Wondering how to make the most of your time in just a few days at Zion National Park? I’ve got you covered! With its breathtaking mountains and crystal blue skies, you’ll constantly find yourself wondering how such a beautiful place exists. My husband and I went for a long weekend and still had a great time.
Out of all the national parks I’ve visited, Zion is by far my favorite, and I want you to be able to experience this incredible place too.
In this post, I cover everything you need to know about making the most of your visit as a first-timer at Zion National Park, including where we stayed and how we planned out our days.
Where we stayed
My husband and I booked a motel in Springdale at the Pioneer Lodge. It was one of the last options that was dog-friendly so we grabbed it like hotcakes. I highly recommend getting a hotel that’s as close to the park as you can get. It was helpful to be within walking distance so we didn’t have to deal with parking.
But if you can’t snag a place, there’s a free shuttle that will take you there from one of the multiple bus stops in town.
*Hotels and Airbnbs book up FAST. I recommend booking as far in advance as you can to make sure you get what you want.
I’ll be honest….I probably wouldn’t stay here again unless it was a last resort lol. You can check out more reviews online and make your own informed decision but this was just my personal experience.
However, it was close to everything. It was only one mile to the park entrance and walking distance (less than a mile) to multiple coffee shops, convenience stores, restaurants, and gear rental places. In that sense, it was worth it for the location! There are tons of other cute hotels but I would make sure to book as early as possible if you’re going during peak season.
Weather
I’m a freak about the weather and making sure I pack accordingly. Anyone else? We went in October, and in my opinion, it was the best time to go. My biggest piece of advice is layers, layers, layers! For weather in Zion National Park in October, expect cooler mornings and evenings (40s-50s) and warmer afternoons (70-low 80s).
My daily attire was either a hoodie and athletic shorts or leggings and a tank top, along with my hiking boots.
Shuttle Schedule and Parking
The Zion Shuttle operates within Zion National Park, beginning at the visitor center, just north of the Springdale park entrance. It typically comes every 10-15 minutes, though schedules can vary based on the time of day and the season. There are nine stops, and it takes roughly 45 minutes to complete the whole 7.7-mile route.
Check out more details on the national website here.
Typically, there are two shuttles that run regularly from March – November, on weekends in February, and the last week in December. Shuttles can arrive at the stops every seven minutes during the busiest days. The Scenic Drive is closed to private vehicles when the shuttle operates.
The Zion National Park and Springdale town shuttles are free. You do not need a ticket, permit or reservation to ride.
Parking within Zion National Park usually fills up between 8 a.m and 9 a.m. Once the park lots are full, visitors should park in the town of Springdale and ride the town shuttle to the park. Near the town shuttle stops, visitors can find off-street, paid parking lots with hourly and all-day parking rates that are less than on-street parking.
Staying with your pet
Unfortunately, your furry friends aren’t allowed on the trails in Zion, so we booked daycare and an overnight stay for Asher at Zion Canyon Canine.
I’m a crazy dog mom and I’m not about to leave my boy just anywhere. I’ve had bad experiences with boarding places so I was hesitant to leave him but this place was awesome. I spoke with someone over the phone before booking and she made me feel so at ease. She asked me tons of questions regarding Asher’s temperament, preferences, and how I would like his stay experience to be while he was there.
We dropped him off around 8 am for daycare Saturday and picked him up at 6 pm Sunday evening. I highly recommend them!
I mean…how can you not squeeze this face?
They were so accommodating to all my requests and also told me they only take about 20-30 dogs at a time to make sure there’s an even dog-to-employee ratio.
Needless to say, I loved this place and would recommend it if you need to board your fur baby during your stay. They’re located in Hurricane, UT and it was about 30 minutes from the park.
Day 1: Hiking the Narrows
I’ll probably get some hate for this but before our trip, I had never heard of the Narrows (yikes). My husband said it was cool and we had to do it lol. He wasn’t wrong! The Narrows hike is a 16-mile trek through a section of the Virgin River. Don’t worry – you don’t have to do all 16 miles. There are different routes you can take and you can go as far as you’d like.
We woke up early Saturday and picked up our gear from Zion Outfitter around 7 a.m. There were already a ton of people lined up so if you’re on a time crunch, I’d either get your gear the day before or go super early the day of. Once we got our stuff, we dropped off our dog at daycare and came back to the hotel to change and head to the bus stop.
