Get ready for another early morning and an incredible day! Our day at Zion National Park was one of my favorites. The sights were absolutely breathtaking! The biggest draw to Zion is the hiking, which can be pretty intense, so we definitely saw fewer small children here. Our kids were troopers though (for the most part) and held strong for 7+ miles of pretty tough hiking!

The first thing to know about Zion is that you cannot drive in the park, so you are completely reliant on the shuttle system. Doing my research and talking to others who visited in previous weeks, I heard the wait for shuttles could be a nightmare, but we had a great experience! We were told to be there an hour before the first shuttle, which began at 6:00 am. 5:00 was just too early, especially having a 40 minute drive from our cabin so we didn’t make it until 6:00 am. The parking lot was already packed but the shuttles were already running and our wait was only 5-10 minutes. I imagine it gets busier, so we were still thankful for the early start for both crowds and to beat the summer heat!

Next, there’s a lot of planning that goes into Zion. The trails are constantly opening and closing because of rockfall and flooding, so make sure and check the National Parks page for alerts in the days before your visit. There were several closed when we went, making our plans pretty easy to pick which shuttle stops to take! Just know that these hikes weren’t chosen because they are the “best,” they were just the ones that were open at the time.

I’ll also advise that when you do your research, you will find that the most popular hike is Angel’s Landing. We’re normally up for challenges so we did a LOT of research to see if it was doable with children in carriers. As tempting as it was, it was abundantly clear that it should not be attempted with children. There are multiple deaths per year on this hike, and after seeing others walking along the tiny rim, we were thankful we did not attempt it. Maybe on a future trip with no kids….maybe!

We were advised by a friend to start our morning at The Narrows, which was at stop #9, The Temple of Sinawava, the very last stop at the park. I’d definitely recommend to do the same because on our way out, people were flooding in. Also, in the summer time, the risk of flooding from afternoon showers closes it often. In fact, we heard the announcement around lunchtime that they were closing it the day we were there. This is the second most popular trail and is much more doable for all ages, so it is highly populated at all times.

The hike begins as the Riverside walk, which is an unpaved sidewalk that runs along the river that flows through the canyon. It’s a one mile, easy trail that has so many beautiful sites. At the end, there is a landing where The Narrows begin. At this point, you change into your water shoes to continue your hike in the river! This is what makes this hike so thrilling! The canyon narrows, leaving little to no bank and walking through water the only way to pass. It’s a down and back, with no real “end” so you can be as adventurous as you want, going as far back as you wish. We went about a half mile down, until the water was a little above waist deep ahead. With the kids in carriers, we didn’t think that’d be wise, so we made the trek back. Hiking in the water is a little tougher than you’d think so this was all that we wanted anyways. The footing was also pretty difficult with slippery rocks so beware while towing little ones. Our three year old was dying to get out in the water, so as we got closer and the water became shallower, we let her get out and explore. It was definitely one of her highlights of the trip!

We stopped for a bottle, snacks, a diaper change, and to switch out shoes before heading back up the Riverside walk to return to the shuttle. The entire hike was about 3 miles and took us about 2.5 hours, but we were enjoying the scenery and taking it very leisurely. Back at the shuttle station, there were restrooms, shoe washing station, and bottle filling stations. We were able to hop right on a shuttle and head to stop #5, Zion Lodge, which was the trailhead for our next hike, Emerald Pools.

Zion Lodge was a great place to take a break and let the kids out. There were picnic tables and a nice grassy spot where our baby loved to crawl (just watch for deer poop). They also had a nice concession where food was available if you don’t want to pack a lunch. It was only about 10:15 am but we went ahead and pulled out our lunchables anyways to refuel before beginning our next trek!

Once we were a little refreshed, we began the Emerald Pools trail, which was about 4 miles round trip and took about 3.5 hours. It’s labeled a “moderate” trail, which doesn’t sound very bad but it had some pretty rough terrain and some steep inclines. There are also several steep cliff edges to the trail, so I would suggest making your littles stay in a carrier during the entire hike. If you want to shorten the hike, it’s definitely possible. At different points, you will make it to the lower, middle, and upper pools. At any of these, you can take the option of turning around but if you choose to make it all the way to the upper pool, you might as well take the loop back around. The hardest part (but definitely still doable) is definitely between the middle and upper, so take that into consideration while planning. I’ll try to give a little insight into what you will see at each of the stops, aside from the constant gorgeous views of Zion.

*Lower Pools- Pools is definitely not the best term for this spot. This is a “weeping rock,” similar to what you’d see on the actual Weeping Rock Trail, which was closed during our visit. It’s basically a misting water fall off of a cliff that mists the entire trail. It was definitely cool to walk under and was very refreshing in the heat! Definitely worth it just to hike here!

*Middle Pools- This pool wasn’t much to see but the views off of the ledge were pretty cool! It’s basically your view from the top of the lower pool, where the pool runs off, creating the misting.

*Upper Pool- This is a larger pool in a shaded area, making it a great place to let the kids out of the carrier and rehydrate! It’s also back away from the cliffs edge, making it a safe place for the kids to climb on rocks and explore a little, while the grownups take a much needed breather.

After this hike, we had completed 7+ miles of hiking and were pretty hot & tired! And this momma was a little dirty and banged up from taking a nasty fall on the trails! So before hopping back on the shuttle, we took some time to cool off, find some nice bathrooms, & drink some water at Zion Lodge.

By this time is was about 2:30 and we grabbed a shuttle back to the visitors center. There was one more easy one mile hike to a pretty overlook that we planned to do that was a short drive on your way out of the park called Zion Overlook Trail. However, a storm was rolling in so we decided to go ahead and begin our drive to Page, Arizona for the night! If you are looking for something more to fill your day though, that’d be a great option!

Zion National Park

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