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Zion National Park (1 Viewer)

TripItUp

Footballguy
I'm headed there in early April.   Looking for recommendations - hotels, hikes etc.  Bringing my pup so need a dog friendly hotel.

 
TripItUp said:
I'm headed there in early April.   Looking for recommendations - hotels, hikes etc.  Bringing my pup so need a dog friendly hotel.
There’s a bunch of Zion content in the National Parks thread, but I think the Narrows, Angels Landing and Canyon Overlook are amongst the most popular hikes. The National Parks app and AllTrails app are both good references. Can’t really help on hotels as we booked Zion Lodge like a year ago 🙂 

 
Cant offer much for hotel input but loved the hiking there. Angels landing was closed which was super disappointing as we didnt find out til we got to the chain, but you can keep climbing higher and it is still pretty awesome. The cliffs and views are spectacular. 

 
Narrows, Angels Landing, Canyon Overlook, Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock are all great trails. The first two are commonly considered 2 of the best hikes period but both are definitely challenging.

I’m guessing you already know this, but since you mentioned you are bringing you dog, just know that there is only one trail in the park that dogs are permitted a d that they are not permitted on the busses that get you in and out of the majority of the park. 

I can’t recommend anywhere to stay as we stayed in a cabin in the park mostly because it gives you driving privileges that staying outside the park doesn’t give you and gives you earlier access to the shuttle. I think you definitely want to stay in Springdale though. You could probably do Hurricane too, but you’d definitely be a bit further. Lots of great restaurants to check out in Springdale.

And I definitely recommend a drive through the Zion-Mt Carmel tunnel and then down the Zion-Mt Carmel highway down to the park. Driving through that tunnel and then down the switchbacks is pretty amazing.

 
Probably a longshot but try for a room in the lodge within the park. We had to make our ressies a year in advance. At 5:00 the park shuts down and then you have the whole place to yourself. The onsite restaurant is pretty good and there is a beer garden that doesn't have all the crazy Utah drinking rules.

We planned to hike the Narrows and were all prepared with water shoes etc but there was a flash flood the day before we arrived and 5 people drowned. So it was shut down, you could just hike to the spot where you entered the water. There are other great hikes and the bus system moves you around quite efficiently. 

 
We used an AirBnB in Glendale.  Not sure if he allowed pets, but the location was nice to reach Bryce as well.  The man lived next door and gave us some hikes that were not known by the rangers.

 
TripItUp said:
I'm headed there in early April.   Looking for recommendations - hotels, hikes etc.  Bringing my pup so need a dog friendly hotel.
We stayed in Zion Ponderosa in one of the glamping tents. I assume these are pet-friendly? We drove to the trailheads and parked in the lots (you needed to get there EARLY for a spot) and took the buses.

 
Probably a longshot but try for a room in the lodge within the park. We had to make our ressies a year in advance. At 5:00 the park shuts down and then you have the whole place to yourself. The onsite restaurant is pretty good and there is a beer garden that doesn't have all the crazy Utah drinking rules.
This sounds awesome.  If I go and book this a year in advance, what is a good time of year to go?  Spring or Fall?

 
This sounds awesome.  If I go and book this a year in advance, what is a good time of year to go?  Spring or Fall?
We did the mighty 5 in Sept. 2015. Flew into Vegas and rented a car. We also spent 4 nights in Moab and ended up in Salt Lake City to drop off the car and fly back to FL. Weather was great, cool nights warm days. We rented mountain bikes in Moab and took a guided ride from Dead Horse Canyon. We also did a balloon ride over Canyonlands and experienced a rough crash landing- drug sideways bouncing over boulders and cactus!

 
A few years ago we stayed in a VRBO about 1/2 way between Zion and Bryce - makes about a 1/2 hour drive to either one. There's lots of options in that range and hitting both parks is well worth the effort. 

 
Probably a longshot but try for a room in the lodge within the park. We had to make our ressies a year in advance. At 5:00 the park shuts down and then you have the whole place to yourself. The onsite restaurant is pretty good and there is a beer garden that doesn't have all the crazy Utah drinking rules.

We planned to hike the Narrows and were all prepared with water shoes etc but there was a flash flood the day before we arrived and 5 people drowned. So it was shut down, you could just hike to the spot where you entered the water. There are other great hikes and the bus system moves you around quite efficiently. 
this. i'm a Motel 6 kinda guy unless the experience of a city/site is tied into where one stays, then no limit. cant think of more than 2-3 places where one's lodgings are more integral to one's enjoyment of a place than Zion Lodge

 
We stayed in the lodge at Bryce too. Hiking the hoodoos was amazing but the big bonus for staying within the park was the celestial scene setup by the rangers with super telescopes. The milky way and the moon was amazing through their telescopes. There was even one telescope setup at the park entrance in the day time where you could look at the sun's surface through special filters!

 
We were there 3 years or so ago and found a Holiday Inn express that was reasonable about 20 minutes from the park.  We hiked observation point, was a pretty good jaunt.  Amazing seeing the "gear" some people use and think they are going to make their destination....anyhow bring some water and food, it was hot when we were there so we started out first thing in the morning.  We got screwed over when we went as Angels Landing was closed due to a rock slide and there was a decent rain so the Narrows weren't recommended.  We saw some people on the buses with gear for Narrows so guess we probably could've done it.  I would think 3 days would be good unless you really plan on exploring everything.  I agree with the above on checking our Bryce Canyon and would also try to fit Arches in if you are out there...Want to go back some day and do the hikes we missed out on.

 
this. i'm a Motel 6 kinda guy unless the experience of a city/site is tied into where one stays, then no limit. cant think of more than 2-3 places where one's lodgings are more integral to one's enjoyment of a place than Zion Lodge
I totally agree with all of this. If you can book a year+ in advance, this is the way to go.

 
Zion Mountain Ranch has cabins just outside the park to the east. They are great and I'm almost certain they are dog-friendly. My family has stayed there twice and loved it both times. Easy access to the park and amazing views. Highly recommend.

 
I'm headed there in early April.   Looking for recommendations - hotels, hikes etc.  Bringing my pup so need a dog friendly hotel.
I'm a year late in asking but did you post a trip report?

We're going to hike the Narrows this spring.

 
eoMMan said:
I'm a year late in asking but did you post a trip report?

We're going to hike the Narrows this spring.


I don't think I did.

We had a great time.  liked our hotel and the restaurants.  The hikes are obviously epic.  If I get the time this weekend I'll try to post the name of the hotel and places we ate.

We did all three major hikes...my understanding is that Angel's Landing now needs a reservation so if you are interested in that look into it now.  It's kind of scary and exhilarating...people die pretty regularly on that one so wouldn't recommend it if you are out of shape or older.  If you are a seasoned climber it's not too bad, especially now that they are limiting the numbers.

 
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My recommendation is to stay in Springerville (wherever) rent bikes to keep at your hotel, and ride into the park to hike every day.  It’s a slight, constant uphill ride into the park, about 10 miles, but if you don’t take a shuttle you’ll have to walk most of it. We rode past lots of walkers.  But the ride back to the hotel after a day of hiking is easy, coasting all the way. We loved the freedom the bikes gave us to get directly to the trailhead without having to take a shuttle.  Stay closer to the park if you want a shorter ride - the “hotel row” in Springerville stretches about 2 miles

 

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