On our quest to continue exploring our great country, we recently traveled to the desert West to visit Zion, Bryce, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Flying into Las Vegas, we hopped in our rental car, cruised the strip, then went directly to In-And-Out Burger, a delicacy we don’t have in the southern US. From there, our destination for 5 nights was Kanab, UT 3 hours northeast (plus an hour time change). We stocked up at the Walmart in St George half way, arriving to our rental house just in time for sunset.
Booked through Evolve, our 2 bedroom 2 bath house nestled in the desert mountains was one of the best we have ever stayed in. The views were spectacular, the night sky full of stars, the equine NEIGHbors friendly, and the host thoughtful. We were visited by bunnies, buzzards, and likely more wildlife whom we didn’t see but certainly saw us. We enjoy getting settled into a homebase when traveling with the ability to make meals at home, pack picnic lunches, and wash clothes as needed. Kanab proved to be the perfect jumping off point to visit our destinations, all within an hour and a half, living up to its tagline as The Gateway to Adventure. The town itself is exactly how you’d picture a cute small Western town, but there was quite a lot of newly constructed short term rentals like ours so the secret is getting out. There are a few hotels, markets, restaurants, shops, and tour excursion companies in town but like many places labor is a little short right now. You could also travel to all 3 parks we did (and more!) by staying in the nearest town, the parks’ lodges, or an RV/camper van--many rentals are available.
Before each driving trip, we download the Gypsy Guide app for additional information, historical content, and advice on places to stop. We chose the one for Zion and Bryce ($13), but there are others for all Mighty Five, South and West Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas. We’ve used this in Wyoming, Maui, and Kauai and absolutely love it, assigning the narrator a new name each time. Also before going, we purchased an America The Beautiful pass from REI for $80. This annual pass to all National Park and Recreation sites is good for the partial month you purchase plus 12, so getting it on the 1st of the month gives you 13 full months (so you know where we’ll be for the next year). It can also be ordered online or purchased at many park entrances or visitor centers. Most major parks cost $35 per vehicle good for 7 days, so it paid for itself during our trip.
Zion National Park
We spent our first two days in Zion National Park at the tail end of an unseasonable heatwave (early September 2022). Visiting Zion takes a little prep beforehand depending on what you want to do. There are numerous hikes but we only had time for the two most popular ones with the afternoons becoming too hot. Also, from March to November, the park’s free shuttle is mandatory unless you are a lodge guest, making getting back to your car for food or change of gear a time consuming endeavor. About an hour from Kanab, we entered from the East Entrance via Zion-Mt Carmel Hwy which offers a gorgeous less traveled winding road with spectacular mountain views and pullouts, a mile long tunnel carved into the mountain (large vehicles check restrictions), long-horned sheep sightings, and an un-staffed entrance gate. We arrived to the only available parking lot at the Visitor Center around 7:45 am the first day to a decent amount of parking remaining. By our arrival at 8:30 am the next day, parking was full and we were forced into the town of Springdale paying $30 to park just to walk a couple hundred feet back to the parking lot we had just left (and pass many large empty lots later on the shuttle). Park passes are checked or purchased here at the pedestrian entrance where the Springdale shuttle line ends and walking is required to the Zion shuttle start at the Visitor Center.
