We made a quick last minute decision in February to change our route. The plan never included Utah or Zion National Park. We were going to spend another night at the Grand Canyon and then head west. But the weather was going to be cloudy which meant no sunset or sunrise. Over coffee and some pastries, we decided to head north and visit Horseshoe Bend and Zion National Park.
A New Route
The drive through Navajo land was incredible. We followed the river north until we hit the Utah border and then cruised alongside Highway 89 until we hit the turn off for Zion National Park. The plan was to drive through the east side of the park and scope out some areas we wanted to return the following morning. It was only about 90 minutes before sunset, so we figured that we could get up for a dawn hike the following day.
After cruising through the park and crying tears of joy that we had decided to visit this beautiful place (even for a quick stop), we started seeing signs about “event parking.” With signal on our phones, we looked for a place to stay that would allow us an easy morning commute back to a hiking spot. All the hotels were booked. It was then we noticed the packet pick up tent. There was a marathon the next morning that would make it impossible for us to get into the park. It was not our favorite discovery, but we turned around and headed back into the park to watch the sunset.
The cliff walls all around us turned bright, fiery red. All the runners seemed to be busy prepping for the next morning because no one was around. We reminded ourselves in that moment that although things didn’t work out the way we thought they would – we were still there watching that sunset.
We Will Return
A return to Zion National Park is inevitable. It’s not the easiest to find camping during the busy season, but it’s one that we will plan in advance and be able to slowly explore and do some of the hikes that we noted while driving through. And if you don’t have time to stay and camp for a while, just try and catch a sunset. The drive is gorgeous and worth a detour.
