Zion National Park is somewhere that Dom and I have talked about going for a few years, but we didn’t make it there until we were living in Salt Lake City for a month. We drove the 4 hours down from SLC on a Thursday evening so we could spend all Friday and Saturday at the park.

On Friday, we did 17.5 miles of hiking on the East Rim Trail; it took us 8.5 hours. On Saturday, we met up with Dom’s coworker, Adam, and Adam’s friend, Alex; we did about a third of a scramble / climbing route that’s no longer maintained called the Lady Mountain Trail, and we also walked the Emerald Pools Trail.

This post goes into everything we did in our two days there – where we stayed, the places we ate, and of course, everything we thought about our hikes. We’re already planning to go back to Zion this fall, so I’m looking forward to updating this post as we try out more trails.

Staying in Springdale, UT

Zion’s main entrance is in Springdale, UT; it’s about a 5-minute drive from most of the hotels to the gates of the Park. Springdale has a few restaurants, a (very overpriced) grocery store, a school, and a LOT of hotels. There’s currently a free shuttle running from the town to the park’s entrance; we didn’t take it, but it seems like a good option to avoid trying to park at Zion since the lots can fill up.

We stayed at the Bumbleberry Inn for about $200 / night because it was our best option at a reasonable price in Springdale. We had two separate bookings so we stayed in two different rooms – the first wasn’t as comfortable of a bed but had an updated bathroom; the second had a more comfortable bed but didn’t have the updated bathroom. They did have the hot tub open which was nice after a long day of hiking. So, overall it was okay – it’s tough to spend that much on a hotel room when we’ve stayed in more comfortable hotels for half the price, but at the same time, it’s understandable for the convenience of being so close to Zion. There also was a small farm right next to the Bumbleberry Inn… when a rooster started crowing on our first morning there, Dom sleepily pointed out to me that he didn’t pay for a chicken; we didn’t hear it on the second morning.

On our next trip, we’re planning to stay in or near St. George instead of in Springdale. It’s about 50 minutes away from Zion, but the hotels are significantly cheaper. As an example, looking about a month out, a Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn Express in Springdale is $309 but a Holiday Inn Express in St. George is $93.

Dining near Zion

The Bumbleberry Inn gave us breakfast vouchers for Oscar’s Cafe, which was a cute cafe right across the street from the hotel. Oscar’s was pretty busy since presumably most of the Bumbleberry Inn guests were there as well as some people from other nearby hotels, but the food still came out really quickly and the service was excellent. They had a covered porch with heaters as well as some indoor seating, and it was a really great breakfast before a day at the park – I recommend the waffle combo. If their kitchen isn’t too backed up, they’ll allow to-go orders which is a good option if you’re in a hurry or don’t want to wait for a table.

For dinner on both of our evenings, we went to River Rock Roasting Co – it’s in La Verkin, UT which is an easy 30-minute drive from Zion. As their name implies, they serve a variety of coffees but they also have pizzas, sandwiches, smoothies, alcoholic drinks, and bakery items. I had a great Margherita pizza (I ordered it both times) and I also really liked their Peach Avenue smoothie. Their back patio had heaters and a really great view of the sunset. I felt like it was worth the 30-minute drive from the park, and it was actually on our way back to SLC on Saturday night, if you’re headed that direction.

General Zion Info

Paying to get into Zion is pretty easy – it’s $35 per vehicle for a weekly pass, with other fees for motorcycles and people without vehicles (like people taking the shuttle or biking). You pay as soon as you drive up to the park entrance, so if a lot of people in line are paying (instead of just scanning weekly or annual passes) it can take a while to get into the park. We were stuck there for a while on our second day.

If you’re starting to do some research for a trip to Zion, you’ll quickly read about the shuttle tickets. During the busy season from around March to October, shuttle tickets are required to get to some of the more popular trails off of the Scenic Drive, including:

• Emerald Pools Trail (and Lady Mountain Trail, which I’ll talk about later)
• West Rim Trail
• Angels Landing
• The Riverside Walk
• The Narrows

There are a number of other hikes that don’t require shuttle tickets, including the trails on the East side of the park (like East Rim Trail – the one we did on our first day), the Kolob trails, and the short Canyon Overlook Trail.

