Zion National Park during Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving holiday is round the corner. It is always a great idea to be thankful for what we have and celebrate it with family and friends. I love the idea of having a special day dedicated for that. And that it always comes on a Thursday making it a super long weekend is a reason to love it even more.

Last Thanksgiving holiday, we were at the Zion National Park known for its incredible canyons and spectacular views. If any of you living in Phoenix haven't made plans yet for this Thanksgiving weekend, I would suggest you head there. It is a great time to visit the Park and enjoy all the hikes without having to worry about the burning sun or the melting snow. The weather is perfect, all you need is a jacket, there are less crowds and you can drive through the Park. (During the summer, you are required to take the mandatory shuttles to various stops due to the crowd. Check the nps website for more information on this.)

Close to the Southern entrance of the Park is a small town called Springdale. It has motels, restaurants, gift shops and has easy access to the Park. We stayed at Bumbleberry Inn which is a decent place with great views of the Park. They have a cute gift shop and restaurant too.

Morning View from Bumbleberry Inn
As you drive through the Zion National Park, you can see massive sandstone monoliths, towering red cliffs, colored rocks, streams and lots of trees and shrubs. The way the Park brings together all these elements is what makes this Park very interesting. And the only way to know what the Park truly offers is to get out of the car and explore the various trails and hikes available. And there are tons of them. Very interesting ones too.

Zion Canyon

Monolith and Me
 
Driving through Zion National Park
Views in the Park

Another one!
The hike we loved the most was 'Angel's Landing Hike' which is a quintessential Zion National Park hike (2.4 miles one way) that provides spectacular views of the canyon, if you can conquer the fear of heights.  For a detailed review of the hike, click here

Can you spot the people??
Another hike that we really wanted to do but lacked the paraphernalia such as wetsuit etc was 'The Narrows.' It is a 5 mile hike in the water (typically cold even in summers) on slippery bowling balls. It requires you to balance on algae-coated rocks in the middle of a swiftly flowing river. So, be prepared with sturdy footwear, appropriate clothing and rent a wetsuit from one of the rental shops in Springdale, if you want to do this hike. And be prepared to fall! We plan to do this one summer. Let me know if you would like to join.

The Narrows
This Park has something to offer in every season. Being there in the last week of November, we could only imagine how pretty it would have been during the fall colors time 2 weeks ago. 

Left-over Fall Colors in the Park :)
In short, if you are an outdoor enthusiast, visiting Zion National Park and the nearby Bryce National Park must be on your list. You can read about our trip to Bryce National Park here.

Happy Thanksgiving to all in advance!! Hope you all will have a great time, no matter where you are. As for us, keep checking this blog and you will know where we went this time!

Update: We did the Zion Narrows top down hike in July 2019 and what an adventure it was! You can read all about it here.

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