We’ve been back for a week and I’m finally getting around to sharing our experience in Zion and Bryce! I’ll admit I was worried about camping at this point in my pregnancy. I had no idea what activities I’d feel up to doing and was so worried that Carter would be bored waiting around for me. But I was SO BLESSED to feel great the entire time! We were able to see so much and had such a blast. We did a number of beautiful hikes, all of which were rated “moderate” or “easy”. The most we hiked in one stretch was maybe 2 miles. It worked great to keep us close to bathrooms, water, and snacks as needed. Click here to read up more on specifics of accommodating our trip to a pregnant lady 🙂
So I thought it would be helpful to share our itinerary for those who are in a similar situation! Whether pregnant, camping with kids, or looking for a more relaxing trip, these are some hikes we loved that can be done within a couple hours. You can pick and choose or do it all if you are feeling ambitious! The nice thing about several shorter hikes is that it was never too overwhelming. If I did suddenly feel sick, light-headed, or sore, we were never too far from the end of the trail. We also got to see a lot of different things. It worked out great for us. So here’s our three day itinerary in Zion and Bryce 🙂
Day 1: (Zion National Park)
We spent the night in the Watchman Campground inside of the park. This one books out fast (they recommend reserving 6 months in advance) but it was SO worth it! This campground is so well kept. I have never been more impressed with a campground. You can reserve it (or other camping) at recreation.gov.
Sunrise hike to the Canyon Overlook Trail. We started our adventures bright and early with this beautiful sunrise hike. It’s about 1 mile round trip. It was rated as moderate for being a bit steep and having some drop-offs so I was a little nervous about doing it pregnant and before the sun was up, but decided to take it one step at a time and see how we felt. It wasn’t too bad at all! The trail starts with some stairs to climb, but once you are past the initial steepness, it really wasn’t too steep at all. Because it’s a shorter hike, we were able to leave when it was already starting to get light and didn’t have to hike in the dark for too long. I think it took us about 15-20 minutes to reach the end of the trail, and got there with plenty of time to spare before the first glows of light came onto the cliffs. It was breathtaking. We had brought muffins, yogurt, and cliff bars with us for a breakfast on-the-go and shared that at the top while we waited for the sun.
I would highly recommend doing this hike in the morning, before the sun and crowds hit. Because it is not accessed by the shuttle bus that services Zion, parking is apparently hard to find in the afternoon. Skip the crowds and do what we did. There were only two other people at the top of the trail when we arrived. Not bad, eh? 🙂
Ranger Walk Along the Pa’Rus Trail. We stopped at camp for second breakfast and made our way to the visitor center just in time to happen across a ranger-led walk along the Pa’Rus Trail (held at 8 am. Check for specific ranger programs at the time of your visit, as this varies throughout the year). This is a flat and paved trail that follows along the Virgin River. It’s only about 1.75 miles to the end of the trail, from which you can take a shuttle if you don’t want to walk back the same way. The ranger walk was about 1.5 hours, so was definitely at a slower pace than we are used to! (Carter gets after me for walking too fast all the time… even when pregnant. hehe). It was a fun way to learn a bit more about the park and some of its early inhabitants before seeing more.
Apparently this trail provides some great places for swimming if you come at the right time of year! The water was still way too fast (so the Narrows were also closed, sadly) and also quite cold! Be sure to check before going into any nasty currents!
We were feeling pretty good as by 10:30 we had hiked 4+ miles and were still going strong! We ate an early lunch at camp, then tried to take a little nap before going out again. Some sites were plentifully shaded and would have been perfect for this (It was starting to get HOT at this point). Our site, however, only had one tree and a small spot of shade under which we placed our star gazing chairs. I had a fairly unsuccessful nap (it’s hard enough when you’re pregnant and in your own bed!), but at least got a bit of rest before going out again.
Swimming in Pine Creek. I had read up on a great (and little known) swimming hole prior to our trip. Sadly, the instructions I had screen-shotted were not very clear and we were unable to find the pine creek waterfall. Now that I know the area a bit better, it seems that these instructions are more clear and should lead you to the right place if you’re interested. We ended up entering the creek lower down and hiked upstream for maybe a mile. The cool water was absolutely sublime in the heat of the day. Along the creek, we hit occasional pools of water in which we would take a dip before continuing on. The water here was pretty pleasant… definitely warmer than the Virgin River at this point. Whether you go for the waterfall or simply cool down in the creek, I would 100% recommend this for the heat of the day.
Scenic Drive on the shuttle. After hiking along the creek for a while, we were pretty tuckered out. We hopped on the shuttle and continued up the canyon’s Scenic Drive. During the peak season, this road is closed to cars, so the shuttle is the only way to get there. It’s a great way to save gas, avoid traffic, and get some great views without having to focus on the road! We road along the entire drive before taking the shuttle back for dinner.
