Zion National Park – Travel Destinations in the USA for Retired Life

This is the twenty-sixth and final one in the series Travel Destinations in the USA for your retirement bucket list. This destination starts with the Letter Z. Zion National Park is the place to have an adventure, rejuvenate and speculate on life.

Almost heaven. That’s the only perfect description of this place. The Native American legend goes that God lives here. I have no doubt that’s true. I felt the positive vibrations and the energy here.

Zion National Park is near Springdale in Utah.

One major attraction here is Zion Canyon. It is 15 miles long and is about 2000 ft deep and has a river flowing through it. The bottom – The Narrows – is 20-30 feet wide, and you can hike along it. Swimming is also allowed at certain points in the Virgin River. The Zion Canyon walls are reddish due to the sandstone eroded away by a portion of the Virgin River.

Things to do in Zion National Park

Hiking and walking are the favorite activities of anyone who comes here. If you are not so inclined, never mind, you can explore the Park to an extent in your car. Or better yet, you could get on the bus that will drop you off at one point. Subsequently, you can do a short walk that’s not too strenuous and enjoy the beauty of the serene mountains.

You need to stay at least three days here to enjoy the trails. Two are tough, Angels Landing and The Narrows and the rest are easier.

A lot of people love to rappel the rocky canyons here – canyoneering. There are guided tours for this activity. You can also get rappelling lessons here. The Climbing wall is a great way to have some fun with your younger children. They get some practice in climbing before their big adventure.

Helicopter Tours

They are a wonderful way to see the connected areas of Bryce Canyon and Zion. We took a tour and it was amazing. We had a bird’s eye view of the whole area. Saw a few celebrity farms too! Do take the helicopter tour, it’s a whole other experience!

The ‘Court of the Patriarchs’ is an interesting photo op place. They are a series of cliffs on a mountain, named after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from the bible. They are Navajo Sandstone natural structures. By car, you can drive up to the viewpoint and take a few photos and enjoy the view. There is a simple short trail here for walking too.

When to Visit

Summer can get really hot here, going above 100^oF, though nights are cool. Spring rains are heavy in March and can go on till April. Wildflowers are quite a pretty sight from April to June. You can expect rain in the afternoon right from July to September. These rains can cause flash floods.  Fall is again comfortable with mild weather both day and night. Look out for Fall colors in October. Winter weather is pleasant, with only light snow that may last a couple of days. Heavy snow will cover the higher altitudes and roads may be icy during stormy weather. Though they do get cleared off pretty quickly.

We visited in winter and it was pleasant during the day. We stayed at a hotel so the night temperatures didn’t both us much. Camping here in winter will not be a great idea with temperatures below 32^oF.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a great place to have an adventure or rejuvenate, meditate and go back full of energy then Zion National Park is the place to go. The serenity of those mountains needs to be experienced for oneself.

This is the last in the BlogchatterA2Z Challenge for 2022! 26 posts in 26 days, topics from A to Z. I am proud to have completed the challenge for the first time! I have tried and failed a few times, but this time I was prepared. I had decided the titles beforehand, written twenty posts before April 1 and completed the rest by the end of the first week. Yay!

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z