We got our national parks pass before we left so when we arrived we were ready to drive right into the park. Parking is limited so if you have to park outside the gates, it can cost $30/day. So it pays to get there early. Or stay within walking distance, which is what we did. There are camp grounds inside the park, but as America is taking a collective vacation, they were all filled up. We booked a campsite at Zion Canyon campground and RV park and slept in the car.
The road through Zion is fairly simple. We started at the south gate. From there you go north to the Canyon Junction. From there you can turn right, staying on HWY9, which leads you through the historic tunnel, an additional small tunnel and into another world. Pack a snack, you're going to want to pull over and stare at the rocks.
Back at the Canyon Junction, you go north onto the scenic drive, but only in winter. The rest of the year, you need to get inexpensive shuttle tickets from recreation.gov. You'll be competing with panic buyers, hoarders, and scalpers so it's never too early to do your research and understand this process. Tickets are released for sale in batches a couple weeks ahead and then at 5 pm the night before. Have your finger on the "buy" button at 5pm. Last chance shuttle is after 2 pm walk on. They don't want you lining up early, but I wouldn't be late if my heart was set on getting up the scenic drive. Taking the shuttle is worth it even if you never get off. The shuttle goes from the visitors center, up and down the scenic drive with several stops to get on and off, then back to the visitors center. Once you get back to the visitors center, your ticket is void, but hopefully you saw everything you wanted.
If you don't get a shuttle pass, you can bike it or hire a local car service.
The trails:
Watchman and Pa'rus trailheads are at the visitors center, no shuttle necessary. Watchman was a nice, uphill, natural trail to a great view. You can see the Watchman for practically the whole hike and you're up close and personal with amazing geology. The Pa'rus trail is paved and flat and leads to the Canyon Junction so if you're biking up the scenic drive, you're probably biking the Pa'rus. On the way, you'll pass a short trail to the human history museum. Closed for covid but the restrooms and water fill station are operational. Look for the interpretive sign at the museum that outlines the arch, visible from the trail. I would never have seen it without this sign. Other interpretive signs along this trail make it interesting and educational. And you thought you were just going to look at rocks.
Other trails we took were off the scenic drive: Riverside walk, and Emerald Pools. These are perhaps the least popular and I can't say why we chose them, except I wasn't feeling up to the most adventurous trails here; the Narrows, and Angel's Landing. Riverside walk leads to the Narrows and follows along the stream, meandering through woods and hugging the rocks. After a rain, the rocks were seeping and flowers were blooming. (pay attention to flash flood warnings even if you don't see rain) This trail is paved and mostly flat. A wheelchair person would need some assistance getting up a couple inclines, I think. Emerald Pools consists of 3 pools; upper, middle, and lower. The middle and upper and out and back trails with stairs and narrow parts, and the lower takes you from one shuttle stop to the next. The lower feels like a grotto, not to be confused with the Grotto trail. They were all worth it if you have time and energy to spare. Feeling tired, I might have skipped the middle and upper but hubs said he wouldn't.
One trail we missed and is definitely on my list if we ever get back is the Grotto. It seemed really popular and sounds cool.
One of the problems with researching the parks is the pictures and info from one park come up when you search another park, information seems scattered among the parks and it was just chaotic to research for me. Getting ahold of the Park's official brouchures and maps (sometimes called newspapers) would've been helpful.
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