Zion National Park, Utah

6-25-21: With Las Vegas and the high roller treatment now in the rear view mirror it was time to point towards Utah and my first stop, Zion National Park. I had reservations at an RV park in Virgin Utah which is about 15 miles from the park. I arrived at the 1pm check in time and set up the trailer. With plenty of time left in the day I thought I would head to the town of Springdale and hit the grocery store and check out the parking situation.

I found that while all the parking in the town of Springdale is paid parking it is very reasonable. There are multiple parking options and shuttle stops sprinkled throughout the town and you can simply pick how far you want to ride/walk or shuttle based on where you park. There is also an extensive paved multi-use trail that runs thru town and continues right into the park. This makes perfect sense as the park is closed to private autos during the peak season and only the official park shuttles and hikers/bikers are allowed in.

Having scoped out town and made my plan I headed back to camp for the night. The next morning I was up early worrying that it was a Saturday and the Parks are supposed to be just crazy these days. However, I easily found parking at one of the big gravel parking lots near the visitors center and had the bike unloaded by 8:30am. After I paid at the city lot I noticed that the little grocery store right next door lets you park all day in their lot with just a $15 purchase. Noted for next time!

Just a short ride of maybe half a mile and I was at the park entrance, I rode up to the booth and showed the Ranger my Annual pass and easy as that I was in!

Basically the ride is into the Canyon and back a distance of about maybe 9-10 miles round trip. There are shuttle stops at each trailhead area and restrooms and bike parking racks at each as well.

Dedicated bicycle parking is pretty first class!

My first stop was the Emerald pools and I thought I had enough of a head start on the crowds to risk a quick hike to check out the pools and falls. Its a very easy 1 mile hike to some cool pools and drippy waterfalls. Nice views on the way too.

Back at the bike, I continued on stopping at each overlook for photos all the way to the last stop the Temple of Sinawava . It was awe inspiring to be in the park on the bike having sections all to myself plus not having to wait for the next shuttle. For sure the e-bike is the hot ticket for Zion!

Finishing up and it was near noon but I still wanted to ride some more, I stopped in at the local bike shop and asked for a recommendation for some good single track riding. They directed me to Wire Mesa saying it was great area to ride with about a 7 mile loop and had the added benefit of having an early settlement ghost town called Grafton on the way that I could stop and check out.

After checking out the town I headed up the gravel road towards Wire Mesa, I remembered that the guy at the bike shop said there was one section in the beginning that was sort of bad but it would be better after that. Are Utah folks are known for their understated nature? The Smithsonian Butte section was signed as begin 4×4 only/high clearance required and the steep uphill that looked to be about a mile long had the appearance of a minefield with exposed rock. Oh well, WTH, should keep the riff raff out. I shifted to 4 wheel high and crept up at 2-3 mph, nearing the top my warning for “high transmission temperature” came on, first time I’ve ever seen that! After clearing the crest I pulled over and allowed the overworked transmission to cool down until the warning light went out.

The trailhead had a nice parking lot and good signage with a map of the trail system. It was rated as intermediate with some black diamond sections but usually there was an easier bail out option. Being used to riding on the west coast let me just say we have way fewer ROCKS on our trails. 😱 I was very impressed by the cliffs and how close the trail came to the edge. No safety nannies here!

I managed to complete most of a loop before being bested by a sheer 3 ft rock face that I managed to crash on outbound on the trail but I also crashed on the same damn rock on the way back just for good measure! 🤬

This trail was above my head but to be fair the bike has to share some of the blame; at 65lbs it is just too much bike for me to try to huck over giant boulders like I (think) I could have done with my previous 24 lb carbon fiber bike.

Battered and bleeding and with my tail firmly tucked between my legs I made it back to the truck by 3pm and since it was nearing 100 degrees the parking lot was now empty. Of course, I was the last dummy on the trail. This should have been the first ride of the day.

I was very lucky on my visit to Zion as just a few days later they had a flash flooding and mud flows thru the park.

Next stop is Moab Utah for visits to Arches NP and Canyonlands NP.

Click on the sign for the entire Zion photo album.