusually for me, I had done no research prior to this trip – it was going to mostly hiking, so I left all the planning to Ajey and Manasi, resigned to trailing behind them on all the hikes. So for the longest time, I thought this was ‘Angel Falls’ hike – and this would be a scenic trail with a waterfall at the end. I didn’t even think too much about it when Ajey was stressing about getting a permit on the right day – it’s a day-before lottery system, by the way, here’s the link – Angels Landing Permit. This was the #1 hike for both of them, and we got the permit for the very first day. As we’re driving from Vegas, headed straight to the park, since our permit was for 12pm onwards – Ajey very casually tells me that this hike might be a ‘bit’ scary. Now, I don’t have the greatest head for heights – remember the Pike’s Peak debacle – but then on the other hand, I did make it to EBC – so how bad could this be?? Bad. Really, really bad. Bad enough to be labeled the most dangerous hike in USA!!

It started off not that bad. A beautiful hike up the canyon, spectacular views – and I was surprised that the hiking muscle memory came back easily. The temperature was low 50s, but sunny – so very comfortable to walk. The trail is moderately steep – the toughest part (or so I thought) was a stretch called Walter’s Wiggles which was a series of narrow switchbacks – about 2 miles to reach Scout Lookout, which is kind of a saddle between the West Rim and Angels Landing trails. There’s no permit required to get to Scout Lookout – and the views are spectacular!! Then the last half mile – a park ranger will check the permit – and there it is, a spine of rock with chains attached to the rock to help hikers, a drop of 1500 feet on either side, the path to Angels Landing. Having come this far, I had to at least try – but even with the chains, it was far too scary for me. I made the sensible decision to turn back after about 15 minutes – and Ajey and Manasi soldiered on to the top! So was it worth it? Well, in my opinion, if you’re fit – this is not an easy hike, and you are absolutely not scared of heights – the bragging rights alone are worth it!! Slipping and sliding along a sandy knife-edge cliff, hanging onto a chain for dear life was definitely not for me!! If it’s the views you’re looking for, there are plenty of other spots which are much less risky and strenuous!

The Narrows – This is definitely the most well-known hike at Zion! The ‘trail’ actually follows the Virgin River as it flows through the Zion Canyon – how cool is that?!! Walking in the water needs a little more prep – and there are several places you can rent the gear from. We went to Zion Outfitters, very close to the Visitor Center entrance – and got the full ‘Narrows kit’ – overall-like waders, canyoneering boots, waterproof socks and a stout wooden walking stick for about $60 each. It felt a little strange in the outfit, especially the really tight waterproof seal at the ankles. The waders had only 1 pocket, barely large enough to fit a phone – good thing Ajey had remembered to bring the waterproof cases for phones! To get to the river from the shuttle drop-off is the mile long Riverside Walk – this was quite crowded, with folks enjoying the views of the river and the towering cliffs from the bottom of the canyon.

And then there it was, time to enter the water! The sensation was not at all what I was expecting – I was instinctively bracing for the shock of the cold water – but although I felt the cold, it was weird not to feel the wetness! Also, I guess it was the socks that were waterproof, so there was a weird squelching in the boots – again the sensation of water without the wet! The riverbed is not smooth sand, but slippery rocky – so footing is tricky – I was concentrating very hard on trying not to fall!! Once we got the hang of balancing on the rocks, testing the depth with our sticks, and wading through the current – we had the time of our lives!! Seriously, this has to be one of the funnest experiences ever!!! The water went from ankle depth to a waist high at a couple of places – luckily there were a few sand spits along the way where we could take a break from the water!! Incredible to walk along the very current that has carved this immense canyon over millions of years!!

It’s almost 9 miles to the end of the ‘Bottoms Up’ portion of the Narrows – a permit is needed to go on after that. We made a small miscalculation for timing here – it was a bit of a race against the clock, we had to get back in time to catch the last shuttle of the day at 6:15pm, so we turned back when we reached the ‘Wall Street’ section, which is about 2 miles from where we started in the water. We had actually waited till after lunch, thinking that it would be warmer – in retrospect, we should have skipped the morning hike to Emerald Pools and just spent the whole day here!! On the other hand, I was definitely worried that there wouldn’t be any bathroom breaks – once those waders are on, that’s it!! – so maybe turning back after 2 miles wasn’t that bad after all! And we didn’t feel it then, but those slippery rocks were quite jarring on the lower back – turned out to be quite the workout!! Luckily, none of us took a tumble in the water – that would have surely put a damper (!) on this amazing experience!!

