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I'm going to be honest and just get this out of the way. Through no fault of its own, I didn't love Zion Please don't throw rocks at me.

I was skeptical going in. Because of the huge amount of people that visit and the small amount of parking available, they use a shuttle system only in the park. You can't drive your own car through unless you are veering off on the east road out of the park or staying at the lodge. I understand why, and I respect it. I think it is the best solution to get everyone in the park without causing ridiculous traffic jams. Also, it's good for the environment.

That said, it wasn't for me. Coming out of the relatively quiet Bryce Canyon, trying to find a place to park in Springdale, getting on two different shuttles to get in the park, then riding on a crowded bus with lots of loud people. Whew. After being away from people, you should ease back in, and this was a stronger whiplash back into society than I was prepared for. It was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so I should have known. But Bryce had just been so mellow. Also, it was hot. It was a 20 degree temperature difference over Bryce. I wasn't ready for that either. That's not Zion's fault though.



I am always a person who says, "It's easy to get off the beaten path." This was the first time I had difficulty with that. The shuttles stopped at the same places, so all the trails of reasonable length I had chosen were also the ones everyone else had chosen. At the end of the park, we decided to take one anyway. And it was just miserable. The scenery was gorgeous, absolutely so. The walls dripped with moss and hanging gardens, we saw some climbers going up the huge monoliths above the river, the water nearby was clear, and a breeze would occasionally rustle through. But part of the appeal of nature for me is the respectful quiet that usually comes with such places. Here though, the walk was tempered by the noises of hundreds of humans. The trail was so busy that it just felt like standing in line at Disneyland. We persisted to the end because I really wanted to see where the canyon narrowed, but it was painful.

We finished the trail and with mutual looks we decided we were done with Zion for now. It was a place of rich colors, rock giants, sky scraping spires, and just way more folks than either of us wanted to be around. We wandered around in the nearby town of Springdale until T spotted Cafe Oscars. T has a knack for picking out the best local restaurants when we travel. We sat outside on their breezy patio and while we cooled off, we discussed our next trip to Zion. Like the guidebooks say, I really think this park is the provence of long distance hikers. Next time we will backpack and hopefully do some canyoneering. We will not go anywhere near a shuttle bus, and I bet our experience will be a million times better for it.