Shuttle tickets are only $1 – it’s basically just a reservation with a convenience fee. The tickets are for a specified arrival hour, so make sure you’re at the park during your hour (and again, allow for plenty of time to get into the park because traffic can get backed up at the gates).

Shuttle tickets are more challenging to get because of bus capacity restrictions due to COVID. The current process is explained below (taken from Recreation.gov, where the tickets are sold):

Because of the limited release of shuttle tickets, there are quite a few scammers on sites like AllTrails.com that leave reviews saying to contact them for shuttle tickets. Other people were leaving comments saying those people aren’t always legit and not to contact them, so that’s just something to be wary of if you’re trying to find shuttle tickets online at the last minute. As long as you plan ahead and can log on right when the tickets go up on Recreation.gov, you should be fine.

Trails at Zion

We did three really great trails while we were at Zion: the East Rim Trail was a very long hike; Lady Mountain Trail is more of a scrambling / climbing route; and the Emerald Pools Trail is a classic, easy loop with three really pretty pools along the way.

East Rim Trail

Park: Zion National Park
Hike: East Rim Trail
Length: To Observation Point, about 21.2 miles round-trip (10.6mi one-way)
Time: Probably 10.5 – 11 hours total, based on our pace
Difficulty: First 6 miles were easy; Next 2.75mi were moderate; unsure beyond that

We had a really great hike on the East Rim Trail; we went 17.5 miles and didn’t quite make it to Observation Point (one of the major overlooks into Zion Canyon), but we hope to on a future trip – maybe by taking one of the other trails on the East side of the park. Zion-Mount Carmel Highway takes you to the East Entrance Trailhead, so it’s a little bit of a drive from the park entrance – maybe 20 minutes. It’s not a drive I would want to do at night – it’s a very winding road with sharp turns and you go through a few tunnels.

We parked at the East Entrance Trailhead around 8:30am and made it back to our car around 5pm after our hike. In hindsight, we could have started earlier and ended later to make it to Observation Point, but the East Rim Trail was actually our backup plan for the day so we didn’t have it timed out (we had initially planned to go to the La Verkin Creek Trail to see the Kolob Arch before we realized that trailhead is an hour away from Springdale).

The East Rim Trail is a hike we would definitely do again for a full day of hiking, and there was a fork that leads to two other mountains that I’d like to do at some point.

Pros of the East Rim Trail

• No shuttle ticket – You can drive right to the East Entrance Trailhead and start hiking.
• Very few people – In our 8.5 hours there, we maybe saw 20 people? It was very peaceful compared to the more popular hikes at Zion and still had some really great views, even though they aren’t the most common views of the park.
• It leads to Observation Point – The Weeping Rock Trail is the typical route to Observation Point, but a rock fall in 2019 caused that trail to close and it’s unclear when it will reopen. The East Rim trail is one of the few ways to get to Observation Point now, but you could also take the East Mesa Trail or another trailhead that meets up with the East Rim Trail for a shorter hike. We’re hoping to do the East Mesa Trail this fall.

• You can go as far and long as you want – There are three different distance options if you start at the East Entrance Trailhead and make it to one of the three ends, but you can also turn around at any point, like we did.
  • Observation Point – 10.6 miles out / 21.2 miles round-trip; Probably about 10.5-11 hours based on our pace
  • Cable Mountain – 8.8 miles / 17.6 miles round-trip
  • Deertrap Mountain – 10.2 miles / 20.4 miles round-trip
• There are shorter options for these three trails as well – You can drive past the East Entrance Trailhead and turn left on North Fork Road. Eventually, you’ll come to a dirt road to turn left on that will take you to two other trailheads – one off the East Rim Trail and one for the East Mesa Trail. There is a warning on the maps that say these are unpaved roads and aren’t accessible when wet, so that’s something to be aware of. If you start at the southern trailhead accessible from North Fork Road (not the one for the East Mesa Trail), the distances seem to be closer to:
  • Observation Point – 4.7 miles / 9.4 miles round-trip
  • Cable Mountain – 3.5 miles / 7 miles round-trip
  • Deetrap Mountain – 4.9 miles / 9.8 miles round-trip

• Variety of views – We were expecting to see the classic Zion views the entire time we were hiking, but there were only a few areas with that; we walked through a few open fields and some wooded areas as well, which was where we saw some mule deer.

