SPRINGDALE, UT
Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park are two incredible places in this world. Whether you're viewing from the side of a cliff or from the passenger window of a car, you'll appreciate the beauty of these places. Definitely rank them high on your Must Do list.
I decided to spend a week in Springdale, UT, which is located right at the entrance to Zion National Park. I know that you must shuttle (rather than drive) to most trailheads in the park, so I wanted to stay close to the park entrance so I would have time to hike after work without spending a couple hours on the road driving to and from.
What I learned is that Zion has "business hours." The shuttles only run until about 7:00 pm, which left me just 4 hours to hike each day, including transport time to and from the trailheads. That also requires a shuttle reservation, which can only be reserved at 5:00 pm the day before ... at which time I would be hiking. So that left me with private shuttles, but even those stopped running around 6:00 or 7:00 pm.
Bottom line: I ended up taking time off from work on Monday afternoon to hike Angels Landing, Thursday afternoon to hike The Narrows, and all day Friday to do Angels Landing, Observation Point, and Canyon Overlook.
What I Learned
There were fewer hikes to do in Zion National Park than I anticipated. Had I realized this, I'd have probably stayed fewer days or planned to do a second day in Bryce which seems to have more trails than Zion. But overall, it was a great week with some Top 10 hikes and views!
Here's a quick overview of what I did, where I ate, and where I slept while I was there:
Hiking
Eating
Bit & Spur - carne asada!
Eating In
This was the first place I stayed without some form of kitchen. All I had was free breakfast at the hotel, a mini fridge, and a microwave. But I wasn't going to waste the time or calories to eat out every meal.
My plan: when I was at my last place in Page, AZ, I grilled several chicken breasts and froze them so they would keep in my cooler while I was doing the White Pocket tour on my way to Springdale. I also made a huge brussels sprouts salad. I took all that to the hotel with me, warmed up the chicken in the microwave each day and ate it with the salad. That took care of my lunches. In the evenings, I generally ate nuts and raisins while hiking, or had more chicken and brussels sprouts, or popped a bag of popcorn and called it dinner. :)
The most difficult part of not having a kitchen is that you don't have plates or utensils, so I shamelessly reused my breakfast plate and plasticware each day. :) Also, not having a real kitchen faucet means filling up your Brita water filter in the bathtub, LOL!
Sleeping
This is quite a story. I ended up in a Hampton Inn, right in the middle of Springdale. The location was perfect!
Here's my home for the week:
My daily breakfast buffet ... they weren't serving a hot breakfast due to COVID, so oatmeal and boiled eggs it was, baby!
And here is the view from my room ... well, only if you look to the left. If you look to the right, it was a wall. :)
The funny story about my hotel reservation starts out with the fact that rooms in Springdale are VERY EXPENSIVE because they are within walking distance of the entrance to Zion National Park. I'm ok biting the bullet for an expensive hotel on vacation when it is just a week or two. But when every night for several months is already more than double what I budgeted, it starts to add up.
My options were tents for $89 a night. Camping hook-ups for $119 a night. A couple rooms I couldn't stomach. And the Quality Inn for $235 a night. Other hotels were much more.
So, although I would generally skip over a Quality Inn, I decided to go ahead and book it because it got an 8.8 customer score on Hotels.com, TripAdvisor gave it their Travelers' Choice award in 2020, it had a desk so I could work (some hotel rooms didn't!), a mini fridge, and a microwave. Bonus: free parking, free breakfast.
Later, I went and looked more closely at the pictures and, I can't make this up, THERE IS A BATHTUB IN THE HOTEL ROOM.
No, not in the bathroom. IN the hotel room!
Proof or it didn't happen:
See how it's kind of hidden in the first two pics? And then BAM! They actually highlight it in the third. I was dying with laughter. Who was the architect who came up with this? I tried so hard, but I can't imagine any scenario where this is a good idea!
Needless to say, I cancelled my reservation at the Quality Inn and booked the Hampton Inn instead. Never have I been so happy with just a regular old hotel room.
Things on My List I Didn't Do
Got it all done!
Happy trails, Zion!
Next Stop: St. George, UT. See you there!
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