Virgin River, Zion National Park
We weren’t in a great rush to leave this morning as the check-in time for our campsite was 12 am and we were only about 50 km away from Zion National Park. We left just about 10:30 and were to the park entrance a bit after 11. After buying a year-long US national parks pass we pulled in to our campsite (about 100 m from the entry gate) and were able to set up right away.
We have a very nice site just across the road from the Virgin River. It was lovely and warm so we ate our lunch outside, then biked up the Pa’rus Trail to where it meets the road, and continued on up the road to Zion Lodge. It was uphill, but not too terribly steep, so we had a good ride back, coasting all the way. Today was the last day of the shuttle bus (they don’t allow private vehicles on the park highway until tomorrow) so there wasn’t much traffic on the road. There are signs all along the road saying to “Pull off the road and stop” or the buses will not pass you, so it’s a pretty safe ride.
Along the way we stopped and took many pictures of the sharply rising mountains above the Virgin River Canyon. The views are beautiful, with the leaves on the cottonwoods along the river just starting to turn colour.