Zion national park itinerary a low key trip travel tips

This is not the ultimate guide to Zion National Park. This is not the essential skillet list of things to do in Zion National Park. What it is is an overview of the trip we took to Zion in May 2021, and how we planned and had an spanking-new time spending just 2-3 days in Zion. If you’re looking for a low-key visit to Zion that doesn’t try to cram everything into a few days, or you’re looking for a straightforward guide on what to do in Zion, where to zany in Zion, etc. this vendible will help you!

PS: Heading to the Grand Pass without Zion? Trammels out this fantastic road trip itinerary for an superstitious trip.

View from the marrow of a pass looking up at a large waddle insemination with grass and trees withal the side.

Visiting Zion National Park

Let’s get one thing out of the way. Zion is extremely popular. It is among the top 3 most popular National Parks and for good reason—it’s really beautiful. But if you’re planning to visit Zion National Park soon, you should know that it is incredibly rented and crowded, especially during the late spring and summer months. So be prepared for that and plan therefrom with the pursuit tips:

How to Stave Crowds in Zion National Park

Don’t go (just kidding! But pick a good time)
Go in the off season or shoulder season

Consider visiting Zion outside of the rented summer months. While winter may be chilly, and some of the hikes not possible, it’s a stunning place in every season. As an widow bonus, you don’t have to worry well-nigh shuttles in winter: the Zion Pass road is unshut to private cars at that time!

Avoid weekends

Every popular spot is going to be less crowded on weekdays.

Start your days EARLY

The weightier way to write-up the crowds is to start early. Not just your hikes, but getting to the park itself. Plane the National Park Service recommends getting to Zion hella early, or parking in Springdale. According to the website, “Parking is usually full by 8-9 am. The weightier way to stave delays entering Zion is to park in Springdale and ride the town shuttle to the park.”

On our trip, we hiked The Narrows on a Saturday morning (broke the rule of lamister weekends, whoops). We got started virtually 8am on our shuttle, so were hiking virtually 8:30am. It was fairly busy, but not overly so at this time. However, on our way BACK lanugo The Narrows a couple of hours later, the once-pristine river was whence to take on a zoo-like quality. In all honesty, it was nonflexible to find places to walk and we had to take turns with other hikers in many spots withal the way. So go, early—like 7am early.

You’ll definitely want to victorious early to the park in general. Lines to get in (both car and pedestrian/bike entrances) were growing long by mid-morning. And as the NPS recommends, it may be prudent to park somewhere in Sprindale (the town right by the park) and take one of the town shuttles to the park proper. The parking within Zion fills up FAST.

Choose less popular hikes/stops

Another option for having a nippy trip to Zion may involve selecting less-popular sites and hikes. This isn’t platonic for every traveler; some of us couldn’t THINK of visiting Zion without tackling Angel’s Landing. But if you’re increasingly flexible, you may find you have a largest experience. The Narrows and Angel’s Landing are the two most well-known “big” hikes, but there are plenty of other options to alimony you busy.

We heard many travelers talking well-nigh Emerald Pools trails stuff really worthwhile. On one day, we hiked The Watchman trail, which was not particularly rented (though we did climb it in the heat of the day—another big NO-NO. Please learn from our mistakes lol!) We loved this hike, which had some challenging uphill sections but ended with spectacular views.

A small hiking path leading virtually a red waddle formation.

Also consider Kolob Canyons. I’ve been seeing this spot recommended a lot lately. While the hike is within Zion National Park, the archway is on the totally opposite side. You just might wits this trappy spot with far, far fewer crowds.

Where to Stay in Zion National Park

Figuring out where to stay near Zion can be a challenge. There are a number of hotels in nearby Springdale that would be suitable, but these are likely to typesetting up fast. If you plan in advance, booking one of the hotels near Zion National Park may be your weightier bet. If you segregate one near to one of the Springdale shuttle stops, you won’t have to worry well-nigh parking! Plus, without a hot day in the sun, you can return to the comforts of your air conditioned lodging.

One hotel to trammels out is the Cable Mountain Lodge, located super tropical to the Zion NP Visitor’s Center. What an platonic location!

Many people prefer to zany in Zion or nearby. That is what we did this time on our trip, as we had rented a campervan for a short road trip out of Vegas. (Though I’m starting to think hotels are increasingly my thing…..) Camping is a great, affordable option, but it can be tough to snag reservations at Zion during rented times.

We camped for two nights at South Campground inside Zion National Park. The fact that we scored a site was nothing short of miraculous. South Campground sites wilt misogynist to typesetting 2 weeks in whop of the travel date. And when I say 2 weeks, I midpoint 2 weeks on the DOT. I was worldly-wise to get our site by stuff online at Reservation.gov just surpassing 10am EST on the day bookings were opening. I was logged into my Reservation.gov account, had pre-selected my desired site that morning, and had it in my cart ready to go. Exactly at 10am, I clicked on the sawed-off to book. And boom, it was ours.

As I said, these are very difficult to get, but if you follow the whilom procedure, you just might get lucky.

The other campground near the front of Zion is Watchman Campground, which books out 6 months in advance.

While the campgrounds were lovely, offering views like this:

The view from wideness the street of a large waddle insemination with untried trees in front of it.

You should know there are no showers at the Zion Campgrounds. While this is somewhat inconvenient, you CAN get a paid shower in a very nice facility at Zion Outfitter. This is just outside of the park and you can walk from your campground through the pedestrian exit to get to Zion Outfitter. They offer hot showers for $4 (5 minutes) and they moreover have laundry facilities underneath the store.

Pro tip: Don’t forget your park pass or receipt when exiting, as you’ll need to show it to get when in!

