((( We have 26 days of traveling to report so ’ll break them into sections )))
Our Cousin in Coeur D’Alene Idaho was getting married in July so instead of flying out we decided to make a road trip out of it since we have never been up there. Luck was on our side and the states were opening back up, just in time! Our plan was to leave home (from SoCal) July 1st and return Late July. We mapped out our route last minute (We started planning mid June) and now we just needed to secure Some Campground spots. Our first Destination we planned for was Zion NP - I ended scoring July 1st - July 3rd at Zion River resort in Virgin Utah which was about 15 miles or so to the entrance. I definitely recommend this CG, very clean, maintained and well stocked store plus the Virgin River flows right behind it. We didn’t want to spend just one day in Zion so we left June 30th so we can spend half the day on July first and a full day the 2nd. I did some research of BLM in the area and found Hurricane Cliffs. Hurricane cliffs has Designated camping spots and can be accessed off of HWY 9 & Sheep Bridge rd on the right hand side. This made it perfect for us because Zion river resort was only 5 miles away, If you want to visit Zion and not stay at a CG this is the place to be - it’s about 20 mins to the entrance and the views are spectacular.
We aren’t big Vegas fans and we never took our girls so we thought it will be cool to drive the Vegas strip so they can get a glimpse of it.
Hurricane cliffs for the night
The next day July 1st we checked into the CG got setup and then went to check out Zion to see how it’s operating without the shuttle service And take it easy so we can plan accordingly for the next day. We decided to take our lChinese folding bikes with us 🙂 little did we know to access Zion canyon you can either walk it, bike it or pay a private shuttle service like $30-$45 per person. We ended up finding out that on June 30th they opened limited shuttle service for $1 and you had to book on NP website to secure your spot.
We ended up biking it 3 miles (BTW It is all up hill) up to the canyon overlook trial which ended being a brutal 2 mile hike with fast elevation gain in low 90s temp - Needless to say the girls were pissed! Haha!
The park was slow and not many people out - it was fantastic.
As soon as we got down to the river we all jumped in - it felt so good and refreshing!
Now we knew what we were up against for the next day. We tried to get shuttle passes but it was sold out. I told the girls the bad news, if we wanted to walk the narrows We were going to work for it and ride our bikes the whole 7 miles up the canyon to the temple of sinawava!
We decided we have to get up early to get ahead of the sun and take advantage of all the Mountain shade. Waking teenage kids up In the morning is like pulling Teeth!!!!!
Every second of rest counts when your not a morning person lol
After 7 miles of riding up hill we made it to the narrows.
We ended up hiking 3 miles into the narrows so all in all 14 miles of biking and 6 miles of walking - we were beat at then end of the day but it was well worth it.
We had a great First time At Zion and especially with minimal crowds.
Stay tuned for my next report - Wyomings Grand Tetons NP.
Cheers!
Our Cousin in Coeur D’Alene Idaho was getting married in July so instead of flying out we decided to make a road trip out of it since we have never been up there. Luck was on our side and the states were opening back up, just in time! Our plan was to leave home (from SoCal) July 1st and return Late July. We mapped out our route last minute (We started planning mid June) and now we just needed to secure Some Campground spots. Our first Destination we planned for was Zion NP - I ended scoring July 1st - July 3rd at Zion River resort in Virgin Utah which was about 15 miles or so to the entrance. I definitely recommend this CG, very clean, maintained and well stocked store plus the Virgin River flows right behind it. We didn’t want to spend just one day in Zion so we left June 30th so we can spend half the day on July first and a full day the 2nd. I did some research of BLM in the area and found Hurricane Cliffs. Hurricane cliffs has Designated camping spots and can be accessed off of HWY 9 & Sheep Bridge rd on the right hand side. This made it perfect for us because Zion river resort was only 5 miles away, If you want to visit Zion and not stay at a CG this is the place to be - it’s about 20 mins to the entrance and the views are spectacular.
We aren’t big Vegas fans and we never took our girls so we thought it will be cool to drive the Vegas strip so they can get a glimpse of it.
Hurricane cliffs for the night
The next day July 1st we checked into the CG got setup and then went to check out Zion to see how it’s operating without the shuttle service And take it easy so we can plan accordingly for the next day. We decided to take our lChinese folding bikes with us 🙂 little did we know to access Zion canyon you can either walk it, bike it or pay a private shuttle service like $30-$45 per person. We ended up finding out that on June 30th they opened limited shuttle service for $1 and you had to book on NP website to secure your spot.
We ended up biking it 3 miles (BTW It is all up hill) up to the canyon overlook trial which ended being a brutal 2 mile hike with fast elevation gain in low 90s temp - Needless to say the girls were pissed! Haha!
The park was slow and not many people out - it was fantastic.
As soon as we got down to the river we all jumped in - it felt so good and refreshing!
Now we knew what we were up against for the next day. We tried to get shuttle passes but it was sold out. I told the girls the bad news, if we wanted to walk the narrows We were going to work for it and ride our bikes the whole 7 miles up the canyon to the temple of sinawava!
We decided we have to get up early to get ahead of the sun and take advantage of all the Mountain shade. Waking teenage kids up In the morning is like pulling Teeth!!!!!
Every second of rest counts when your not a morning person lol
After 7 miles of riding up hill we made it to the narrows.
We ended up hiking 3 miles into the narrows so all in all 14 miles of biking and 6 miles of walking - we were beat at then end of the day but it was well worth it.
We had a great First time At Zion and especially with minimal crowds.
Stay tuned for my next report - Wyomings Grand Tetons NP.
Cheers!
