To See Zion

Do come to this sacred place expecting miracles. Don’t be too attached to what those miracles might be. It is a area of peace and beauty that does strange and wonderful things to a person’s senses.



Do come with someone you love, to share the miracles, the magic. Or come alone, for here you can find secret serenity that will be heard in silence.

Look up.



Do make at least one stop inside the Visitors Center, particularly to look at the relief map and get an idea where the various things are located and their relationship with each other.

From April through October, the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive (a park road off Rt. 9) is accessible by shuttle bus only. Rt. 9, which traverses the park from east to west, is open year-round to private vehicles. The shuttles do, however run from 5:45 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Do take the canyon trams from the Visitor’s Center with grace, trying not to mind sharing and trying to ignore people who do not understand what they are experiencing and seeing. Try to let any negativity you encounter drip off and evaporate like rain water. The tram is really an easier way to see the park, as you don’t have to worry about parking. It’s stops are frequent and very convenient and it is possible to see more of the canyon now than when you had to try and find parking at every site (something that was virtually impossible since the 1980's). The trams also leave everyone free to look up, since no one is driving. You can actually walk the road now without fear of being hit by a car going too fast through a narrow canyon narrowed further by cars parked all along both sides of the road. Most importantly there are no longer vast amounts of automobile emissions filling the narrow canyon and adhering to the fragile, hallowed sandstone walls. A small amount of personal freedom was lost; the canyon has been saved.

Do praise and give thanks to the wisdom and tenacity that somehow accomplished this miracle under an ecologically hostile Washington administration.



Look up.



Don’t let the fact that there are so many majestic mountains diminish the beauty of any single one, but examine each peak and sheer mountain wall as one would each precious gem, as if it stood alone.

Do see the West Temple just before the sun comes up, as it blooms with a rosy, inner light.

Do see the Watchman just as the sun sets, as it glows with a powerful, deep, sanguine light.

Don’t expect to ever match the pink-coral-flamingo-ocher-peach-terra cotta-rose-cinibar-blush color of Zion in paint, clay or yarn, as it can’t be captured. Nor can it ever be completely caught with words.

Do have fun, gain insight and gather some of the enchantment for your heart by trying.



Don’t miss the part of the park on the other side of the tunnel. The Checker-Board-Mesa and rockswirl formations are an entirely different experience from the park canyon. The tunnel’s themselves are a bit of man-made wonder. It was completed in 1930, when my Grandfather was Commissioner of Roads and Highways for the State of Utah. My Daddy, age fourteen, was one of the first people through the completed tunnel. Coming into Zion from the East is a spectacular thing. My daughters, who arrived in Zion each Easter coming west from Colorado, would tell you that the road suddenly turns magic - and pink. The road through Zion was built using the native red sand and it is, indeed, pink. Coming through the tunnels there are ‘windows’ which open for brief moments on the enchantment that is below. Emerging from the tunnel . . . well, come and see what happens when you emerge from the tunnel!

Do listen to music as you drive through the park. Both Mozart and Beethoven set the atmosphere beautifully and you’ll find as you turn a corner, the music will crescendo in perfect accord with the mountains. I would also recommend Vivaldi in the spring and Gary Stadler’s beautiful, haunted Fairy Music for winter.

Look up.

Do drive the canyon at night, between October and May. Stop, turn off the headlights and be astounded by the number of stars and the huge milky way. Watch out for glowing eyes, there is an abundance of wildlife in the canyon, many of which are nocturnal. If you frequent the camp sites, especially near the garbage cans, those eyes will belong to skunks. A little smelly and tame for my country children, but their cousins from Los Angeles used to love to go to the camp grounds in the dark ‘looking for wildlife.’

If you come between October and May and are renting a car, do choose one with a ‘sun roof’. While one person drives the other can stand through the sun roof in the dark with the glorious wind whipping as you drive slowly. Done under the light of a full moon, this is an enchantment never to be forgotten.

Do be aware that this is illegal and probably not safe. If you get the chance - do it anyway.

Even in the dark, look up.

It is no longer ecologically sound to swim in the Emerald Pool. Do mourn this passing, but do abide by it, for the good of the resource. Stand in silence, listening for the ghosts of those who once swam here in the cold green water, naked in the moon and starlight, under the icy spray of the falls. Listen for echos of their laughter. I am one of them.




