Doug and Kerry Hudson in Zion National Park, Utah

Being the closest to the Dixie Hostel in Hurricane, Utah, where we were staying, we spent most time in Zion National Park. Zion Canyon also happens to have been our favourite of the three canyons (the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon being the other two) we visited. There was a certain magic and peace to it, despite all the tourists.

We found the walking there to be excellent, and we walked several trails, including the Emerald Pools trail, which led to three pools high up of the canyon wall, each one cascading into the next. We also walked the Hidden Canyon trail, where we discovered a canyon within a canyon, hidden high up in the cleft between two mountains. This trail involved inching along a very narrow ledge on the side of the mountain with a sheer drop of at least 100 metres. Kerry did not make it to the end of this one, but not for lack of trying!

The Angel's Landing Trail led out to a landing 1500 feet or 400 metres above the canyon floor. This one was incredibly spectacular but again not for the faint-hearted, as it culminated in a section where you have to clamber up a very narrow and rocky path with sheer drops on both sides.

Our favourite trail had to be the Zion Narrows, where you walk up the river to where the canyon is ... narrow! This involved a lot of wading through the river, so given the intense heat we found it to be very refreshing! The canyon just got narrower the further in we went, until it was just a few feet wide.

World Trip >> USA >> Utah >> Zion NP

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006