Zion National Park: Trails and Shuttle Tips

The 2nd morning at Zion National Park, I woke up at my hotel in La Verkin and drove the 17 miles to Springdale to the official entrance to the park. The 1st day I took the more difficult Watchman Trail. Today I was taking the Pa’rus Trail which serves as the main trail into the interior of the park. If you recall from the previous blog, the only way to get around the park is to walk, rent a bicycle or take one of the shuttles. You can only get the shuttle pass the night before online for a dollar. Unfortunately, you cannot purchase them at the park.

If you miss the online sale, then you can get a free ticket at 3 PM in the afternoon from one of the rangers at the shuttle pick-up and drop-off point. Other than that, you’re on your own. All the really interesting sites and trails like the Emerald Pools Trail that leads to both the upper and lower pools and the Riverside Trail are farther into Zion National Park. These trails are about 4 to 5 miles in. You can only reach them by hiking on foot or renting a bike. Therefore, it behooves you to take the shuttle unless you’re in there for an all-day hike. The shuttles have several drop off and pick up points inside the park. For the shuttle schedule, you can find that online at https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/zion-canyon-shuttle-tickets.htm. You can also pick up a shuttle guide from the park headquarters at Zion.

Now the Pa’rus Trail is a much easier trail than the Watchman. It’s paved, and it follows the course of the Virgin River as it runs through Zion National Park. It’s 1.75 miles in length (doubled to 3.5 round trip) and it’s not strenuous at all. However, since it is paved, it’s the only pathway that bicycles can reach deep into the park. So, you are sharing the trail with bicycles. Therefore, be cautious of that. There are some lovely views as you walk this trail. You also see a couple of artificially made waterfalls. They are part of a water system. Both the national park and the town of Springdale have worked out for them both to share the river and to keep it clean and flowing. Springdale uses the river for drinking water and other uses.

So, I walked the full length of the Pa’rus Trail. I got to the end of it where it joins the road that the shuttle buses use to take you further into Zion National Park. At that point, I realized I had made a mistake by not renting a bicycle originally. Therefore, I turned around and took a very leisurely 1.75-mile walk back the way I came.

I had lunch at one of the restaurants that are very near the gateway to the park. Then I went and rented a bicycle. They can be rented on 2, 4, or 8-hour schedules. I asked the lady who ran the bicycle concession about the safety of the bicycle since they did not provide a lock or a chain. She told me that theft inside the park is very rare. There are places to park the bikes at each trailhead. However, you didn’t have to worry about them being stolen.

If your bicycle actually was taken, then just take somebody else’s or let one of the shuttle bus drivers know. They would take you back to the beginning of the park where you can tell the bicycle concession what happened.

So firm in that knowledge, I rode my bike back up the Pa’rus Trail to where it meets the shuttle bus road that takes you further into Zion National Park. At this point, the road is all uphill. Now I’m not as young as I used to be. In addition, the elevation of this point is anywhere from 4000 to 6500 ft plus above sea level.

You have to be aware of altitude sickness or just plain shortness of breath if you live in a lower area like myself. I live in Los Angeles which is at sea level. I made it about another mile and a half before I gave up. Not being able to push through, I turned around. As a result, I missed both the Emerald Pools and the Riverside Trail. Yet I understand they’re absolutely gorgeous.

I turned around and rode my bicycle all the way downhill to the Pa’rus Trail. I continued on toward the park opening with stops along the way to pause by the waterfalls. The water looked inviting, but there was a poisonous algae bloom in the water at that moment. The bloom was harmful to humans and deadly for dogs to drink.

So it is VERY IMPORTANT to check all park postings before entering the park for possible dangerous situations. I dropped off my bike and drove home. All in all I walk or biked that day about 8.6 miles. It was a good day.

The next day I decided to visit the back country of Zion National Park, an area called Kolob Reservoir. If you want to experience the solitude and grandeur of Zion National Park without all the tourists that gather around the gateway in Springdale, this is the place for you. Here you will find lovely high-country meadows, brilliant vistas, and back country hiking and camping. It seems that you are the only person around.

The park headquarters is where you get permission and licenses to use much of the remote back country of Zion. But if you follow Kolob Terrace Rd, just off Utah 9 located in the town of Virgin, you will be able to drive all the way up to the reservoir through rolling pastureland. You will also see brilliant vistas, plateaus, ravines and canyons, and forests.

This side of Zion is much greener than the red rock desert setting around the park headquarters. This area is more used for pastureland for the many ranches that dot this part of Utah. The road is in fairly good shape, especially when you are crossing through the park. However, sometimes it goes out of the park and crosses private land. The quality of the road is not quite as good.

But overall, it is a safe drive that elevates from about 4000 feet to about 8000 feet. At this point, you will find the Kolob Reservoir, which was created when they dammed Kolob Creek.

Along Kolob Terrace Road are many trails and trailheads that lead off into the back country of Zion National Park. In this part of the park, you will find trails like the East Rim, Hop Valley, Wildcat Canyon and The Narrows. All are trails worth hiking if you are into serious hiking. Some of these trails are 10 miles long, so please consult the Wilderness guide that the park provides for you. This way you know exactly what you’re getting into.

Because I was returning to Los Angeles that evening, I took a very short hike on a beautiful trail that wandered through a pine forest and scrub brush scenery. The views were amazing. Although it was October, it was still 89 degrees in the day. The sun was blazing hot at Zion National Park. So, after about two hours, I headed back to my car and on toward LA.

The beauty of Zion is undisputed. The ability to be out in nature after being cooped up in my house for months because of the pandemic was exhilarating. I would do Zion National Park again in a heartbeat. Whatever you want to experience – paved trails like the Pa’rus Trail or crowds that you would find at the opening of the park, or backcountry trails where you’re the only one there – Zion National Park can provide it. The people are friendly, the scenery is incredible, and being out in nature is amazing and healthy for us especially during these strange times.