Do hike the Emerald trail early in the morning, if possible, begin in the dark. You will be high enough up to witness the dawn bursts in a fire of wonder from the east and paint the shadowed cliffs with sudden glory. You may also reach the Emerald Pool before the crowds and be able to feel in silence it’s magnificent power.

Do lie flat on the fine sand and glory in the sheer, colorful, huge expanse of rock mountain around you. In the spring, huge cascades of water fall from forever to foam in a miracle of mist into the pool. In mid summer the falls may go dry, but the pool and the cliffs above are still incredible and more than worth the climb. In the winter there are staggering, spraying ice stalactites.

Look up. And up.

Do not get way laid by the beauty of the lower falls and miss going all the way to Upper Emerald. It is a paved walk to Lower Emerald, the trail is steeper and natural from Lower Emerald to Upper Emerald and requires some climbing. Do go back slowly and savor these beauties then. Walk quietly in the early morning, and you may be blessed with companions on the trail, the shy white tailed deer who come early to drink.

Do check carefully the length and difficulty of each trail. Some have easier, shorter options. Don’t try to make the long hikes unless you are in excellent physical condition: East Rim, West Rim, The Full Narrows, Down from Kolob through Potato Hollow.

Do always carry water. In all seasons the air is dry. If you hike in winter, watch for wet patches that may be icy.

Angels Landing is a medium long (about 3 hours) beautiful hike and experience, but is a lot of ‘up’ and the last part for “experienced hikers only” changes from fun to foolhardy, dangerous and precarious when you attain the “wisdom” of later years. You may realize that only the angels should have gone to that point. Avoid the hike during the abominable months or on very hot days. Even from the top of Angels Landing with all the drop offs and the beauty below, don’t forget to look up!



And Look Down!

Don’t try to fly off of Angel’s Landing, even if you feel like it. It upsets the Park Personnel and anyone who might be below.

Unless it is your only option, avoid the park in the abominable months - July and August when it is excessively hot (up to 120 degrees) and filled with tourists. There are tourists now all year round, but in July and August it is sometimes slightly insane. If you find yourself there in the abdominal months, do wade, swim, or slosh in the river. Get tubes and ‘run the river’ if it is high enough. Don’t run the river if it is too shallow, or you will be nursing bruises where you would not wish to have bruises.

Don’t forget waterproof sunblock while river splashing and especially when running the river. Don’t forget the backs of your ears! (Lezlie!) You can swim and play in the river on warm days during Spring and Fall as well as the middle of the hot summer, unless the water is very high.

Do try to ignore the vast amounts of people, campers and cars. The park is still beautiful, and the new rules that do not allow driving in the canyon during daylight hours make this even better. Again, be not dismayed by people who do not seem to even be seeing what is around them, no less feeling it. Some people just cannot feel things. Let them go. You may briefly hope that they go to Chicago for their next vacation.

Do hike early and/or take the shady Hidden Canyon trails

Do always carry water and wear sun protection, especially in the abominable months. This means a hat as well as sun screen, for the desert sun can be merciless, especially in summer.

Hie ye to Kolob - it’s high, cooler and a lovely part of the park that is often missed.

Don’t expect the Great White Throne to always be white - it is almost always grey. It is, however, terrific and very often white when seen at sundown, especially through the Saddle when the only place the sun’s rays hit is on it’s greatness. The traditional view through the Saddle is great, but also be sure to look at the Throne from further down the road where you can see if from the bottom up and appreciate the height of the solid rock.



Look up.

Don’t miss Weeping Rock, regardless of the season. Whether the waterfalls are full or almost dry, the beautiful green of the valley seen through the sparkling droplets is enchanted, making you feel you’ve crossed some border into the unknown.


There are a myriad of day trips that can be taken from a base in Zion.
* Bryce Canyon National Park
* Cedar Breaks National Monument (where I was almost born!)
* The Utah Shakespeare Festival located in Cedar City (where I was born!)
* Angel Canyon, the ancestral home of the Anasazi people
* Portions of Drowned Glen Canyon that are rising from the ruin
* Capital Reef National Park
* Parts of The Escalate Step
* Grand Canyon National Park
(Grand is doable in a day trip, but is better if you plan to stay over.)