Prior to visiting, we entered the Angel’s Landing hike permit lottery, open 2-3 months in advance for a $6 application fee and additional $3/person if you are selected. I offered all four days we were there for all three time slots ranked in priority from before 9 am, 9 am to 12 pm, and after 12 pm. We received the first day of our trip after 12 pm, which with the heat wave was quite disappointing. There is also a day before lottery, but we would have had to forfeit our current permit since both our names were on it (you can enter one alternate pass holder). With a larger group and additional expense, it seems it would be possible to enter multiple ways under different group members. We went ahead and started early, reaching the Grotto shuttle stop at around 8:45 am as you can bypass the first check-in at the trailhead since hiking up to Scout Lookout (2 miles) and further along the West Rim trail is allowed without a pass. Note the trailhead check-in is for the time window you received, not the final check-in at the top. The scenery and steep hike at higher than our normal elevation (4000-5000 ft) literally took our breath away. Starting at the mountain’s edge, views look back across the Virgin River valley, and we were grateful for the morning shade. The hike turns into the cooler canyon where quiet is requested for the nesting Mexican Spotted Owls so its very peaceful at this relatively flat point. That doesn’t last long though before you reach the series of 21 steep switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles. Finally reaching Scout Lookout (which took us about 1.25 hours), you’ll find beautiful mountain views with endangered California Condors flying above, a very smelly outhouse, aggressive fat squirrels, and place to rest. The final half mile up to Angel’s Landing is very steep along thin ledges with thousand foot drops so chains are provided to help hikers hold on. It is for this reason that permits are required as it’s not safe to pass when crowded. Rangers are checking passes and IDs here with their tablets, but the real angels of Angel’s Landing were kind enough to let us start at 11 am for our after 12 pm time slot due to the extreme afternoon heat. We prepped, snacked, and waited for about an hour in one of the few shaded spots. The trail was not overly crowded at this time as it was at the end of a time slot where most hikers would have started on the early side. We brought gloves to help grip the chains and avoid any heat, but saw very few using them. I was truly never sure if I would do this portion of the hike, but the beginning looked relatively easy so I continued, hanging onto the chains for dear life. What they don’t tell you about is the portions of the hike where there are no chains or someone has to let go or leave the “trail” to let you pass. I made it about 1/3 of the way to the first overlook where I could see the “shark fin” appearance of the remainder of the hike and decided that was it for me. My husband continued to the end and loved it. After watching his amazing Go Pro footage, I know we both made the right choice for ourselves. I was able to backtrack a little to a shaded natural amphitheater area to wait, enjoy nature, and point people in the right direction because the trail was hard to find here. I saw people of all ages, abilities, and gear (we had hiking shoes and 3 L water bladder backpacks while some had a small plastic water bottle and were barefoot). No one looked unhappy, only a little tired or terrified at times (ok this was me). This hike is a must even if you do not have a permit and can only go to Scout Landing which is pretty much what I did. Note that even if you overhear someone check-in without their full party, the permits are non-transferable so you will not be allowed in their place. Finding someone without their complete permitted group prior to check-in willing to let you join (ie on the shuttle) would be the only way to gain access without a permit.
I initially thought we could do Angel’s Landing and The Narrows in one day, but not getting an early permit and needing different equipment to hike dry vs wet without easy access to our car, we decided to stay in Zion for two days. We considered hiking the Emerald Pools trail after Angel’s Landing, but the afternoon heat and our tired legs said otherwise. We took advantage of our car’s A/C to checkout La Verkin Overlook (as advised on Gypsy Guide) on our way to Kolob Canyon about 45 minutes from the South Entrance of Zion. The lesser visited northwest side of Zion still requires a park pass shown at the small visitor center and includes a 10 mile insanely scenic drive to a panoramic viewpoint. There are hiking trails up here as well, but it had started to rain (and drop like 30 degrees if our car was correct), so we just caught a quick glimpse.
The following day, we cooled off in the water by hiking The Narrows from the bottom up (top down requires a permit and allows camping). We had planned to use our own water shoes and hiking poles, but after reading advice in favor of both sides, we ultimately decided to rent the canyoneering shoes, neoprene socks, and wooden hiking stick in advance through Zion Guru ($30 each) and were very happy with this decision. We picked them up in Springdale the day before so we could get an early start. Many people did not use them but I must say those are the ones I saw slipping. The final shuttle stop brings you to the Temple of Sinawava and the popular Riverside Trail, which is the first mile on dry land along the Virgin River, relatively easy for anyone. Entering the water, the Instagram vs reality kicks in as the trail is packed and slow going. The tall canyon walls provide shade for most of the hike as you meander through water crossings. The crowd thins the further out you go, typically at the beginning of Wall Street (2 miles) where the slot canyons become more narrow. There is a split off to Orderville Canyon here on the right, but a little more deep swimming and boulder climbing is needed to explore. We were fine in shorts and short sleeves in early September, but warmer clothes and even dry suits (can be rented) are needed for cooler months. The Narrows is not open during fast river flows such as the early spring when snowmelt is running off or if there is a flash flood warning (always a risk especially during the West’s monsoon season June-Sep). Please exercise extreme caution and heed all warnings, though note storms are more likely in the afternoons so mornings are best for hiking this area.
