Hiking Angel's Landing in Zion National Park

Zion National Park was one of those bucket list places we wanted to visit. It is widely considered one of the best national parks in the United States. Given this high regard, countless stories we’ve read from other travelers who visited, and the stunning photographs we’ve seen from it – we made time for Zion during April 2018.

Our trip out west actually began in Oregon, where we participated in a series of styled shoots with some other photographers from around the country. Since we were “in the area,” we decided to take a cheap flight down to Las Vegas to explore the city and venture out to some other places for a few day trips. Zion is within a few hours drive from Vegas, making it easy enough to get to if you want to use Las Vegas as a hub. We did the same with Death Valley National Park in the following days.

How We Spent a Day in Zion

We started our drive to Zion pretty early in the morning. We grabbed a bite to eat and started off around 7AM or so. The drive there is not particularly interesting – though once you enter into the state of Utah things do become more scenic and surprising to us, a little more green in places.

Once we arrived at Zion National Park, we parked and jumped on one of the shuttle buses that drop off and pick up passengers at different areas of the park. It is here we learned that you can’t actually drive too much around the park – and it does take some time as you wait for shuttles and mandatory stop offs at each site to let people off.

Our main priority for our day trip was to do the Angel’s Landing hike. It took several hours, and honestly was one of the more challenging hikes we’ve ever done. The way up is about 5 miles – mostly uphill and featuring many sets of switchbacks. It was pretty amusing to watch as everyone making the hike had the same remarks about the difficulty, and it was no embarrassment to step to the side on occasion to take a breather. The good spirits of all our fellow hikers definitely helped fuel the adrenaline rush to get to the top.

Once we reached the peak, we were really able to soak in the views of the Zion Park valley. Even in the mid-day sun, the view was beautiful. The light made for some seriously challenging landscape photography, and no doubt better photos would be taken during sunset hours – but the experience solidified in our mind is something we won’t forget.

4 Things We Learned About Zion National Park (& 2 Things We’d Do Differently)

1). Bring more water. Without a doubt, having sufficient water on hand to stay hydrated is essential for any visit to Zion National Park. While this is always recommended when you are out on a hike, we definitely underestimated the power of the heat and intensity of the hikes. We came prepared with some water – but by the end were dying for some more. Fortunately, there are some public water fountains where you can fill up your water bottles at each site – so make sure you do so.

2). Be prepared for a lot of hiking. Zion offers a lot in the way of hiking. Some locations are shorter and more accessible for families, while hikes like Angel’s Landing and The Narrows are intense and long. In particular if you are planning to hike either of those, be ready for a really arduous time. We’d consider the views and experience to be worth it, but know what you are getting into.

3). Avoid the mid-day. We went in April with the thought that we’d be able to escape some of the heat, but even 80 degrees in the desert is pretty rough. At least in the areas we were hiking, there was not a whole lot of space to get out of the direct sun, which made it even more difficult. Hiking earlier in the morning or later in the evening would likely provide more comfortable temperatures, and less direction sun beating down on you.

4). Give more time for the shuttle bus. The biggest thing we were under-prepared for was the amount of time needed for the shuttle bus. At the end of our time in Zion, it took about 30 minutes to get from the Angel’s Landing drop off zone back to the main parking lot. The entire round trip probably takes upwards of an hour with all the stop offs.

What we’d do differently

1). Spend more time in Zion. The most obvious downside to a day trip in Zion is only having a day to spend there. In reality, a trip to Zion National Park could easily consume several days if you are wanting to explore all of the trails and sights. Our reason for only making this a day trip was simply due to time limitations because of our work schedules. Easily, a return to Zion in the future would have us spending 2-3 days in the park to get a larger taste of what it has to offer – and particularly do The Narrows hike. A plus of staying overnight would also be getting to see some sunrises and sunsets – which we’re sure would really illuminate the place in a different way.

2). Don’t carry a backpack full of camera equipment. As photographers, we sometimes burden ourselves with carrying a lot of equipment around “just in case.” Carrying 30 pounds of camera bodies and lenses while doing a tough hike is not easy at all, and not really worth it. We’d suggest bringing one camera with a lens or two, and call it a day. This is where having zoomable camera lenses can come in handy such as the Canon 16-35mm or Canon 24-70mm.

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