The Narrows Hike (the short one) is a fairly easy walk that has startling beauty any time of the day or year and every inch of the way. Don’t forget to look up - on both sides. Don’t miss the small, green swamp areas, the hanging gardens and the cliffs that lean far out over you with the heavy reds, blacks and corals that will slide into your soul. Colors will change and differ greatly with the time of day, but the path is uniformly nice. There are hanging trees, plants, flowers, ferns, etc. growing all along the rock edges and places where you can’t believe they could survive.

Remember, if you think the sky is bluer in Zion than anywhere on earth - you are right.

Look up.

If you are young, in good shape and adventurous, you might want to try and go all the way through the Narrows. It is a 16 mile, 12 hour trip (one way) and requires advance permission from the Park Authorities. There are now camp sites part way through, so you can break the trip up. These are ‘one night’ only camp grounds. You will walk through the river more than half of the way and even in midsummer the water is cold and the rocks are slippery. Even when the river is low, a woman of regular height will be chest deep in water part of the way. You will come to a place where the walls come almost together, and understand in a much deeper way the meaning of “Narrows.”



Do remember that if it looks even a little bit like rain, get out of any part of the Narrows as fast as you can go. They are not kidding about flash floods, they come up so fast it is unbelievable and the shallow, muddy river becomes a rushing torrent that can fill the narrow canyon in minutes. If you are caught far up and it begins to rain hard, don’t try and walk out the trail - go up the mountain side, anywhere you can. Fast. This is one of those places where you really don’t want to mess with Mother Nature.

Come at last to the Temple of Sinawava. Stand in awe before the ‘altar’ and the ‘pulpit.’ Let their silent, majestic beauty fill your body, your heart, your mind, your soul. If you feel you are in the presence of something greater than yourself . . . you are right.




Do bring your prayers here, those of thanksgiving and rejoicing as well as questing and asking. Most importantly, bring your prayers of being, for this is a place of continuity and endurance, where it is easy to become the rock and begin to understand, in some way, the meaning of forever. Do come with your mind open, That Which Abides here may not be what you have conceived before or were taught inside of walls. Do accept and exult in that Which Is.



Look up.

Do be sure to notice that this is one of the few places on earth that has complete beauty in all four directions. This is not a coincidence. Turn in each direction and soak in the beauty. Turn again with intention. Traditionally, north will bring you counsel, east the challenges you need to pursue, south for trust and west for truth. But turn with an open mind and accept what is given, things are seldom as one suspects here.

Look up.

From October to May you can drive into the canyon and to Sinawava in the dark. Between May and October visiting after darkness can be managed as well since the trams run until 11:00 p.m. The Native Americans who lived here when the Europeans came would not stay in the canyon over night, and did not want to be there after dark. They lived all around the area, but not in the canyon, for it belonged to the Gods. This is still abundantly clear. Most nights, at some point after dark, a Spirit Wind comes flowing down the narrows, cold and honed and sometimes singing loudly. I never have felt anything but blessings on that Spirit Wind. Interestingly the men in our family would just as soon not go to Sinawava at night, they say it makes the hair stand up on the back of their necks. The women, however, feel welcome in the wind. Perhaps it was always so and when the Europeans questioned the Natives about this canyon, it was only men they talked to. That is something I don’t know. A full moon at the Temple of Sinawava is an incredibly powerful thing, and any moon is a blessing.

The Spirit Wind coming down the canyon is one thing. We do all agree that if you hear howling that is not the wind, not coyotes, but is Somethingelse, it is time to go. Quickly.

Do come to this sacred place expecting miracles. Don’t be attached to what those miracles might be. Do take some of the peace, serenity, and grandeur that you find, the wonder of creation and the feeling of love that abounds here. Tuck it into your heart as a memory, a memento to take with you and carry forever.

And the first five days He labored Here
Here, where the great Rocky Mountains
Flush crimson and dip to kiss the desert
Mukuntuweap, Arrow of Roaring Water
From the Mountain of the Sun
To the Temple of Sinawava
Kayenta of the lost Anasazzi
This refuge, this haven,
Of strength and peace, this
Zion
"the place where God dwells,"

©Edwina Peterson Cross
(Adapted from writings by Jacque Benson Bell)