Our Favorite Hikes in Zion National Park:
- Scout Overlook Trail, Shuttle Stop #6 The Grotto, 3.6 miles, 1115 feet elevation gain, hard – be sure and hike a mile past Scout Overlook on the West Rim Trail for some more amazing views
- The Narrows Bottom-Up Day Trail, Shuttle Stop #9 Temple of Sinawava, as many miles as you can hike, very little elevation gain
- The Watchman Trail, right at Visitors Center, 3.1 miles, 636 feet elevation gain
Hikes We Missed but Plan to Do:
- Zion Canyon Overlook Trail, .9 miles, 157 feet elevation gain, it is located on the east side of the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and can be tricky to find parking
- Observation Point via East Mesa Trailhead, 7 miles, 702 feet elevation gain, the East Mesa Trailhead on the East side of the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel via Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort GPS 37.29698, -112.90013
Our favorite place to visit in Utah is Zion National Park. We stayed in the area for a couple of weeks in mid to late May, hoping to avoid the crowds during the busier summer months. We dispersed camped fifteen minutes away from Zion at Hurricane Cliffs Designated Dispersed Campsites GPS 37.2072, -113.2402. Zion is extremely crowded. Every day we visited the park, we arrived early in the morning to find parking in the RV/oversize lot with our dually truck. The Visitor Center opens at 8 a.m. but the shuttles begin running at 6 a.m. Do note that the parking lots fill up fast! There is a free shuttle service from Springdale into the park, if the Zion parking lot is full. However, we had no issues finding parking by arriving before or around 8 a.m.
We now know why Zion National Park is so popular. It is gorgeous! We completed the Scout Overlook Trail, The Narrows bottom-up day Trail, the Watchman Trail, and all three of Emerald Pool trails. We did not attempt to gain a permit for the famous Angels Landing Trail. With her current fear of heights, Jessica did not feel comfortable attempting this hike. But who knows what the future will bring.
Scout Lookout Trail
However, even if you do not want to hike Angels Landing, the Scout Lookout Trail is amazing. This is now Windell’s favorite hike, displacing the Fremont Fire Tower in Mount Rainier National Park. The Scout Lookout Trail is a strenuous trail and we took a lot of breaks on Walter’s Wiggles. The Lookout is gorgeous. We stopped and took in the inspiring view before continuing on the West Rim Trail. Hiking a mile or so further on West Rim Trail past Scout Lookout provides even better views of Angel’s Landing and different perspectives of the canyon. If you still have the energy after Scout Lookout, we encourage you to continue on the West Rim Trail. It is well worth the hike.
The Narrows Bottom-Up Day Trail
Jessica’s now favorite hike to date is the Narrows bottom-up day hike. Although we did not feel comfortable attempting the hike when the water flow was 124 cubic feet per second, we did attempt it the second week when it dropped to 84 cubic feet per second. We are glad we waited. Especially Jessica who still fell into the water three times hiking back.
It was our first time hiking over ten miles while crossing a river through a canyon and it took our breath away, sometimes literally with the current and cold water. The Narrows has been on our bucket list for four years, and we are grateful we finally hiked it. There is no set endpoint to this hike. You hike as far as you want upstream and turn around wherever you want to hike back downstream with the current. We recommend this hike to anyone visiting Zion, although it is more enjoyable earlier in the morning with fewer people.
The Watchman Trail
The Watchman hike right at the parking lot introduces you to the gorgeous canyon of Zion and was recommended to us by a ranger. This trail gets busy, but if you go early, you can have some time at the top to sit alone and reflect a moment. There is also a short scenic loop trail at the end. The Watchman Trail is considered an easy to moderate hike that can be completed in around two hours. We hiked the Watchman trail and all three Emerald Pools in the same day.
The Emerald Pool Trails
The Emerald Pool trails were a disappointment to us. We hiked these trails later in the morning and into the early afternoon in mid-May 2024. The trails are very busy and the pools themselves are not very epic. The waterfalls may flow better at different seasons, and maybe the pools are prettier then. Early spring, late fall, and winter are recommended as the best times to visit these pools. If you like strenuous hikes, as Jessica does, you may enjoy the hikes to these pools and the lower pool does have a small waterfall you can walk behind. To hike the Emeralds Pools, get off the shuttle at Stop #6, The Grotto. The hike is considered moderate, although hiking to all three pools gave our legs a workout. It is only three miles with 620 feet of elevation gain.
Other To-Do Hikes in Zion
The only hikes we missed that were on our to- do list during our first trip to Zion were The Observation Point Trail and the Canyon Overlook Trail. Both trails are supposed to provide amazing views of the Canyon. However, it was not meant for us to hike these trails due to the Weeping Rock shuttle stop closure and the difficulty of parking.
There are two ways to access Observation Point. It is a moderate hike at East Zion via the East Mesa Trailhead from the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort. The parking lot and trailhead are on the the east side of the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel. The hike is seven miles with 702 feet of elevation gain. We had planned to hike to Observation Point from the Weeping Rock Trailhead, which is Shuttle Stop #7 within the park. During our visit in May 2024, the Weeping Rock shuttle stop was closed due to rockfall. It has been closed since 2019. So, we decided to leave the Observation Point Trail until the next time we returned to Zion.
It was also in our plan to hike the moderate Canyon Overlook Trail. This trail is less than a mile in distance and was on our way out of the park. However, while awaiting our turn to drive through the tunnel on East Zion, we spoke with the Ranger. She said it would be difficult for us to find parking with our dually and that the parking lot was for smaller vehicles. We looked, but did not find any parking for this trail after passing through the tunnel, so we continued on our way to Bryce National Park.
Zion National Park is extremely busy, and we are not particularly fond of crowds. However, if you are in Utah, this national park is a must to visit. The canyons, mountains, and views will take your breath away. Zion National Park exceeded our expectations in its beauty.