Fly to Vegas and Hike Zion

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Any specific suggestions would be appreciated.

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We flew into Vegas last year and drove to Zion.

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What accommodations are located within Zion that the TB would recommend?

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I think there is just the lodge in Zion unless you are camping. You still have to take the shuttle to go deep into the park, at least until November. You just don't have to go through the entrance each morning and then board the shuttle at the visitor center. You board at the lodge.

The park is open 24 hours. The gates are only manned from I think around 6:00 am to 5:00 or so. We entered the park about 6:00, thought we would be first in line at the visitor center to board the shuttle but there was a two hour wait. People started lining up at 4:00.

I would not expect it to be that crowded in September. We went in late June.

You can access part of Zion without having to go through the entrance. Google Kolab Canyon Road and Kolob Resevoir Road. You might enjoy the Left Fork of North Creek (Subway) hike but it requires a permit and I think you get that via a lottery. That's off of Kolob Resevoir Road.

We stayed at Holiday Inn in Springdale two yrs ago and it worked out great. Flew into Vegas; hit Bryce the next day and then 2 days in Zion.

Made that trip this year for spring break. Stay at the Zion Lodge if you can find a room/cabin available. They book up far in advance but you might get lucky. Staying there let's you drive about halfway into the park. You still take a shuttle from the lodge up to the Narrows but the line there is nothing compared to the line at the park entrance. It's super quiet and serene at night in the park. The lodge restaurant has decent food and local beers.

As for the accomodations, they have 1 bedroom cabins which are old but decent and several two-story hotel room buildings. I'm a big fan of staying inside the NP's when possible. We also stayed inside Mesa Verde last summer and really enjoyed that.

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Any specific suggestions would be appreciated.

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Do you have a permit for Angel's Landing?

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Do you have a permit for Angel's Landing?

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Didn't realize permits were required. I'm in the planning phase but info would be appreciated.

To all of the other responses.. It seems that staying inside isn't a necessity. Thanks to all

I stayed inside Zion at the lodge. I also get up early (before daylight) and like to hit the trails. The trailhead for Angels landing is about half a mile from the lodge. I was up at scouts lookout for 45 minutes to an hour by myself (angels landing was closed due to Covid) before I saw the first person. I then hiked further up the west rim trail. It’s a good one too and I suggest hiking it some if you have the time.

You can also rent bikes at the lodge (or at least you could when they had the shuttle system shut down) to travel deeper into the park if you don’t want to use the shuttle.

Luckily did angels landing last year-pre permits. I stayed in at George and drove in (about a 30 min drive). I ate at the Buffalo trading company in Virgin between st George and Zion. Amazing food and an interesting place

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What accommodations are located within Zion that the TB would recommend?

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I did this trip about 3 years ago...

We flew into vegas then drove up to Zion, we stopped at the Valley of Fire on the way there...I would recommend for a cool pitstop.

We stayed at the Best Western Plus at the entrance to the park. I would recommend this place. (Biggest reasoning is because the price point is fairly cheap and we barely spent any time in the room..Didn't find the need to pay and arm and a leg to stay inside the park)

It's right in the middle of the town, we walked to dinner every night. They also have a nice pool / hot tub outdoor area that came in clutch after a long hiking day. The pricing was really good and they had grab and go breakfast every morning before we left for our hikes. We are early risers as well and they had everything ready every morning.

A few good food spots that we found were:

Spotted dog cafe
Oscars Cafe
Juniper Pizza

We rented all our Narrows gear from Trailhead outfitter which is located right before you enter the park. I think it was no more than $60 for the day rentals which include (walking boots, water socks, chest bibs, and walking stick)

I would suggest getting there as early as possible to get into the park. The shuttles get hectic and so do the crowds on some of the hikes.

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.what time of year did you go?

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We went during April. There was some type of bacteria in the water allegedly when I went so they suggested wearing the full chest waders.

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Also is it customary to rent gear for the narrows hike only or are there other hikes in the area where you would expect to encounter significant water?

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The narrows was the only hike we encountered it on. We also noticed a decent group of people doing it without. I would suggest at minimum getting some walking sticks. The walking path in the narrows is riddled with large rocks and boulders that are not easy to navigate around.

It was a really fun hike and I suggest you go as far as you can, but don't forget whatever you go into the narrows you have to come that far back out.

One thing to watch is the weather. Not sure when the rainy season is for Utah but I know the rangers told us if there is rain in the area it can get dangerous with rising waters, enough so they will close the hike. So just keep that in mind.

You need a walking stick, treking pole, etc…. Special shoes are not required (I used tennis shoes), but some people rent them. Don’t wear sandals.