Zion and Bryce National Park: 5 Must-See Spots & Things to do

Zion National Park

1. Hike to Canyon Overlook (1mi RT)- This was such a picturesque viewpoint. In our opinion, it was comparable to the very popular Observation Point hike (which we also did) but much shorter and easier to get to. Photos don’t quite capture the vastness and scale of the canyon. The layers are vibrant and the green and red contrast of the rocks is beautiful. A few things to note:
   • *Arrive Early – It is off of the main road in the national park, making it an extremely accessible trail with only a small parking lot next to the trailhead and limited roadside parking. Getting there at sunrise or shortly after will allow you to beat the crowds and avoid a parking nightmare.
2. Hike the Narrows via Bottoms Up Trail (we went 6mi RT to reach Wall Street but you can continue all the way up the canyon if you’d like) -This is a very popular, iconic thing to do in Zion National Park. It’s iconic for a reason. You hike through 1000ft tall canyons in the mint-colored Virgin River. We almost skipped this hike on our first visit and it ended up being a highlight because of its uniqueness. If you want to do it, here are some recommendations to make it a better experience:
   • Rent Waders and Boots – We rented these the night before from Zion Outfitters right outside the park entrance. You can reserve these online and pick up the night before, but it’s not really required because they have a lot in stock. We highly recommend renting these because the water is very cold in the canyons and it can get up to waist-deep in some areas. You can check current water levels here. 
   • Hike at least 3 miles in – The first mile of the hike is essentially on a hand-railed sidewalk called Riverwalk. After the first mile you reach the narrows entrance where you start wading through the water. We hiked an additional two miles through the water to get to Wall Street, where the canyon walls are their narrowest and most picturesque. If you do this hike you must go at least this far. The crowds lessen the farther you go and we were just about the only ones at Wall Street when we went, making it a more surreal experience. 
   • Go early in the morning or later in the afternoon – This will help with both avoiding shuttle lines and crowds on the trail. We went at about 3pm and caught one of the last shuttles back at about 7pm. The canyons create a lot of shade in the afternoon so jackets and layers are crucial. We would potentially recommend doing this as your first (or only) hike of the day since it is in a stream tiring for your legs. We did this as our second (after Observation Point) and we were BEAT by the end. Our legs were exhausted haha. 
   • Shuttles – There are areas of the park that are only accessible via shuttle rides. *When we went the tickets became available the night before via reservations.org, which reserved us a timeframe to board the shuttle and then allowed us to skip the extremely long ticket line once we got there. Since then, the process has changed and they no longer do shuttle reservations. This means that to catch a shuttle, it will be first come, first serve and there will be lines. We recommend arriving early, and planning the wait-time into your itinerary.
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3. Hike to Observation Point via East Mesa Trail–  (6.4mi RT) -This is the perfect warm up hike. It has a mild incline the whole way, which makes it an easy hike. The views aren’t spectacular until you get to the top. There is also little shade so on a warmer day, be sure to wear sunscreen and cover up. A few things to note:
   • To get to the trailhead, you have to drive outside of the East Park entrance, go past Zion Ponderosa Ranch, and drive on a dirt road to reach the trailhead. Here are more specific instructions. 
   • There are  two viewpoints on this trail – the photos below are taken at the first one. The main ‘Observation Point’ is about .5 mi up from the first, and a higher vantage point where you can see the top of the rim. It was so windy when we went that we decided to turn back after seeing the first 
   • Bring layers. We started off cold, and ended up hot by the end so we un-layered as both the time went on and we heated up from the hike itself
   • Go early – try to beat the heat, the crowds, and the wind if you can.
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4. Sunset Point – We chose this viewpoint to watch the sunrise based on Renee Roaming’s recommendation in her blog post . This was our favorite viewpoint overall and we stopped at many on our drive through the park. We HIGHLY recommend choosing one of the viewpoints and watching the sun rise on the Hoodoos. The way the light hits the amphitheater and makes the hoodoos glow is absolutely majestic. It’s worth the 4am wake-up call, trust us! 

5. Hike Navajo Loop and The Garden Trail Loop combined – It’s one thing to see the viewpoints at the top of the rim at Bryce Canyon, but an entirely different experience to get to  hike down into the amphitheater from the rim and see the Hoodoos up close and from different vantage points. We did a 3 mile loop combining Navajo Loop and The Garden Trail, starting at Sunset Point, hiking up to Sunrise Point, and then taking the Rim Trail back to our car parked at Sunset Point.  We read a recommendation to hike counter clockwise in the blog linked above, and we were thankful to have read this advice. It was an easy hike, with most of the incline at the end of the hike climbing back up to the rim. It exceeded our expectations and we would 100% recommend it.

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Bonus – Outside of the National Parks

• Do a UTV Off Road Adventure. We went with Kane Country Offroad Tours in Glendale Utah and really enjoyed it. We decided to go outside of Kanab Utah because we wanted to do a non-guided tour by ourselves and it really made it much more of an adventure. We did the full day and drove 70+ miles around southern Utah, stopping at some really cool remote spots including slot canyons and caves. What was great about Kane Country Off-road company was that the UTV had a guided GPS, and they also set us up with a map on our phone to help us get to the destinations. Without both the GPS and map we would have gotten very lost as there are many roads and directions to go. On the route, we stopped at:
  • Red Canyon/Peek-a-boo Canyon (see below.) These reminded us of the famous Antelope Canyon but without the crowds and guide/permit requirements.
  • Hike up to a really awesome hidden yellow Cave ,only accessible via off-road vehicles.
  • Drive on boulders, coral colored sand, through desert, ranchland, and varying landscapes.
  • We dad the option to visit petroglyphs but we ran out of time.

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One Last Bonus Spot*

Stop at Monument Valley as part of your road trip. You can visit the exact spot where the famous running scene in Forest Gump was filmed. It’s Mile marker 13 on Route 163 near the Arizona-Utah border.

Overall, we had an adventure filled weekend full of first time endeavors that we will always remember. There is so much to see and do in Utah that we already need to plan a trip back. We hope this blog is helpful if you’re planning a trip to the southern Utah area and need to narrow down your options!

Let us know if you have any questions,

xoxo