Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Our Utah Adventure: Zion National Park, Day 2, Riverside Walk

This is a continuation of a travel series to Utah.  To start at the beginning, go  HERE.  The rest of the posts in chronological order are HERE,  HEREHERE, and HERE!

In last week's travel post I shared all about our incredible experience of hiking one of the most unique trails in the world:  The Narrows.  In that post, I mentioned that you have to take another trail just to get to The Narrows,  it is called Riverside Walk.  Riverside Walk is a MUST whether you take the more challenging Narrows hike or not.  It's an easy, wheelchair accessible, family friendly 2 mile round trip trip trail with incredible views of the Virgin River and surrounding canyon walls, but most importantly the incredible hanging gardens or "Weeping Walls".


The paved trail is located at the very end of the shuttle system, stop #9, at the Temple of Sinawava.  There are multiple spots where you can get off the trail and get your feet wet to explore the river, as you will see in many of the photos.

Even though we were on this trail to access The Narrows, we really took our time exploring.  It was just so beautiful, every turn provoked a new "AWE!" out of our mouths.



I loved this huge boulder hanging over the trails path.  And look at those gorgeous rock walls that were built for this trail.


There are times when the water views are very shallow and calm and other times where there are a bit of rapids and small falls.



Water always brings animals, so we saw plenty of mule deer on this trail!







Because this is a popular trail, there are plenty of squirrels begging visitors for food.  And they really know how to beg too!  We had one adorable squirrel run right up to my son's shoes, stand on his hind legs, then hold out his paws.  It just broke my heart it was so cute.  But we didn't feed him because it's against park rules.



Besides the river and canyon walls, Riverside Walk is famous for its "Weeping Walls".  The walls are continuously  moist due to a constant water flow from the canyons above resulting in incredible, lush plants growing right on the wall!

Every time I see the picture below I think I'm in a scene from "Jurassic Park", but I felt my whole Zion National Park experience was like a scene from that movie.





Here are a few close ups so you can see how lush and beautiful these plants are.  It felt like I was in a tropical rain forest at times.




This Moonflower plant grows everywhere in Zion.  It blooms at dusk and then closes in the heat of the day.  We were up bright and early this day, so it was still open!


If you aren't up to hiking The Narrows, please take this hike at least.  It comes to an end when the canyon is so narrow that there are no banks of land left for a trail.  At that point, you turn around and head back the same direction you came.  You can also spend some time watching people getting into the river to hike The Narrows and see how well they balance on the slippery rocks and handle the frigid water.  You could even get your feet wet yourselves and see how well your balance is.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

33 comments:

  1. Fun adventure dear!! Have a wonderful day! xx

    La ilusión de Nina - http://lailusiondenina.blogspot.com.es/

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  2. That looks like a beautiful trail! It reminds me of one small section of the Lost River gorge where we found so many wet walls with plants hanging out of every crack. I felt like were on a movie set or in a whole different world for just a few minutes.

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    1. It was. Yes, it did feel like another world or a movie set. Unbelievable.

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  3. Omg the little squirrel! How CUTE!

    This walk looks amazing- love that it's wheelchair accessible!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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    1. He was so cute, and it was so hard NOT to feed him. The walk was amazing, and I love it when parks include hikes for everyone to enjoy.

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  4. Enjoyed seeing your pics!! Thanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 6. Shared.

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  5. This looks like a great hike and definitely one I'd take if I ever make it to Zion. Beautiful pictures! The squirrel is so adorable!

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    1. Oh, I hope you get there Ellie! It's such a beautiful park!

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  6. I am loving the photos from this walk - such amazingly gorgeous landscape! I visited a few years ago now and I am definitely wanting to go back soon. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures!

    -Katerina
    onceafoodie.com

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    1. I'm glad you like them. It is a gorgeous landscape and I hope you get back soon.

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  7. I've been enjoying all of your hiking adventures! So much beauty in nature! Makes me want to plan a little road trip with my family to see some of nature's beauty this fall.

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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    1. Thanks Carrie! Your kids are the perfect age to enjoy a place like this.

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  8. AMAZING! It really makes you stand in awe of God the Creator of all this natural beauty! What a fabulous adventure!

    ❤️carmen

    https://fashionableover50.wordpress.com

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    1. Thank you! It's always a spiritual boost for me when I go to places to like this.

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  9. Wow that is just beautiful there! I love the landscape and that river is just so pretty!

    http://www.ruthyannie.com

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    1. It is! I couldn't believe how crystal clear the water was!

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  10. Looks like such a beautiful trial and it's nice you can explore the river at the quieter shallow parts too! :)

    Hope that your week is going well :) Such a hot day today here, more like summer than spring!

    Away From Blue

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    1. It was! It's freezing here! More like winter than fall. I envy you.

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  11. Thanks for posting your trip. I am following along and pinning so that I have lots of info for our future visit to this gorgeous (I can tell from your pics) park!

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    1. You're welcome! I have two more trails to cover then I'm moving on to Bryce Canyon. I'm happy you're following along.

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  12. We spent 2 vacations there (one unexpected) and I fell in love with the incredible red of the rocks. Did not hike there as much, but painted about 4 plein aires there and in Bryce canon. Great to see these sights back in your post! Now I want to go again:)

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    1. Yes, the red rocks are incredible. I'd love to see your paintings.

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  13. We visited Zion this summer too. Beautiful! Thanks for linking.

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  14. Wow - that boulder over the path is a real sight, like watch out! Sounds like your walking stick was a good idea, with those potentially slippery paths. How lovely is this trail, I would enjoy it for sure!
    Wren x

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    1. Yes it was. I wondered how much longer before it tips over and this trail is closed. There were 6 trails closed due to rock fall when I was there.

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