We camped at Zion National Park for three nights the second weekend in October. Zion is extremely popular, and we booked our campsites exactly four months before the trip. (Reservations have a four month window). On our drive to Zion we hit torrential rain, with threats of snow, but by the time we arrived at the park the skies had cleared. We had blue skies all weekend, with highs in the 70s and nighttime lows just above 40. It was gorgeous!
A couple weeks before our trip the Salt Lake Tribune had an article about Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s (expletive restrained) visit to Zion. The article said that Watchman was the “nice” campground, while lack of funds had lead to “deferred maintenance” and the restroom fixtures in South campground “dated to the Eisenhower administration.” We camped at Watchman campground, which was really nice.
They still had a Ranger Talk after dark at the campground, which was nice. The talk was on the sky, the dark skies initiative, and light pollution. We enjoyed it. At so many parks they no longer have Ranger Talks, presumably because of funding shortfalls. The Salt Lake Tribune also mentioned the trail system is not being fully maintained. We saw that problem, as the trail to Upper Emerald Pools was closed due to a landslide four months ago. Deferred maintenance indeed.
Our campsite was great, with good views.
The trail to Lower Emerald Pool was still open, and it was one of several hikes we took.
Susan was very photogenic on this hike.
We brought our bikes with us to Zion. Susan now has a pedal-assist eBike which she really likes. She mostly rides without any electric assistance, and thus gets a cardio workout, but turns on the assist when she is going uphill. The advantage for both of us that we can ride together even when there are hills.
When we walked through the pedestrian entrance station, we saw a small sign that said “No eBikes in Zion NP.” I asked several rangers about this, and they seemed to not know why. “I think the policy is under review.” “I don’t know why they have that policy.” We are law-abiding types, so we were disappointed. But after we saw a number of people riding ebikes thru the campground, we decided to be scofflaws and rode our bikes on the paved Pa’rus trail down the middle of Zion canyon. It was spectacular, and here are a few photos.
Finally, there was a sassy squirrel on the trail, clearly fattening up for winter.
He seemed ready to take us on!
You always take beautiful photos, and yes, Susan is photogenic. What a lovely trip. Thanks for sharing. We are off to Oaxaca on Saturday morning.
So glad you are wild and crazy rebels and relieved that we didn’t have to bail you out.