*Important things to note:
I recommend getting to the bus stop as early as you can. During peak season, you can’t take your private vehicle on the scenic drive of the park. However, there are free shuttles that you can get on that run every 5-10 minutes. It’s about a 40-minute drive from stop #1 to stop #9, the Temple of Sinawava.
We had to drop our dog off at daycare so we ended up getting there around 9 AM and the line was already pretty long. Once you’re off the bus, you’ll then walk about a mile before you get to the actual starting point.
If you go during colder months, I HIGHLY recommend renting the waterproof boots and bib!!! Since we went in October, the water was a little cooler so I appreciated the gear keeping me dry and warm. We reserved our gear online about a week in advance, but you can also walk in and just pick it up the day of without a reservation.
It was $55 per person for the boots, neoprene socks, bib, and walking stick. We also added a waterproof backpack for $12. All of it was worth it in my opinion!
as you can see, we took this very seriously
David and I did the day hike from the bottom. We started at 11 AM and ended around 4 PM. You don’t need a permit for this route.
The shoes made it so much easier to walk on the rocks and depending on how far you plan on walking, you’ll appreciate being dry. A few areas were about chest-deep on me and I would’ve been miserable doing that hike in wet clothes.
We made it about 6 miles in before we reached a part that was too deep to walk through so we ended up turning around. I was so exhausted by the end, but this was such a cool experience and I highly recommend adding it to your itinerary if you get the chance!
Once out of the river, we had the [longest] mile walk back to the bus stop. We took the shuttle to stop #1 at the park entrance and grabbed a well-deserved beer and bite to eat for dinner at Zion Canyon Brew Pub. Pro tip: this place was right next to Zion Outfitters (where we rented our gear) so we dropped off our stuff and walked over to the restaurant.
The food was AMAZING and I’m not just saying that because I was starving after a long day of hiking. David and I split a yummy char-cutes board and I got a burger and a side salad for my entree.
Day 2: E-Bikes, Scout Lookout, and Emerald Pools Hike
Surprisingly, I wasn’t too sore from the Narrows Hike. David and I slept in and walked to get breakfast at Feel Love Coffee. This place was so cute and had a nice outdoor area to sit and enjoy the brisk morning. We both got a coffee and split a croissant breakfast sandwich.
Afterward, we walked down the street to pick up our e-bike rentals. If you do anything in Zion National Park, please let it be renting e-bikes!! It was so worth it to skip the shuttle lines and you can explore at your own pace. We started off at the Pa’rus trail, riding through the beautiful yellow flowers, and rode up to stop #6 (the Grotto) to hike Scout Lookout.
Let me just say – I had zero expectations going into this hike. I knew it was the trail that led up to Angel’s Landing but OMG…it. was. hard. You get to Scout Lookout via the West Rim Trail. This is a 3.6-mile out-and-back trail, where you will ascend ~1000 ft and go through a series of 21 switchbacks. It’s brutal you guys and my shins are STILL sore lol
Be prepared with lots of water and snacks. There are some shaded areas along the way to take breaks but it’s intense.
Unfortunately, we didn’t win the lottery to get a permit for Angel’s Landing, but if you are doing that hike, you’ll get to a junction at the top of the trail to continue on. And yes, they do check permits 🙂 We stopped for about 20 minutes to take in the view and then headed back down.
Even if you don’t get the Angel’s Landing permit, the views are still incredible!
Then we grabbed a quick lunch at Zion Lodge and went across the street to do the Emerald Pools hike. This trail was pretty crowded and there wasn’t a lot of space to pass people. There are also a lot of families doing this trail because it is one of the easier ones so just be prepared for that.
We hiked the upper and middle pools, which weren’t too strenuous IMO. From what I read, the trail to the lower pools is more suited for children. It’s about a 3-mile hike to the upper pool, 2 miles to the middle pool, and a little over a mile to the lower pool.
My ass was craving some sorbet at this point (so random), so we dropped off our bikes and walked to Bumbleberry Bakery. I got the Red Rock Sorbet and it was delish!
Then it was time to pick up Asher so we went and got him and then came back and grabbed dinner at MeMe’s Cafe. Our bed was calling our name after this and we hit the sack!!
Last Day
We finished off our trip by taking a walk around the Pa’rus trail with Asher and then heading home! Being an East Coast girly, Zion was such an amazing experience! David and I agree that this has been our favorite national park by far and we would definitely be back.
Have you explored Zion National Park before? Let me know your favorite things to do so I can add them to my itinerary for next time 😉
XO,
Mel
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