Zion National Park Attractions Guide<< >> Visit the Zion National Park ut, if you ever get the chance. We visited this beautiful park on our way from Las Vegas to Page in Arizona. It was a very easy drive and we passed through some spectacular scenery on the way to Zion. When visiting this area there is the age-old problem, what not to visit. It is just impossible to visit all the amazing canyons and rock formations if you are there for a couple of weeks. We decided that for this vacation Zion was the one park not to miss.
I know that there is evidence of various communities living at Zion from as long ago as 2,000 years. And they would have hunted mammoths and giant sloths. More recently and famously the canyon was colonised by Mormon settlers in the early 19th century, hence the name. It must have seemed like the Promised Land, a place to settle free from persecution. It was around this time that John Wesley Powell, the great explorer of canyons, visited Zion after his exploration of the Grand Canyon.
Our approach to Zion National Park USA was by the nearest town, Springdale. We did actually park there and get the bus in to the Zion National Park attractions because all the parking in the visitor area was taken. This is not a problem as the buses are frequent and free (or they were when we were there). Also it is a good place to pick up drinks and snacks.
However we did walk from the Park entrance up through the canyon and followed the river as far as we could go to the narrows. The road up the canyon is six miles long and then to continue the walk you have to hike up the river. Again, we were sorry not to have the time to take off our boots and walk in the river into the narrowing canyon. For those who cannot or do not wish to walk there are eco-friendly buses which run frequently along the route we walked and you can get off at any point. All up the valley yoy can enjoy the spectacular sight of the what are, so I have read, amongst the highest sandstone cliffs in the world. Depending upon the time of day and the weather, the colours vary from reds to pinks to creams. If all you do is ride or walk the length of the canyon it is worth a visit.
We made few detours on our walk and visited the weeping rock at one point. This is called by this name because water constantly filters through the rock. I can’t remember the exact time line but I understand that the water filtering through has taken thousands of years to the point where it eventually seeps out.
These are set aside for picnics and there were old-fashioned rocking chairs on the grass. We sat gently rocking surrounded by these amazing peaks. It was one of the best places I have ever had a picnic. The weather helps of course and it was a perfect sunny day.
Our way out of this area was via the main highway, which meant I drove along a road consisting mainly of hairpin bends. The reason I drove was so that my husband, Malcolm could video the scenery as we wound our way to the highway. Along this road was the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel hewn out of solid rock. Also near this exit, or entrance depending which way you're traveling, is the famous chequerboard mesa. As the name suggests it is a very large rock and it is made up of a chequerboard design because of the formation of its various types of rock.
I don’t know if we shall ever visit Zion again as there are so many places in the world and not enough time.
However, if you plan to go to Zion park I would suggest you try to spend at least a couple of days, although in an area as stunning as this, any time will be too short.
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