Hiking in National Parks: Non-Hiker Style
- Alena Black
- Mar 18, 2019
- 6 min read
If you know me, I am not what people would consider "outdoorsy". I tend to keep camping and hiking to a minimum, and I tend to mutter under my breathe until I see the worthwhile view. Nevertheless, I will most likely go on any hike to spend time with people I care about. This post will be about where I went in Arches National Park, Snow Canyon Park, and Zion National Park as a person who isn't the biggest fan of hiking.
Arches National Park
On a random weekend in November, some girls in my hall and I decided to take a trip to Arches National Park in Moab. The drive was about 3 hours from BYU, so we left at 6 am in the morning. The drive itself was very simple as it was all flat. Once we got to the park, we drove for about 30 minutes to reach our first hiking destination within the park. Arches is unlike the other 2 parks in the sense that the park is much larger and therefore I would highly recommend using a car to travel between hikes. Biking would require a lot of time and energy since the roads in the park are full of hills as well.
Delicate Arch 5/5
Our first hike we did was to the famous Delicate Arch. This hike was too bad at all since we did it in the morning when it was cooler. There is little to no shade for first 2/3 of the hike, so bring water if you get dehydrated easily by the sun. I wore my Lululemon jacket the whole time we hiked this because it was still a little chilly and the hike was not extremely strenuous. The first part of the hike is a graveled trail that is a pretty standard walk. The second portion has a large inclined hill on slickrock where most of the elevation gain is. This is the most difficult part, but children were able to get up, and I was easily able to make it up as long as I took a break half way or so. The view from this part of the hike was gorgeous too. The last part of the hike was on sandy rock with a couple elevated steps. Once you make it to the arch, the path to it is almost shaped like a fishbowl to be aware of where you place your bags and make sure they do not slide. We got to the arch itself around 10 am and left around 11 am which is when it started to get much busier. I would suggest going earlier so you can get all the photos you want without being in people's pictures or them being in yours.
Overall, I highly recommend this hike. It is about 3 miles, and the arch itself is iconic. I did not struggle during the first or third part of the hike, and the large hill can be taken slowly as needed since it is not a single-file pathway.
Double Arch 4/5
This next arch, was hardly a hike at all. It was more of walking on a trail and climbing rocks to get a cool picture. This trail was really unique because of the structure of the arches, but if you are afraid of heights, or not so great at climbing, it might not be for you. My friends and I were scrambling at one point to get on the top of rocks to take pictures. For sure wear leggings or clothes you can move around a lot in and get dirty because the red dust from the rocks get all over.
Garden of Eden 5/5
This place is similar to Double Arch as it is less of a hike and more of climbing on rocks and messing around. I highly recommend this area during sunset. We took gorgeous pictures here, and there was no one in this area when we went which made for a great photoshoot!
Snow Canyon
Snow Canyon we visited this past weekend while my friends and I were in St George for Spring Day which is about a 4 hour drive. It is a state park, and therefore cost us $10 for a private vehicle to enter. The park is a lot smaller than Arches, but just as beautiful with red rock and sand dunes.
Sand Dunes 3/5
The sand dunes here are unique compared to the other two parks I went to which did not have any that I saw. I was pretty tired the day that we came, but we saw kids playing in the sand, and even boys flipping around in the sand. Sand is a little tricky to walk in, but we walked over them easy enough and made our way to rocks behind the dunes to take some pictures. There were lizards or geckos everywhere, so people with herpetophobia stay clear. I am just not a fan of sand in my shoes, so wear sandals when you come to the dunes.
Petrified Dunes 5/5
These dunes were so fun to walk up. I would not consider it a hike just because it took us 5 minutes to get to the top, but the view was gorgeous still. The dunes almost felt like stairs because of all the little grooves. This was a fun and easy walk that was great for pictures and was right next to a parking lot and picnic tables.
Zion National Park
The final park I want to talk about is Zion National Park which I also went to this part weekend. It was BYU's Spring Day, and spring break just started so the park was busy. Be aware of when you are going and what holidays/events might be happening as well as know which trails may be closed. We went, and the trails we thought about hiking were closed like Observation Point. Parking cost $35 for a 7 day pass. They tell you to make the first right to get to the parking lot, but there is also a parking lot the second right which we had better luck at. There is also a shuttle that comes about every 15 minutes instead of driving around yourself hence the parking lots.
Lower Emerald Pools 2/5
A 1.2 mile hike to a waterfall was our first of the day. Gorgeous waterfall that you could stand behind, but the angles for pictures were less than ideal. I would just enjoy this waterfall, and worry less about the Instagram post. The main attraction is the waterfall and not really any view past it. However, there is a large rock on this hike that is great for pictures because the background shows some towering rock structures in the background as well as greenery. Less that stellar hike, but it was a nice one for kids or strollers.
Weeping Rock 3/5
The next hike was 0.4 miles but pretty steep. Nothing too bad since it is such a short distance. It reminded me of the freshman hill at BYU. This led to another waterfall with a view of a canyon. Difficult to take pictures of people and the view because of the lighting, but it was a cool experience to be behind the waterfall and see it with the canyon.
Watchman Trail 5/5
This was the main hike we did since the others were closed. This 3 mile hike has three portions. The first consists of dirt trails, the second was on more of a cliff, and the third, on more dirt. The second part is the hardest because of the switch-backs and the elevation change and uneven-ground. I did complain during this one but probably because I am a slow hiker and was always needing to catch up. The end view was very pretty though and I would recommend this hike to people who do not want to do Angel's Landing or Observation Point which are the more difficult trails in the park. This path took us about 2 hours there and back, and was perfect for our limited time. The top offers some great picturesque scenery over the first portion of the park.
Reading through this, you might say to yourself, "Wow, this is hardly hiking at all". And you're very right. Half of this places were hardly actual hikes at all. There are many reasons for that. Injury, time constraint, laziness, etc. I would love to go back and hike more, but I also just love to enjoy nature comfortably. That is my own preference. I enjoy climbing the rocks and seeing the view much more than the hike itself. I admire the people who love being outdoors, but that just isn't me. A goal of mine is to visit all the national parks in Utah, and I am excited to do so, but do not be surprised if I go and don't do much hiking. Instead, I will probably take pictures, sit on rocks, and enjoy the adventure of being with friends.
-Alena
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