Bryce Canyon
Not actually a canyon by definition, but still a beautiful National Park an hour and a half northeast of Kanab which we visited on day 3, enjoying the scenic drive and commentary of the Gypsy Guide. Much less crowded and with the full use of our car, we easily parked in the Sunset Point lot to begin the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden trail (3 miles) down into the famous hoodoo amphitheater. Starting at 8000 ft, the loop trail winds down to the (not) canyon floor 650 ft below--and what goes down must come up, just more slowly. We were blown away by mother nature’s artwork from our first views of the orange tinted layers of rock jutting up in numerous columns of varying design. Many have names for what they resemble, and Queen Victoria is quite striking once you see it (there’s a placard for assistance as it’s not obvious). Surprisingly there are flat forested portions along this hike providing a little shade, but most is in the blazing sun. From here we continued along the scenic drive with many lookouts, where the top hits 9000 ft and a few of the stops have picnic tables and outhouses. We spent about 4.5 hours here and had another great day!
Horseshoe Bend
We started day 4 by driving into Page, Arizona to see the now Instagram famous Horseshoe Bend, an hour east of Kanab. The drive again was amazing through the mountains and canyons. Being an all sun 1.5 mile round trip walk out to the viewpoint where the Colorado River rounds a rocky point creating a horseshoe shape, we wanted to do this in the morning though we did have some shade in our photos. There is a huge parking lot with bathrooms and a $10 entrance fee. We spent about an hour here walking along the edge and taking lots of pictures. And note that most of Arizona doesn’t participate in daylight savings time, so in the summer months it is an hour behind Utah (same time as Nevada to the west) if you’re trying to hit sunrise or sunset, both popular but note the viewpoint is west facing.
North Rim Grand Canyon
From there it was about 2 hours to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon through amazing rock formations into the fir tree lined forests as the elevation climbed to the eventual 9000 feet. The much less visited north rim is not open in the cooler winter months due to snowy conditions. We easily found parking and went through the lodge to see the amazing views. There are easy trails to the overlooks which themselves are not for the faint of heart with their steep drop offs, namely Bright Angel Point. Though there are a few trails around the lodge and visitor center and the more challenging North Kaibab Trail nearby, we opted to enjoy the views from the adirondack chairs lining the lodge deck while enjoying a drink from the saloon. Additionally, Cape Royal Rd takes you out to many other viewpoints, but we’d had a long day and were ready to drive the 1.5 hours back to Kanab to sadly pack up to leave.
There are many other things to do in the area that we didn’t have time to get to. In Kanab itself there is the Visitor Center, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Belly of the Dragon, Sand Caves, Diana’s Throne Slot Canyon, and Moqui Cave art museum. Nearby Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park offers hikes, atvs, and sand dune surfing. Formerly, Kanab and Page were where you entered the in-person lottery to hike The Wave, made famous by a Windows screensaver. Now you can enter two days before from a geofenced area including Kanab. This is a very coveted and very rare permit to win; find all the details here including the 3-4 months advance lottery process as well. We entered twice but ended up only giving them an $18 donation as do hundreds if not thousands of others each day. Another Instagram favorite Antelope Canyon is near Page, but it is only accessible through an expensive group tour. I found the most valuable information for the area including many places we visited at Nomads In Nature’s blog the “Ultimate Guide to Kanab, UT: A Hiker’s Paradise.” In the weeks leading up to our visit, there were many deaths and close calls in this area due to the extreme temps, flash flooding, and human carelessness. Please respect Mother Nature, and she will respect you. Thoroughly research your hike, bring lots of water, download offline trail maps, pack a compass and first aid kit (and know how to use them), don’t hike alone, let someone know where you plan to be, and the easiest of all--follow the posted signage and remain on the designated trail. We concluded our trip with 2 nights in Las Vegas to relax, but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas ;)
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