Best Summer Hikes at Zion National Park

Zion National Park was the last stop on our Utah adventure bringing our Utah total to 11 days, 5 national parks, 1 state park, 59 miles hiked, 2 sunset hikes, and 3 ranger talks. What an adventure!

Planning a trip to Zion National Park? We recommend these three hikes in the summer and don’t forget to pack your water shoes. Riverside Walk is an easy, paved hike alongside the Virgin River but you can get in the river and cool off. The Narrows, one of the most popular areas in the park, where you hike in the Virgin River. Watchman Trail, hike early in the morning and the entire trail will be in the shade.

Riverside Walk

We got off the shuttle at the last stop, #9 Temple of Sinawava, and headed towards the Riverside Walk trailhead. Then we saw the Virgin River. Our friends had mentioned to us months ago about hiking across a river and told us to get some water shoes. We did, but we had forgotten about that conversation until we saw the river.

Luckily, because it was so hot, we had decided to hike in our water shoes. This meant we both could get in the river and cool off. That was really awesome. Had we known this, we would have come earlier in the day when it was hot as the river was nice and cold. If it is a hot day and you are looking for an easy hike check out the paved 2.2-mile roundtrip Riverside Walk which takes you to The Narrows.

The Narrows

At the end of the Riverside Walk was The Narrows. The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon with walls a thousand feet tall and you can hike upstream in the river. We saw people heading back down in their bathing suits. That would have been so much fun and the perfect hike when it is hot out. I wish we would have had the chance to hike The Narrows but we were short on time. The last shuttle heads back to the Visitor Center at 9:15 pm. Everyone we talked to loved hiking The Narrows.

Don’t make the same mistake we did! Plan a day to make this 9.4-mile roundtrip hike (or hike as far as you feel comfortable) where, according to the NPS website, “at least 60% of the hike is spent wading, walking, and sometimes swimming in the river.” Don’t forget to pack your close-toed water shoes and a hiking stick.

Watchman Trail

For our second day, we hiked the Watchman Trail. We started early at 7 am and the entire trail was in the shade. Shade is really nice on a hot summer day. This was a moderate hike that had some great views at the end. With our binoculars we could even see our motorhome at the RV Resort. This hike begins near the Visitor Center which is nice on busy summer days when the Shuttle line at the Visitor Center is long. If you are looking for a shaded hike without having to take the shuttle anywhere, hike Watchman Trail early.

Want more information about these hikes? Check out the Zion National Park Information Guide found in the Newspaper.

Shuttle Stops

Around 6:45 pm, we jumped on the shuttle and headed into Zion. We decided to ride the shuttle all the way to the last stop, Temple of Sinawava. It was a 40-minute ride with all of the stops. We decided to ride the shuttle down and got off at the next three stops to take pictures and then hop on the next shuttle that came after. We did this for the Big Bend (stop #8), Weeping Rock (stop #7), and The Grotto (stop #6) shuttle stops. As the sunset, the sky filled with beautiful colors, and then it was really dark. It was fun to be in the park after dark as the critters started to come out. While waiting at the shuttle stop we heard a sound and then saw a deer eating really close to us. A few minutes later we saw glowing eyes across the road from us and then a grey fox.

The shuttle line at the Visitor Center was crazy, over a thirty-minute wait, so we hiked the Pa'rus Trail from the Visitor Center to the Human History Museum and then got on the shuttle. We hiked the Kayenta Trail to the trail closure and then hiked back to The Grotto and then along the river to the Zion Lodge. There we caught the shuttle to Human History Museum for Ranger talk about the animals at Zion and their adaptations to stay cool. It was an overcast day and great weather for hiking so we decided to hike more. We took the shuttle back up to the Zion Lodge and hiked the Lower Emerald Pool Trail and then took the shuttle to the Weeping Rock Trail. Hungry, exhausted, sore but very happy we headed back to the RV park. What a great end to our Utah park gauntlet.

Zion Canyon Campground and RV Resort

We stayed at the Zion Canyon Campground and RV Resort, and when we arrived, it was very hot so we cooled off in the pool and then cooked some hamburgers on the BBQ. Around 6:45 pm, we jumped on the shuttle and headed into Zion. We decided to ride the shuttle all the way to the last stop, Temple of Sinawava. It was a 40-minute ride with all of the stops.

We recommend staying at This is a great RV park for visiting Zion because the shuttle stop is a very short walk from the RV park, and if you miss the shuttle or feel like walking the Zion Visitor Center is not too far of a walk.

RV Route | Avoid Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel

If entering Zion from the East, like we were from Bryce Canyon, there is the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. This tunnel has vehicle height, width, and length restrictions. If you are over the specified height and/or width you must purchase a $15 Tunnel Permit and drive through the tunnel only during the posted tunnel hours of operation. Given our width and height, we knew we required a Tunnel Permit, but our main concern was the fact that combined vehicles over 50 feet long were prohibited. With our tow car, we were over this limit so we decided it was best to go around this tunnel. Check out our alternate route in our Utah to San Diego Route article.

Conclusion

When planning a trip to Zion National Park in the summer we recommend these three hikes: Riverside Walk and The Narrows allow you to cool off in the river, while hiking early in the morning means the Watchman Trail will be completely in the shade. If you are traveling in an RV you may want to take our alternate route and avoid the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel with height, width, and length restrictions, a fee, and operational hours.

Interested in other Utah National Parks? Take a look at our Utah articles. Where are we going next? Don’t miss an adventure, subscribe today.