Zion National Park Wrap Up🇺🇸

This was the best week with my youngest son, Logan, exploring two national parks, hiking, and spending time together before he heads off for his senior year of college in August. Today is Memorial Day and I am not only reflecting on the trip but also on the sacrifices made by our service men and women — sacrifices that allow us the privilege of spending time freely in this beautiful country.

Location: Springdale, UT is the perfect base camp. It’s right outside Zion and it has everything you could possibly want—small town feel, really yummy restaurants, convenience / grocery stores, gear stores, ice cream (who doesn’t like ice cream every night on vacation??), and even spas. I walked into one of those spas yesterday after hiking and was able to get a massage. The Spa at Cable Mountain Lodge is fantastic—jacuzzi, steam room, and a relaxing massage (thanks, Scott!). Highly recommend this place to soothe those tired hiking muscles. I feel like a new person today!

Also, fellow Birkenstock fans—Simply Birkenstocks has Birks I didn’t even know existed and they ship too (don’t ask me how I know that). Also, they carry other shoe brands (Teva, Chacos, Naot, etc) and gear/clothing that you may have forgotten to pack—like Vuori and Kuhl.

We stayed at the Desert Pearl Inn. I will write a Trip Advisor review shortly and link it here. It was everything we thought it would be and more. The pool and hot tub were nice after a long day of hiking. Our room was clean and modern. We backed to the Virgin River—the river was right out our back door. It was so darned relaxing to sit on the patio (we were ground level) and watch/listen to the water every morning/evening. That river moves fast! We had one small issue with a smell in the bathroom but they were quick to fix it for us.

The weather couldn’t have been better—sunny, 70s/80s and no humidity. In the morning it was actually chilly and when the sun sets, it’s extremely pleasant. I could get used to weather like this!

Yesterday was another full day of hiking. During this trip we did every major hike in Zion we could, other than 3 that were closed due to rock slides/high water. Unfortunately, The Narrows was the one closed due to high water. Oh well…gives us another reason to come back! We enjoyed the Riverside Walk Trail that follows the Virgin River and took us to the start of The Narrows. We also hiked the Pa’rus and Weeping Rock Trails. We walked from Canyon Junction to the Court of the Patriarchs where we took the shuttle to the Zion Lodge and ate lunch. Good lunch but not as good as the Lodge at Bryce Canyon.

Last evening I had THE BEST spaghetti squash enchiladas at Whiptale Grill. In fact, it’s the only time I have ever had spaghetti squash enchiladas but I know I will crave them from here on out. Logan and I agreed that this restaurant and Oscar’s Cafe were our favorites. Check out Oscar’s Pork Chili Verde Tamales and the Salmon Filet.