By: Jean-Paul Courville
As an American I have had the pleasure to travel the world and experience a variety of locations, cultures, and landscapes. In those travels I am amazed at the number of people I meet who aren't American but they have traveled to numerous National Parks in the USA while many Americans haven't even visited the magical Grand Canyon.
The United States is a wonderful country of diverse landscapes and beautiful National and State Parks where adventure is waiting. The State of Utah has two of my favorite parks;
1) Zion National Park (pronounced like Lion but replace the L with a Z)
2) Bryce Canyon National Park.
These parks are extremely clean but they can become quite busy and problematic with many congregating tourist if you don't pay attention to the daily algorithm of specific trails. Hiking is a popular activity as Zion has the famous "Angels Landing" and the "Narrows". The strict rules to protect these parks can provide frustration with parking at a central location (Park HQ) and relying on a park shuttle causing an offload of 20-30 people at the same starting point.
Zion National Park: Things to do
Zion National Park Zion is Utah's oldest and most visited National Park, the word Zion is a Biblical word that is prominent in the Mormon lexicon that refers to a place of spiritual sanctuary. Finally, in the summer of 1909, President of the United States William Taft declared the area as federally protected and officially named it Mukuntuweap National Monument, deciding to go with the Paiute name rather than the one chosen by Utah’s early pioneers. State residents were not pleased, to say the least, with President Taft passing over the name they had originally chosen for the area. In 1918, after almost a decade of grievances, the assistant director of the recently-formed National Park Service, Horace Albright, changed the name of the park to Zion National Monument.
Angels Landing
I stayed at the iconic Zion Mountain Ranch which is conveniently located to all park routes, it has wonderful food, provides solitude, and you can enjoy a majestic sunset while Bison stroll past.
One of my fondest memories was finishing a full day hiking the Narrows then having a delicious Bison burger with sweet potato fries to polish off the day.
Zion Mountain Ranch
Hiking in the National Park provides the most spectacular landscapes with the history of the Native American Indians who lived these lands.
I admire the appreciation of park protection, cleanliness, and a respect for the land and animals in the USA but there are downs to this which can alleviate spontaneous wild camping or hiking off trail. With that said, when you visit a location where rules and restrictions aren't enforced you tend to find trash and a disrespect for nature...Go USA!
Zion offers day hikes, backpacking, canyoneering, river trips, camping, and horse back riding.
Hiking Travel Tip: When you begin a route in Zion Park you can find yourself surrounded by many people on narrow trails. While everyone is taking photographs at each turn I recommend waiting for photographs at the summit and on the way back down to slim the crowd around you.
Navigating thru the Narrows is considered one of the most popular and sought after hikes in the world, I loved it. The entrance was packed with people walking into the canyon for the first 100 meters to capture their Instagram photos but once you move beyond that the number of people on the route begin to diminish. There are many options in the Narrows with selected routes requiring a pre-approved permit.
Bryce Canyon Out of the two parks Bryce is the most picturesque as if you were transported into another dimension where fairy-tales are made. Ironically, one of my favorite trails is the Fairy-tale loop which is listed as a strenuous hike however, I find it quite easy. The park has numerous day hike options with the elevation reaching over 9,000 feet (2774 meters) within the park.
Bryce Canyon National Park list of day hikes
Bryce Canyon National Park lies on the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in south central Utah. Bryce Canyon National Monument was originally established on June 8, 1923.
On June 7, 1924, the monument’s name was changed to Utah National Park and it was transferred to the National Park Service. On February 25, 1928 Utah National Park was changed to Bryce Canyon National Park.
Land of Fairytales
American National Parks are a wonderful way to see the USA
JPC Adventures
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