Cons of the East Rim Trail

• Exposure – there wasn’t a ton of shade on the East Rim Trail. We were there in mid-March on a colder day (it actually sleeted for a while) but I could see it being a really hot hike during the summer.
• It wasn’t always easy to follow the trail – At a few points, we had to backtrack to where we last saw the trail and scope it out to make sure we felt like we were still on the path. Once it became impossible to see the path because we were just on rocks, we were able to follow cairns along the path, which was very helpful.

• It’s a 20-minute drive from the park entrance – Like I mentioned earlier, it’s a winding, 20-minute or so drive to the East Entrance Trailhead.
• There aren’t many classic Zion views along the way – This hike is a great way to get in a lot of mileage without having to go on several different trails in one day. The downside is that it doesn’t have many of the classic Zion views, but it was still incredibly scenic.

Lady Mountain Trail

Park: Zion National Park
Hike: Lady Mountain Trail
Length: Joe’s Guide to Zion says 3.6 miles round-trip; low mileage because it’s all vertical
Time: It took us around 3.5 hours to get to the Chimney and 2.5 hours to get back; Joe’s Guide says to expect 6-10 hours total
Difficulty: Most descriptions say something like “Strenuous scrambling / climbing route”, which I would agree with from the part we did

Lady Mountain Trail has a really interesting history. It was one of the first trails at Zion, but the Park decided to stop maintaining it in the 1960’s because it was dangerous, difficult to maintain, and they had to rescue people who were scared while on the trail fairly often. You can read more about the history of the trail from Joe’s Guide or Canyoneering USA.

Like I mentioned earlier, we were with Dom’s coworker, Adam, and Adam’s friend Alex on our second day at Zion – they go to Zion at least once a year with some of their friends but they’d never done Lady Mountain before, so it was a first for all of us. Dom and I had planned to just do some of the trail and then turn around and go to Angels Landing, but we ended up sticking with them the whole day because we were having a really great time. We did about a third of the trail; we turned around when we reached the base of the chimney obstacle.

Adam and Alex both have some climbing experience, which is crucial at least for one person in your group if you’re going to attempt this route – falls along the way could cause serious injuries or be fatal, so this isn’t one to try without experience. We only used webbing and climbing gear in a couple of places:

• The first set of Moki Steps – We didn’t use them on the way up, but Alex and I both repelled down these because there was a steep drop off on one side. These steps were carved really well, so it was more of a safety precaution here than a necessity.
• The second set of Moki Steps – This set didn’t have good handholds, so it was really tough to get started. Dom and Adam helped me up, and then Alex used some webbing. On the way back down, I tried to use the webbing but failed miserably, but Alex used it and got down really quickly. In hindsight, I wished I would have repelled down these like I did on the other set of Moki Steps, but it didn’t feel as dangerous since there wasn’t a drop-off near these.

That was just our experience between the start of the trail and the chimney obstacle. I don’t know what it was like beyond that, but if you’re going to try the chimney, you’ll need someone in your group to go up and set up the belay for everyone else to use, which is why it’s important to have someone in the group that’s comfortable with climbing without the belay and has experience. If we had done the chimney, that person would have been Adam – he ended up going over and scoping it out (which reasonably freaked us out a bit).

One of the challenging things about Lady Mountain Trail was that it was difficult to find the route in several instances. Since Zion isn’t maintaining the trail, it doesn’t show up on any of the maps. There used to be iron ladders, chains, etc., but those were all taken out – so there aren’t many obvious markers along the trail. Occasionally you’ll see yellow arrows painted on the rocks, a few cairns, and you’ll notice holes in the stone where something used to be drilled into it on a few of the obstacles, but it’s still pretty challenging to find the trail at times. It’s key to have some kind of photo guide to follow as you go along – Adam and Alex used Joe’s Guide for pictures of the landmarks and instructions.

If you do want to try Lady Mountain, make sure to bring plenty of food, water, and sunscreen – it’s a very exposed route. Bring climbing gear (that you know how to use) including climbing shoes with good grip, 80′-100′ rope, harnesses, helmets, a belay device, locking carabiners, and anything else you typically would need on a climb – again, I’m not really familiar with climbing so this is just what I know at a basic level (and from Google).

