Our plan was to explore Kolob Canyon, the northwest corner of Zion which has a 5 mi scenic drive. However, when we got there, we saw that the 5 mi drive had been reduced to 3 due to rock slides, and the first 3 miles were not the most scenic. We took a few pictures and asked about other places in the area. Several others had also made the drive up there only to be disappointed – seriously nps, make this info known and stop recommending this place! What we did realize was that this is where we had brought the kids and turned back some 30 yrs ago on a Las Vegas trip in the winter. We actually didn’t go to the main Zion entrance as it was too far. This was before the internet and we hadn’t researched Zion but went for a drive to “check out” the area.
Snow Canyon State Park is one of Utah’s 42 state parks, with scenic beauty but a lot fewer visitors. It is about an hour from Zion and somewhat on the way back to Springdale. We spent the day there, doing some walking but the mid day sun and heat made it difficult to hike. The park has red petrified sand dunes, lava fields and tubes , and sandstone cliffs. We made a note that this would be a fantastic place to visit in the winter! The landscape is amazing and makes us want to study geology.
Jenny’s canyon was a small slot canyon with nooks and crannies, and a great place for kids to climb around in. It was a preview of what we hope to see later this week and was a good exercise as I realized how low the light is, making a tripod essential for photography.
We were able to meet up with Carol and Jim Vorhaus for dinner at the Spotted Dog and had a fun time visiting. They just arrived in Zion and will be traveling to Bryce and the Grand Canyon.We so treasure and value our long time friendships.