7 Day Trip to Zion National Park
My PA classmate and friend Ashley happened to have the same month off as me during our clinical rotation year. So we decided to take a fun hiking trip to ease some of the stress of PA school. We chose the beautiful red rocks Zion had to offer.
Day 1
We flew into Vegas, Nevada’s Harry Reid International Airport and rented a car. The 2 hour drive to Hurricane, Utah was breathtaking. We arrived early and hiked the 1 mile Canyon Overlook Trail before checking into our hotel.
Day 2
The next day we woke up early and rented water shoes from Zion Outfitters for our journey through the Narrows. We beat the crowd by coming early, and I’m glad we did, those rocks covered by the Virgin River water were tricky to walk on. But with lots of falls and laughs we made it pretty far.
The Narrows
Day 3
The next day we hiked smaller trails:
Grotto
Kayenta Trail
Emerald Pools
PA’RUS Trail
And ended the day at Feel Love Coffee with a view. Whats great about Zion is that once you park, there are shuttles that take you to every stop. Everything was convenient.
Day 4
Dark and early, we made our way to Scouts Lookout and Angels Landing. Get ready for lots of switchbacks! I was too scared to hike Angels Landing so I sat on the lookout and watched adventurous Ashely climb the 1,488-foot tall rock formation in Zion National Park. Close to an hour later, when she got back, we explored West Rim Trail for a couple of hours then headed back down.
We hopped into the car and drove another 2 hours to Page, Arizona and checked into our hotel.
Day 5
Horseshoe Bend, the "east rim of the Grand Canyon.”
Ashley wanted to explore some more, so she found amazing hidden spots for us to hike:
The New Wave
The Hanging Garden Trail
The Chain (she even found a place were we could swim in Lake Powell)
Day 6
We couldn’t do Arizona without kayaking in Lake Powell. We booked a 4 hour hiking and kayaking tour through Hidden Canyon Kayak and got to experience the lowest part of Antelope Canyon. After paddling 5 miles and wanting to be on land, we finally reached a spot you can stop paddling and swim. Of course Ashley wanted to cliff jump, so that she did.
We hopped back in the car and headed the 2 hours back to Zion.
Day 7
We decided to break the drive back to Vegas in two so we didn’t have to drive the 4 hours tired. So we drove back to Zion, booked a hotel for one night and made the most of the day by hiking the Taylor Creek Trail and Timber Creek Overlook. These hikes are in the Kolob Section of Zion National Park and are less popular but still a site to see.
The next day we drove the 2 hours back to Vegas, returned the car and said goodbye to this amazing and memorable trip.
