Haven

 

This is pleasure. This is adventure. Red cliffs tower above you. The Virgin River runs near your camp. The last thing you see after brushing your teeth and walking in the starry night back to your site are bats, "butterflies," your two-year old daughter insists. You go to sleep in the evening and it's warm. At some point in the night or early early morning the wind picks up and you waken long enough to pull up a cover. When sleep fades, you wear a jacket while you cook breakfast until the moment the sun comes up over the cliff, bright and already hot. 

A good morning trail in Zion is Riverside Walk. One mile on a stroller friendly path takes you to the mouth of the Narrows. My husband and I continued up through the river nine years ago and saw the narrows, a kind of quiet you never forget; you wade in the river, in the shadow of rock walls that scrape the sky. This trip we are a family, three little ones. We stop at the end of the trail, let the children splash in the river with their daddy, and defend our lunch from squirrels. The mile back is difficult for our five-year old, typically resilient. I think it is the heat. We drink water all day. They play in the river by our camp site after dinner.    

For easy to strenuous hikes, restful camping, beautiful nature, great photo opportunities, have I mentioned this is one of my favorite places in the world?...

Zion National Park, Springdale, UT (a 50 minute drive from our apartment in St. George)

$25 for a 7 day pass, $50 for a year pass, $80 for an inter-agency year pass