Zion National Park: Hike the Narrows
Day four brought us to Zion National Park. Liz and I both felt this was our favorite stop in our trip. If anyone ever recommends going there, listen to them! It’s worth it!
Zion National Park is in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. The main area of the park, Zion Canyon, is 15 miles long and up to 2,640 feet deep. The tannish-red walls of the canyon eroded by the Virgin River loom over you and make you feel infinitely small. Zion is home to some great wildlife including Bighorn Sheep – which we were able to see butting heads on a rocky outcrop along the side of the road. While the scenic drive was closed to vehicle traffic, Liz and I were able to rent bikes from Zion Outfitters and ride the 7 miles up to the entrance of the best hike we have ever done – the Narrows.
Along with bikes, we rented special shoes, neoprene socks, and walking sticks for our hike. We were glad we paid the money as the Narrows has you walking through a river along large, slippery rocks. Almost immediately upon getting to the beginning of the Narrows, we were putting our special shoes and hiking sticks to use. We decided to hike up the river about 4.5 miles which would take us through the most popular stop, Wall Street. The slot canyon we were hiking through continued to narrow until it was about 30-feet across. Massive cliff walls shot up on either side of us and obscured the sunlight and kept the chasm nice and cool. The sights we took in on this hike were jaw-dropping and many times we had to stop and crane our necks upwards to get a perspective for just how large this slot canyon is.
After hiking for a few hours and passing through the narrowest section of the canyon, we stopped and had lunch by the river. It was nice to take our boots off and dry out our feet! We hiked on for about two more miles upriver before turning back. By this time, both of us had aching feet and swelling ankles. Walking on slick river stones is tough! We would definitely recommend at least hiking to the beginning of Wall Street which is 3-miles from where you begin the bottom-up hike at Temple of Sinawava. Check out a map for the bottom-up hike here.
About 6 hours after starting our hike, we got back to where our bikes were parked and thankfully coasted downhill the 7 miles back to Zion Outfitters. Exhausted and hungry, we traveled back to our hotel, the Clarion Inn & Suites, in Hurricane, UT but not before stopping off at Lonny Boy’s Barbeque to feast on pulled pork, ribs, and smoked sausage. Check it out if you’re ever in the area! That night was an early one as we were both asleep before sunset. We knew we would need the extra sleep for the hikes we had planned for the next day!
