Taking the High Road

What comes to mind when you think of Zion National Park?

High stone towers?

Red Rocks?

Famous Trails?

Crowds?

Shuttles?

There is all that but so much more if you take the High Road to the backcountry!

The popular Riverside Trail through Zion Canyon, rated an easy path was our choice for our first day in Zion, especially with the temps in the low 100's.  With its sheer high stone walls of red, white or gray it follows the course of the Virgin River. Shade covers much of the accessible trail as it winds its way into the narrowing canyon. 

It’s an extremely crowded trail as it leads to the launching point of the famous “Narrows”, a bucket list items for avid hikers. 

Despite the soaring summer temperatures, the trail was packed with tourists speaking many different languages, some prepared to wade the rocky river trail upstream with their rented waterproof shoes and hiking poles. Others, like us just wanted to enjoy the journey beside the river on the smooth, dry paved path. The narrow trail seemed more a highway than a quiet tree-shaded path into the canyon. 

After experiencing a day of heat, crowds, and packed shuttle busses we decided on a different adventure on the road for our second day, exploring a less visited side of Zion National Park. Heading away from the main entrance to Zion, located in Springdale, we drove the beautiful roadway back toward Hurricane. Several side roads led us to Kolob Terrace Road. 

As the road climbed higher toward the top of the plateau, ranches bordered the roadway as we passed in and out of Zion National Park. With the increased altitude, the pines grew taller and groves of aspen began to grow along the edge of the road. At an altitude of nearly 8,000 feet we reached the Lava Point Overlook for a bird’s eye view of all the many plateaus and canyons which make up Zion National Park. 

This back country side of the National Park has many trailheads for the adventurous hikers, but not the crowds of visitors that we encountered the day before in the narrow canyon. The winding road offered quiet, amazing vistas of the buttes and plateaus as it climbed to the top of the highest plateau, offering a much broader view and understanding of the majesty and grandeur of this part of Utah.

“I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We certainly enjoyed our time here at Zion Canyon RV RESORT!