Getting Outdoors: Zion & Bryce Canyon Road Trip

I’m so excited to be writing this right now. I never thought I’d actually be writing about an outdoors type trip I’ve taken where the only priority was exploring and appreciating all that nature has to offer. The other reason I’m exited to be writing this is that I didn’t even have this trip on my radar until 2-3 weeks ago. I was catching up with one of my really good friends and she mentioned that prior to starting her new job after Labor Day she wanted to take one last trip for the Summer. She asked if I had 3 days available and lucky enough I had a full week where I didn’t really have any plans. Everything from there happened pretty quickly. I wasn’t planning this trip to be anything but spending time with my friend and doing something I don’t normally do which is spend time outdoors hiking.

Little did I know that so many people either had just gotten back from Zion or were heading there themselves! This is why I absolutely love the Internet and Instagram, it truly brings people together, sharing information and helping one another. After feeling more excited about the trip my friend tasked me with finding where we would stay. I normally take days to decide on where we should go. How photographable is it? What kind of amenities do they have? Where is it located? But after a quick google search I found Zion Mountain Ranch, an adorable ranch located right outside the East entrance to Zion National Park. After cruising the website and seeing the cutest little cabins, dogs roaming around, and a herd of Bison on the property I knew this was where we had to stay. PLUS it wasn’t too expensive (it was about $500 total for 3 nights). My friend booked us a King bed room and we were ready to go.

The Drive

So the drive itself actually wasn’t too bad. Zion is about 2-3 hours from Las Vegas so with a few stops I think we made it there in 6.5-7 hours. I will say that the hardest part about the drive was finding places to use the bathroom (especially since COVID precautions are still in place). On the way there we did our usual stop in Barstow and then stopped again at a Target in Vegas (I usually guide to grocery stores or Targets to pee in these kind of situations since usually they are open to walk into as are their restrooms). Once we ventured off one of the main highways that skims the rim of Utah and Arizona we were on a road without service for about an hour and a half. I definitely recommend downloading the offline map for your phone if you are using it as a guide. We stopped at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes on the way home and luckily my friend had the maps downloaded so we were able to get ourselves back to St George after we had directed ourselves to the Dunes. Another quick tip, you can pull off the road and check out the dunes without paying for the entrance fee. There is one quick turnoff that allows you to park and climb up one of the sand dunes to some amazing views. If you are heading TO Zion then it will be AFTER the park entrance. If you are LEAVING Zion it will be BEFORE the park entrance.

Zion Mountain Ranch

I was so happy to arrive at the ranch after about 7 hours of driving (well being a passenger). The ranch is pretty expansive with small cabins spread across the main side of the property as well as directly across the two lane highway where some of the smaller cabins inhabit. There is a small from shop/ reception that has a bunch of merchandise as well as restrooms and some snacks like s’mores, chips and flavored waters. We quickly checked in and were informed that while there are TVs in the room there is no cable. Luckily we just so happened to arrive when one of the staff members was extending the wifi over to the other half of the property (phew) and the DVD players do have smart features so you can play Netflix and Amazon Prime videos. Aside from that they also offer DVDs for you to borrow from their little library. The ranch offers horseback riding, nightly bonfires and a wonderful restaurant. We packed our own food so we didn’t get a chance to try the food but I hear the desserts are incredible! The cabin was super cute with a King bed, small bathroom with shower/tub, small table, couch, tv/wardrobe area, microwave and small fridge. We brought an air fryer which came in clutch for cooking our own meals. Location wise it was only 10 minutes to the east entrance of Zion National Park and 30 to the visitors center.

Zion Hikes: Riverwalk, The Narrows & Emerald Pools

I have never been on any sort of serious hike so all of this is really new to me. I’m absolutely NO expert but it was pretty easy to navigate what we wanted to do. Basically I started by Googling “best hikes Zion National Park”. You got a pretty good breakdown from a few websites about difficulty level and lengths of the hikes. I was also very lucky that a few friends had just gone to Zion plus a few had gone years prior and highly suggested The Narrows. They tipped me off to making sure I wore comfortable hiking boots for the hike since you are walking on a tun of uneven rocks and it will save your ankles if you happen to step the wrong way. Another big suggestion was renting hiking sticks. I wasn’t really keen on having to hold them or if they were really necessary but I am SO glad we got them. It was a lot easier to keep your balance and steady yourself especially when walking against the current of the water. It begins with the RiverWalk which is also on the list of hikes you can participate in. It’s a shorter distance (less than a mile I think) that leads you into the Narrows. The Narrows isn’t a loop so it’s up to you when you turn around. We went about 2 hours in and then turned around. The return was only an hour long. We also only got up to our upper thighs in terms of the deepest water we experienced. The views are so beautiful and this hike is definitely worth it. It’s great for any experience level and you can take it at your own pace!

After we finished with the Narrows we headed back to the car to eat lunch, swap out our wet socks and then head to the Emerald pools. **Important note: if you take the shuttle back to the visitor center you can’t ride back up to another hike. We got lucky and received walk on passes since it was 3pm but if you are doing 2 hikes make sure you get off the shuttle prior to the visitor center stop. The Emerald Pools was a shorter hike and only took about an hour long but there were some pretty waterfalls we experienced. Not a ton of water but was still super beautiful. You could have continued up some sets of stairs but we were so exhausted we ended up turning back.

Bryce Canyon: Sunrise Point, Queens Garden, Navajo Loop & Sunset Point

Ok so next up was Bryce Canyon. About an hour and a half out from the ranch, the park was absolutely breathtaking. You arrive in and park across from the visitors center. From there you can take a shuttle (no reservations required) to a few different spots that will drop you off at the particular hike you are looking for. We cruised over to our hike of preference which was Navajo Loop. We stopped and talked to a few rangers to ensure we were headed in the right direction and got some help on deciding what kind of hike we wanted to do. They suggested that if we wanted around a 3mi hike we should start at sunrise point, head down to the queens garden, hit part of Navajo loop and then end at sunset point. This hike was SO BEAUTIFUL and you start on a high point looking down into the canyon. The hike is filled with these rock formations called hoodoos along with rock archways and a ton of beautiful trees sprinkled onto the red landscaping. I’d definitely pack MORE water on this hike especially if you are going during a warmer day. We just about ran out and ensured we saved most of our water for the trip back UP to the top. The switchbacks going back up to the top of sunset point were pretty grueling especially in the heat. I stopped in any shade we could come by and it definitely took me longer to find my stride going back up. The nice thing is there are plenty of places to stop and catch your breath plus take in more of the scenery as you do so.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes

The last stop on our trip was on the way out. We finished checking out and swung by the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. I have always wanted to visit dunes close to home but this was the perfect opportunity. We also drove past them on the way into Zion so we knew exactly where we needed to go. The maps will take you to the “entrance” but it definitely was off a few hundred yards. The entrance does require a fee but there is a turn off you can hit off the main road that doesn’t require any sort of payment. A lot of people popped by just to check it out so that’s what we ended up doing. It was the perfect little pit stop on the way out and to snap a few photos at.

Quick Tips

Download offline maps for driving

Bring a Cooler for the drive/storing lunch/food after hikes

Bring a lightweight hiking bucket hat

Wear or rent hiking boots for the Narrows hike (protects ankles and makes walking on the rocks easier)

Rent or bring hiking stick for the Narrows (keeps you steady, can be done without it but much easier with)

Book your shuttle ticket for the Zion shuttle ahead of time, this is different then park entry and is NECESSARY to get up to any of the hiking stops. (double check on the park site for how long they are doing this for. Might only be until October 2020)