Daily Amusements of A Midwest Girl: May 2019

Friday, May 3, 2019

Two weeks in Utah

The first time I spent time in Utah, was in 2011 for one of my clinicals at Utah State Hospital in Provo, Utah. Although, I spent several months there, I did not have the opportunity to truly explore the scenery. Therefore, flash forward to October 2018, and my first RV trip was revisiting Utah, and exploring the national parks (and two state parks). Spent two wonderful weeks hiking over 100 miles. Below are some of my recommendations if you embark on this memorable adventure.

Zion National Park

Easy

Pa'rus Trail

3.5 miles, if you only have one day in the park, I highly recommend this trail because it has amazing views of Zion Canyon.

Lower Emerald Pool

1.2 miles, this late in the season, there wasn't even a trickle of water, you should definitely skip it.

The Grotto Trail

1 mile, a nice connecting trail and didn't have to ride the shuttle

Weeping Rock Trail

less than .5 miles, unique rock alcove with dripping springs

Riverside Walk

2.2 miles, you can take this trail to enter The Narrows

Moderate

Watchmen Trail

3.3 miles, great viewpoints of the Towers of the Virgin, lower Zion Canyon, and Springdale

Strenuous

Angel's Landing

5.4 miles, has 21 steep switchbacks called "the Wiggles" and you need to hold onto chains as you ascend.

Observation Point

8 miles, the best viewpoints in the park as you climb through Echo Canyon. It is definitely a very windy and exposed hike

Arches National Park

Easy

Balanced Rock (.3 miles)
The Windows (2.5 miles), views of North and South Windows, and Turret Arch. We took the primitive trail around the back which was so much less crowded.
Double Arch (.5 miles)
Sand Dune Arch (.3 mile)
Broken Arch (1.3 mile)
Skyline Arch (.4 mile)

Difficult

Delicate Arch (3 miles) the overlook was closed, so you had to hike to this iconic arch
Devils Gardens (8 miles) we saw Landscape Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, Double O Arch, and Dark Angel.