Day 3

The morning was like the day before (see Road Trip from Sacramento to Zion National Park for Days 1-2), it began with another GRIT express class. Alisha & I were on breakfast committee while Sar fought inequality in her DEI class. How amazing it is that her school is requiring students to take this class!

None of us are picky eaters so we decided to share to get to try more things and we were BLOWN AWAY by the portions at this place. The breakfast vouchers from Bumbleberry Inn were good for an entree and drink at Oscar’s Cafe. We brought the food and coffee back to the Inn and quickly ate before hopping on the Springdale Shuttle.

Pro Tip: There are two shuttles you need to know; one is the Springdale shuttle that runs through the town of Springdale every 20-25 minutes and is free. The other is the Zion National Park Shuttle, which requires tickets to be purchased in advance. If you are unable to purchase tickets, you will need to hire a private service or bike. The ticket costs $1 per person and can be purchased 2 weeks in advance or a limited amount will go on sale the day before at 9:00am MST. Make sure to log onto the Recreation.gov website ahead of time to secure your tickets and double check the time difference if you aren’t purchasing it in an MST state.

The activity we planned for today was hiking Angel’s Landing. The crown jewel of Zion National Park which is approximately 6 miles roundtrip with chains spanning the final third from Scout’s Lookout to Angel’s Landing. Due to Sar’s class, we couldn’t begin until ~11:00am and we ended up finishing around 3:00pm. The hike wasn’t too difficult after the series of switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles but can be challenging for those wary of heights. The weather was pristine for us, low 70s F. with clear skies. Personally, I’m terrified of heights and felt like the videos of the chains were a lot scarier than the climb itself. The views and community were so incredible, we all recommend this hike to anyone considering it! It was also on our bucket list which was thrilling to be able to cross off.

Pro Tip: The chains portion of the hike has extremely narrow footing which makes it possible for only one person to cross at a time. We were waiting a lot in these portions and would recommend trying to go as early as possible to avoid crowd. Additionally, wearing gloves or carrying hand sanitizer since everyone is touching the chains. While we wore masks the whole time, there were individuals who didn’t do the same.

We made the mistake of exiting the park to rent equipment to hike the Narrows which we realized it was too late to hike. The ranger also informed us that the shuttle passes are only valid for one round trip ticket, so we were out of luck for the time of day. Still gloating in our post Angel’s adrenaline, we decided to ring in the night exploring the town and soaking in more of the canyon views. Dinner was at Whiptail Grille followed by drinks and dessert at Spotted Dog Cafe.

DAY 4

Our luck with the weather and shuttle tickets wasn’t so great today but because we’re great at pivoting plans, we quickly decided to bike to Emerald Pools for that hike. The bike rental shop (Zion Outfitters) opened at 7:00am and we decided to get there right then so we could park at the entrance and spot the sunrise.

The bike ride was ~4 miles to Zion Lodge where the trailhead for Emerald Pools was located. Not getting a shuttle ticket turned out to be such a blessing in disguise because by biking we were able to engage in another form of physical activity but also soak in the Fall foliage located on the Pa’rus Trail.

The hike was a total of ~3 miles and we were able to see Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Falls which was a completely different experience from the views from on top of Angel’s Landing. This hike was easy with only a few climbs that weren’t challenging.

The bike ride back was much easier since it was downhill, and we took in the views one last time before heading to the next destination on our itinerary!

Pro Tip: Try to incorporate trail time into your Zion National park itinerary/plan, the foliage on the trails/near the river is a must see!

Be sure to check out the rest of the posts from this road trip adventure!

Days 1-2: Road Trip from Sacramento to Zion National Park, Days 3-4: 2 Days in Zion National Park, Day 4.5: Bryce Canyon National Park in a Half Day, Day 5: Page and Sedona in One Day, Day 6: 1 Day in Joshua Tree