Sunset hike. We didn’t actually get to go on our sunset hike, as by this point we were exhausted and ready to relax. I did, however, hear that the watchman trail (the first mile, bringing you to a great viewpoint), or the canyon bridge at the end of the Pa’Rus trail provide great sunset views if you’re interested!
S’mores and Stargazing. A definite must if you’re a happy camper like us. We also opted to sleep without the rain fly (after checking the forecast, of course!) so we could go to sleep with the stars above us. Quite the site when you wake up in the middle of the night!
Day 2: (Zion and traveling to Bryce)
This time, we packed up camp and ate breakfast before parking at the visitors center and taking the shuttle up the canyon. I think we got to the visitors center around 9. There were still parking spots, but pickings were already slim! I would definitely shoot to park by 9:00 or early if you are planning to park here for the day. This was in May, at the beginning of their peak season, so it may get even worse later in the summer (although I personally would not recommend going after May. The heat was enough the first week of May and only gets worse from there).
Emerald Pools Trail. This hike is split into lower and upper pools. The upper pools trail was closed due to storm damage, but we were still able to take the paved trail to the lower pools. It’s a short hike (only 1.2 miles round trip), but was one of my favorite things to see! The waterfall coming over the cliff is beautiful. The trail goes between the falling water and the cliff, making you feel like you are in some magical oasis. You also have the chance to catch some of the dripping water to cool down, depending on the time of day. BEAUTIFUL!
Weeping Rock. This is another quick, easy trip to another beautiful oasis. At less than a half mile round trip, it is a little steep but very manageable! (also paved). The scenery is similar to that of the lower emerald pools, though I was happy we did both.
From there we headed back to the visitor center, hopped in the car, and began the drive to Bryce. It was between 1.5 and 2 hours to get to the entrance of Bryce Canyon National Park. A great way to break up our drive back north to Logan!
We stayed one night in Bryce, at a spot just outside of the park entrance. I had researched and found this great BLM (bureau of land management) camping area prior to our trip. In other words… free camping (and legal, don’t worry : ) ). We love camping BLM when we can, as it gives us a secluded experience out in nature. There is something wonderful about limited crowds and having the outdoors to yourself. This spot was perfect, as it was maybe a mile from the park entrance and visitor center! So we got the benefits of staying in the park without the camping fees and with more privacy!
It was cold and rainy when we arrived, so Carter made a fire to cook a hot dog lunch while I got our camping gear set up in the tent. We drove to the visitor center and organized our game plan.
Shuttle ride to Amphitheater View Points. This gave us a first glimpse of the canyon in the little bit of time we had left in the day. We got out at the different viewpoints, took some pictures, then caught the next shuttle to the next point. We walked from Inspiration Point to Sunset Point on the Rim Trail (.5 miles). Bryce canyon is absolutely amazing. This area of the trail was really muddy (as it had been raining off and on all day), but definitely worth the walk!
The shuttle stops around 6 p.m., so at this point we headed back to the visitor center and then to camp. We opted to cook our dinners quickly on the fire, then spent the rest of the night eating and playing cards in the tent… nothing like camping in the rain!
Day 3:
Queen’s Garden. Everyone had recommended that we do the Queen’s Garden/Navajo Loop to get the best view from down in the hoodoos, but unfortunately the Navajo portion of the trail was still closed! We were pretty bummed. But Queen’s garden was fun and gave us a chance to hike down into the canyon without venturing out too far. There were some longer hikes in the hoodoos I wanted to do, but didn’t want to risk any adverse pregnancy symptoms while miles out. So we kept it short and just did Queen’s Garden.
Scenic Drive out to Rainbow Point. Outside of the main attraction amphitheater views is the scenic drive that heads through the rest of the park. With periodic bursts of snow, wind, and rain, we thought a scenic drive sounded great. So we drove along this road, stopping at the various viewpoints along the way. Our plan was to hike the short bristlecone loop, but we had failed to realize that this, too was closed! At least we got to see some amazing views.
Mossy Cave Trail. This is a short little hike outside of the main entrance to the park, where we stopped on our way out of the area. It was an easy little hike and a good stopping place to make lunch before driving north. As far as views, it wasn’t the most spectacular thing we’d seen. The falls are pretty muddy and the cave may be more impressive depending on the time of year. But it only took us about 30 minutes, so I’m glad we tried it out while we were down there. I do think that the hikes in the Bryce Amphitheater are more impressive, however.
From here we decided to break up our drive home and head north a day early! We stayed with my sister Heidi 3 hours north, which made the drive home much more bearable.
Hopefully this inspires you for your next trip to the area. We absolutely loved both Zion and Bryce and were grateful to take a break from work and school 🙂 Let me know in the comments below what your favorite attractions/hikes are in the area!