Sunset views and star-gazing – Like the Grand Canyon, sunsets are spectacular here!! Honestly, since the park is right in the canyon, I’m sure sunset views would be great even from the Visitor Center parking lot – because it’s the not the actual sun setting that you’re seeing, but the beautiful play of colors on the cliffs! We decided to hike the Canyon Overlook trail – short hike with views of the entire Zion Canyon. This trailhead is not on the shuttle route, but is located on State Route 9 – so we got to drive up and through another landmark – the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel! The mile-long tunnel is a designated National Historic Civil Engineering landmark, and was built in the 1930s to connect Zion and Bryce National Parks! There are a couple of ‘windows’ to catch the view, but the heavy traffic meant that we couldn’t even slow down, let alone stop! And that heavy traffic should have given us an indication of what was coming next – yes, parking woes strike again! There is a small parking lot right as we exited the tunnel – we were definitely not expecting to find a spot here! A friendly park ranger had told us we could park on either side of the road after the tunnel – well, I guess she had given that advice to lots and lots of people – because we had to drive another mile along the road to get parking! Once again, a little miscalculation on time – we were expecting to be at the viewpoint right as the sun set – but the parking and then the walking along the highway set us back a little!!

There’s a steep set of stairs right at the start of the trail, but is a relatively easy walk after that – and the views were mind-blowing!! We did catch the beautiful colors – the fiery reds fading to the glowing orange and the dusty pinks – with the whole canyon at our feet! Just being there, taking in that splendor was so deeply peaceful – imagining the millennia that have passed to create this wonder, all our troubles seem so insignificant! For a few moments, it was enough to take deep breaths of the clean air, let my mind relax into the horizon – it was enough to just be. We lingered longer than we should have – which meant that we had to walk back with the the little phone flashlight showing the way – strangely enough, not being able to see more than 2 feet ahead of you is more reassuring than watching those cliffs in broad daylight!! And then as darkness set in, the night sky exploded with its glittering stars! Away from all the city lights, with only the occasional headlights of a passing car – we stood there mesmerized by the celestial display – the vastness of the sky above, the absolute brilliance of the stars! What a way to end the day!!

Emerald Pools & Watchman’s Trail – The Emerald Pools hike was the most scenic hike we did – and I finally got to see a waterfall – even better, actually walking behind the waterfall!! There’s 3 pools – Lower, Middle and Upper – 1.2 miles, 2 miles or 3 miles of a relatively easy walking trail. To be honest, after the sweeping canyon views, the pools were a little understated – the Lower one being the prettiest. This is a good hike to get an idea of the immense canyon without any of the strenuous steep climbs! The Watchman’s trail is also relatively easy – it is a bit of a climb, but nothing too crazy – 3 miles of canyon views!! This was all the hikes we had time for – there are still several more in Zion – ranging from the technical, super challenging Subway hike to the ‘walk-in-the-park’ P’arus or Court of the Patriarchs trails. 3 days of hiking was perfect time to spend here – time to wrap up and head back to Vegas!!

Vegas Vibes – Vegas was – well, Vegas! We had one night before Zion, and then a day to unwind after the hiking. The first night, we were in Circus Circus – which, frankly speaking, was a huge disappointment. It had a general run-down air, and although it didn’t matter since we literally were there only to sleep – it definitely did not live up to our memories of Vegas! Driving back, we first hit the Outlet Malls right outside Vegas – needless to say, we sent far too much time here, even skipping lunch for retail therapy!! The hotel that night was an upgrade – Mandalay Bay!! And although we had every intention of spending the evening on the Strip, we were all more tired than we had expected – the hiking, and then the outlet mall had just about taken up the last reserves of our energy. Besides, after the pristine beauty of the Zion Canyon, Vegas seemed a tad too much of an assault on senses. Barely got a glimpse of my favorite Bellagio fountains, and then back to the hotel!!

We were back home on Thanksgiving Day, and were able to enjoy the weekend with friends and family! Best of both worlds here – a spectacular vacation, and then an equally relaxing staycation!! By the way, in the car ride to Zion, I was telling Ajey and Manasi about friends who had visited ALL the National Parks – which led to a Google search – so did you know that there are 63 National Parks here in the US? Much to our chagrin, as we went down the list – we have only been to 9!! – Gateway Arch, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Indiana Dunes, Mammoth Caves, Mount Rainier, Redwoods, Rocky Mountain and now Zion! We should have planned for Bryce and Arches while we here – missed opportunity!! And how is Niagara Falls or Mt. Rushmore not National Parks?!! Anyway, that’s the next agenda – we’re looking at National Parks, and checking them off our list!! Any recommendations for our next vacation??