March is almost upon us and I’ve been reminiscing about a trip to Nevada and Utah we took around this time last year. It was my first trip to Las Vegas, our first experience on a budget airline, and our first time hiking Zion National Park. While I can’t divulge any of my stories of Vegas [because as we all know: what happens in Vegas STAYS in Vegas], I can HAPPILY share my memories of the rest of this trip.
The trip began with some serious packing planning, as this was the first time we had ever flown Spirit Airlines. If you’ve ever flown one of these low-cost carriers (like Spirit or Frontier), then you know that the only way to get the low cost fare they’re known for is to ONLY bring one personal item which must be smaller than 18″x14″x8″. We tried to pack that light but since this was a city and hiking trip with very different climate for parts of the trip, we just couldn’t fit everything into one personal bag. So we did pay extra for carry-on, but Spirit’s website makes it very clear from the beginning what you’ll pay for everything. I like their website, it’s quirky in its humor and has an excellent Spirit 101 help page. 
I liked people watching on this flight as well. Maybe it was because of the Vegas destination and the pre-bachelor party celebrations on board, but there was definitely an adventurous vibe on both flights. The cons are that their airport terminals are cramped, their seats have little leg room (but you can upgrade to larger seats), and their workers don’t seem to be the happiest airline people. For a short flight, however, we found it perfectly fine. If you’re packing light, don’t care where you sit, and have a healthy sense of humor — Spirit’s a smart choice.
From Vegas, we rented a car & drove directly to Springdale UT (2.5 hour drive). There were other towns near the south entrance to Zion National Park that offered cheaper lodging, but we opted for Springdale because it was the closest and had more food options. We stayed at the Driftwood Lodge which had an excellent location, good price, and very spacious rooms. Would definitely stay there again.
This was a very short trip so we only had two days for hiking. In retrospect, I wish we had saved this park until we had a full week to enjoy it. A weekly pass to Zion National Park was $30/vehicle so we would have gotten more bang for our buck and there was certainly enough there to keep us busy for seven days! What I loved most about Zion (besides the natural beauty) was the free shuttle bus. In summer, the shuttles actually stop at Driftwood Lodge but I’m not sure I’d want to hike with the heat and the crowds. March was perfect and the shuttles still ran inside the park. I would definitely recommend going during the week, however. Even in March, the buses filled up by mid-afternoon on the weekend.
If you only do one hike in Zion, it MUST either be Angel’s Landing via West Rim Trail OR the Narrows. Both are strenuous and require an adventurous spirit and decent level of fitness, but these trails are the reason people flock to the middle-of-nowhere-Utah.
We weren’t prepared for The Narrows, since it requires waterproof gear and hiking poles, but it’s on our “to do” list when we return to Zion.
We DID hike the West Rim/Angel’s Landing route and LOVED it! Let me first state, however, that we skipped the actual Angel’s Landing hike to the tip — a man fell to his death only days before we arrived and we had no desire to repeat his experience.
Angel’s Landing is actually a short [but treacherous] off-shoot trail up to Angel’s Landing Summit. The trail (some call it the Hogsback) is narrow, steep and has a chain rope leading to an extremely narrow ledge at the top. At least seven people have died falling from this spot.
The hike began at the Grotto Picnic Area. We crossed over the river and turned right on the West Rim Trail — it was easy to navigate because we just followed the crowds. Pretty much right away we began questioning our choice, as the trek up was in full sun with significant elevation gains. I noticed everyone coming down the route had stripped down to sleeveless tanks and most were sweating profusely. I also noticed a few older people gasping and holding their chests (scary) and others sprinting up the trail (intimidating). But the heat didn’t last long as we headed into Refrigerator Canyon, a sheltered cool part of the trail that served as the perfect respite before the REAL climb began up Walter’s Wiggles.
First part of West Rim
Refrigerator Canyon
Refrigerator Canyon
Refrigerator Canyon
Looking down at Grotto
Walter’s Wiggles
Walter’s Wiggles
Walter’s Wiggles is so named because it has 21 switchbacks and was designed by the park’s first superintendent — Walter Ruesch.
After our dizzying climb up the wiggles, we arrived at Scout Lookout which is where most people stopped, either giving up and returning the 2.1 miles back to Grotto OR risking their lives for a selfie up Angel’s Landing. We decided to take a potty break (there’s a portable potty here…quite nasty but the trail is too popular for a quick pee) and then kept going up the West Rim Trail. Past that point we saw very few hikers and the temperature dropped dramatically. The rock colors changed as well, going from brown to yellow to white. When we reached the upper plateau, there was snow on the ground and we had to put our coats on and cover our faces to protect from the wind. That was the best viewpoint we’ve had yet — we could see most of the park and I truly felt like a speck of sand in the vast universe. The West Rim Trail totals 14.2 miles one-way, which we didn’t have time to complete, so we turned around at the plateau and headed back down to the Grotto Picnic Area.
Plateau
Waymarker
Plateau
Plateau
Plateau
Plateau
Lost Glasses
For a great hiking guide to West Rim Trail and other Zion trails, see Joe’s Guide to Zion National Park. The park also provides a quick reference to its trails here.
Other trails we hiked (and enjoyed) were Riverside Walk, Kayenta to Emerald Pool Trails, Sand Bench, Weeping Rock, and Pa’rus. Sometimes we opted to just skip the shuttle and walked alongside the river to the next bus stop, and we enjoyed these off-trail paths as much as the formal trails.
Riverside Walk
Sand Bench Trail
Sand Bench Trail
Emerald Pools
Emerald Pools
Emerald Pools
Emerald Pools
Emerald Pools
Off Trail
Off Trail
Weeping Rock
Riverside Walk
Entrance to Narrows
Long days of hiking meant hungry bellies and Springdale provided a fair assortment of dining options. The local grocery Sol Foods had everything we needed for healthy picnic lunches and there was another market called Hoodoos that we didn’t try. We loved the food and friendly staff at Cafe Soleil, as well as the fabulous coffee and avocado toast at Deep Creek Coffee. Dinner at The Spotted Dog was excellent when we wanted something a little more refined and MeMe’s Cafe provided a cozy place for crepes and BBQ (I know, BBQ and crepes sounds like a weird combo). I think we even visited the Springdale Candy Co., but my guilty conscious has probably wiped that memory from my brain.