Pros of Lady Mountain Trail

• It was a ton of fun – Even though it was challenging and a little nerve-racking at times when there near steep drop offs, we had a great time.
• No crowds – Since it’s not maintained and it’s more climbing / scrambling than hiking, we only saw one other group of people the entire time we were there.
• The views – We were able to get some really awesome pictures of the canyon, and from what it sounds like, the view from the top of Lady Mountain is incredible. I really hope we can make it to the top someday.

Cons of Lady Mountain Trail

• Finding the entrance was difficult – When we finished our hike and came back out on the Emerald Pools Trail, we realized we’d taken a less direct route up – if we’d walked a bit farther on the Emerald Pools Trail before we started to climb, there was a slightly more obvious trail. We came out after a sign explaining something about the Canyon formation maybe? I can’t remember, but it wasn’t where we thought the trail started. Regardless, it still wasn’t very clear – so that’s just something to be aware of.
• It’s a very technical route – Like I mentioned, there are a lot of scrambles and some climbing involved to even just get to the chimney. It’s a lot of finding handholds, footholds, and the path itself when it wasn’t obvious. I don’t really have any climbing experience, but I went to a rock climbing gym once with a friend from college who climbs a lot, and I was glad I had even that limited experience..
• It’s mentally challenging – There were a few places that I felt like I had to focus on the climbing and not think about the riskiness because it was stressful to think about what would happen if I fell, as is the case with a lot of scrambling / climbing routes. The worst part for me was when we were close to the chimney – the path was very narrow and it was a complete drop off on one side. Overall, Lady Mountain Trail was probably more challenging mentally than physically. If you think you might be afraid of heights, this is probably not the place to find out.
• Catcuses – They’re usually not a big deal on maintained trails, but since Lady Mountain isn’t there were quite a few cactuses we had to step around so it’s something to watch out for. I think Dom brushed a couple with his hand.

Emerald Pools Trail

Park: Zion National Park
Hike: Emerald Pools Trail
Length: 3 miles round-trip
Time: Depends on the pace and stops; could have done it in 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy. Maintained, lots of railings / chains, not much elevation change. There are some steps created from the rocks as well as actual stairs at points

We did the Emerald Pools Trail in the afternoon after doing the Lady Mountain Trail. It was a really nice, relaxing hike, and it was really cool to see the natural pools since it was different than anything we saw on the East Rim Trail or Lady Mountain.

There are three Emerald Pools – Lower, Middle, and Upper – and the signs throughout the trail gave very obvious directions to each (and back to Zion Lodge) periodically. The trail is a loop so you can see all three of the pools, which is what we did.

Pros of the Emerald Pools Trail

• Afternoon shade – We were on the trail from around 3pm – 4pm and it was shaded the entire time.
• The pools and waterfalls – Even with a lot of people around, it was still a really peaceful trail.
• Views – There were some pretty views of Zion Canyon, and it was really awesome to just be surrounded by the massive canyon walls. It gave me a different appreciation for just how big Zion is.
• It’s a mild hike – Compared to some of the other Zion hikes, this is a good trail to do if you’re nervous about heights.

Cons of the Emerald Pools Trail

• It can get crowded – Since it’s one of the easier hikes, a lot of families were on this trail so it got crowded. There were a lot of kids climbing up on the boulders and a lot of people taking photos – it was a fun atmosphere. It didn’t feel too crowded when we were there in the afternoon, but that could be different earlier in the day or when the COVID shuttle capacity limited aren’t in place.
• It’s not a challenging hike – This doesn’t mean it’s not fun, but if you’re looking for a physical challenge, you won’t find one on this trail
• Limited views – Since this trail doesn’t have much elevation change, it doesn’t have as great of views of the canyon as some of the other hikes. Regardless, it’s still a really pretty hike to do and it was fun to see the waterfalls and pools.

We had a really great time during our two days at Zion; on our trip this fall we’re hoping to do some of the more popular trails like the Narrows and Angels Landing. Zion is definitely a bucket list destination and now that we’ve been there, I completely understand why it’s grown in popularity and why it’s a repeat destination for so many people.