Zion National Park, Utah 2022

At the top of the Watchman Trail

My groom and I visited the beautiful Zion National Park on a weekday but it was still crowded. We drove the almost 3-hour drive from Las Vegas, NV, and got to the park entrance at 10am, local Utah time. Unfortunately, all the parking was full and the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive was closed. Since it was a weekday, the shuttle wasn't running. We were told that we could hike the Canyon Overlook trail but space at its trailhead was very limited. We could also hike any of the trails from the Visitor's Center. We stopped at the Visitor's Center so that I could purchase a Zion NP t-shirt and baseball cap, then headed to the Canyon Overlook trailhead. 

The drive up and through the Zion Mt. Carmel Highway and tunnel was spectacular! Unfortunately, there was no parking available at the Canyon Overlook trailhead as well as along the road. Directly across the trailhead is another parking area but it's for "small vehicles".....which we didn't have (GMC Yukon SLT). There were so many people and cars! We drove past the trailhead and turned around and hoped we'd find parking on our way back, but no such luck. We ended up driving back to the Visitor's Center and hiked The Watchman Trail. The trail is very popular and views along the trail as well at the top of the foothill are amazing, photos don't do it justice! The trail doesn't bring you to the top of the Watchman mountain, just to the top of the foothill. But the views from the foothill of Watchman mountain and the southern area of the park are stunning, nonetheless!

We plan to re-visit Zion, stay overnight in either Springdale or Hurricane. Then get an early start in the morning to make sure we can get to those hikes along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive that I had originally planned for this trip - Riverside Walk and the Emerald Pools Loop. And the Canyon Overlook Trail along the Zion Mt. Carmel Highway.

Enjoy this YouTube video I put together of our visit to Zion National Park.