Zion National Park

The next stop on our Southwest vacation was Zion National Park in Utah, a three hour drive northwest of Vegas. We stayed at the Watchman Campground in the park, a simple car camping setup. The camps were a little too close to each other, but otherwise it was a nice home for two days.

Watchman Campground

Our “four man” tent was set and we were ready to explore.

Although the days were in the high 70s, the nights were in the 30s, which made for very cold sleeping experiences.

Shuttle Systems and Springdale

Although we were confused at first, the Zion National Park has a very efficient bus shuttle that traverses to all of the vast trails scattered throughout the park. The shuttle picks up every 12 minutes and runs about 12 hours a day.

There was also a separate town shuttle that took you into the neighboring town of Springdale that had a lot of cool places to eat and a great market called Sol Foods that should satisfy anyone’s camping needs.

Trails

The first trail we hit was the Watchman Trail, a short yet steep trail. Above, Melissa shows off some yoga at the top.

The highlight of Zion for me was the Emerald Pools Trails, a multi-faceted trail that ends at a gorgeous pool created by small waterfalls.

Exiting Zion

Driving out of Zion from the north sector was absolutely amazing. Melissa was driving at this point, and we were both in for a big surprise as the roadways were void of shoulders or guard rails. Soon we were off to the Grand Canyon and entering miles of nothing but occasional Navajo women selling local stone jewelry, luring drivers in with homemade signs.

Here is a rare gas station on the road to Arizona.

P.S. — Local Brews

I was excited to try out the Virgin Stout from the local Zion Canyon Brewing Company. Good stuff, as well as the Jamaican style lager.