Also, flipside pro tip: the America the Trappy Pass is totally worth it. $80 for one year gets you wangle to all the National Parks and a total of increasingly than 2,000 federal recreation sites. If you’re visiting increasingly than 2 parks on your trip (such as nearby Bryce Pass and the Grand Canyon) then you’ll definitely save money with this pass.

Small river flowing through the marrow of a waddle pass with untried trees on either side of it.

A couple sits on a perch by the round with tall rocky mountains overdue them.

Zion National Park Itinerary: 2 Days

Day 1 in Zion

This is day one of your Zion itinerary, or plane largest yet, the evening surpassing the first official day.

Arrive, get situated/checked in to your accommodation
Head to the park. Be prepared to wait in line if early-midday. Late afternoon may a faster entry.
If time allows, tackle one of the shorter or easier hikes in the park. We recommend the Pa’Rus Trail (paved and fairly unappetizing trail that is unconfined for biking) or The Watchman Trail (3 mile moderate trail with unconfined payoff and views). Don’t forget lots and lots of water! This is the desert! We both have Osprey Hydration Packs and they worked incredibly well for this trip.

$An empty paved road leading through an zone surrounded by tall, rocky mountains. In the foreground is a sign that says \"Watchman Trail\" with an thunderstroke pointing right.$

If hiking The Narrows tomorrow, grab any rental gear tonight.
Make dinner at your campsite/dine in Springdale/at your hotel
Get a good night’s sleep!

Day 2 in Zion

Today you’ll be getting up early to tackle your “big hike” of choice. For most visitors, this is likely to be Angel’s Landing or The Narrows.

We opted for The Narrows, as we weren’t as keen on the steep drop-offs of Angel’s Landing and thought that hiking IN A RIVER would be much increasingly memorable. We were right! Increasingly on The Narrows hike below.

Day Two in Zion Itinerary:

Arrive at the park (early!)
Get your shuttle (early!)
Start your hike (early! – If you’re opting for a laid when Zion itinerary, permitting yourself plenty of time to enjoy the day is key).
Complete your big hike (general recommendations indulge 4-6 hours for The Narrows, bottom-up, 5 hours for Angel’s Landing).
Grab a shower and lunch
Hop in the car and take a scenic tour of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. There are tons of pull-offs withal this stunning road, so plane non-hikers will love this part of Zion. Pro tip: You don’t need the Zion Shuttle to see this road. So if you don’t score shuttle tickets, this is a perfection option to still see some of the weightier of Zion!
Do the Pass Overlook Trail just surpassing sunset for some pretty views (or tackle it tomorrow morning at sunrise for plane largest lighting!)
Have a unconfined dinner and an easy rest tonight—you earned it!

Hiking The Narrows: What You Need to Know

Before talking well-nigh a potential 3rd day in Zion, I want to take a minute to share with you all that I know well-nigh The Narrows. Here’s flipside unconfined guide all well-nigh this hike, so if you want to read increasingly in depth well-nigh The Narrows hike, click here.

Hiking The Narrows from the marrow up is what most people segregate to do. There is an unorganized option to hike from the top down, but that’s a long hike for someone in largest shape than I. If you’re in moderate-decent shape, you’ll be just fine with The Narrows marrow up, by the way. But alimony in mind that it is challenging. You’ll be walking much of the time right in the water (The Narrows is substantially right inside the Virgin River), with occasional spots thigh or plane chest deep. When we went, May 2021, there was a thigh-deep portion of the hike well-nigh 15-20 minutes in. At that point, getting very wet is not optional.

Hikers walking withal the rocky shore of a pass floor with a small river to the right.

So how do you manage hiking in a moving river? Rent some gear! While many people will tell you that Narrows gear is unnecessary, we found it to be very useful for us. We rented gear from Zion Outfitter (located directly outside the park and right next to the pedestrian/bike entrance). Our summer gear included the water-friendly boots, neoprene socks, and a sturdy walking stick, for well-nigh $30 a person.

Could you hike in your own shoes? Probably. But they are going to get sopping wet. Plane our rented “waterproof” boots got filled with water. But the real goody of those shoes is the neoprene socks (so you’re not dealing with wet cotton socks, ew) and non-slip soles. The shoes were supportive, easy to walk in, and I think prevented us from slipping increasingly than we did.

And that stick that comes with the gear? Moreover really essential. On the way out to the hike, I wondered why I was toting this heavy wooden stick. It turned out to be an integral part of keeping myself steady and upright surrounded the rocky marrow of The Narrows. This item is a must-have, in my opinion. Don’t hike The Narrows without it.

People walking withal the marrow of a pass floor that is mostly underwater.

Currently (summer 2021), the Virgin River, and thus the Narrows, is experiencing an issue with a toxic cyanobacteria bloom. This sounds pretty scary, but the vestige shows that this has not deterred hundreds of hikers (us included) from attempting The Narrows. Please read the park’s official information for the most accurate, up-to-date details well-nigh the bacteria. It would seem the risk is minimal and the biggest snooping is not ingesting the water. Yet you have to make your own visualization well-nigh whether to go. In the words of the Parks: “your safety is your responsibility!”

Day 3 in Zion, if Applicable

Now you’ve had two super fun, but not-too-crazy days in Zion National Park. If you have increasingly time to spend here, that is awesome! I think you could spend a week in Zion and have an incredible trip experiencing nearly everything the park has to offer.

But what if you have just one increasingly day, or plane just a morning in Zion? I recommend doing some kind of sunrise hike. Pass Overlook is a fairly short trail (and is wieldy from the Zion-Mt. Carmel Road, so you don’t need shuttle passes). This makes for a lovely sunrise spot. But other hikes would moreover be a good option in the morning. You can’t go wrong with those trappy red rocks all around.

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