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Zion National Park is currently the 3rd most visited National Park and for good reason, it is beautiful and fairly close to many major cities. Here is our family’s guide to visiting Zion National Park with kids.
On our Spring Break adventure in Utah, we planned to spend one day in each of the National Parks but carved out two and a half days to spend in Zion. Why? Two reasons.
First, to take the pressure off of trying to cram everything into one day. Since you have to take a shuttle bus to get around, we weren’t sure how much extra time that would add. The number of visitors to Zion has ballooned from 2.8 million visitors in 2013 to 4.5 million in 2017 (whew!), so we knew the crowds may cause things to take more time as well.
Second, the park had a few hikes we for sure wanted to do and we thought it best to do them on separate days. Add to those the opportunity to explore the city of Springdale, and we were glad we made the choice we did. In the end, we spent about 2.5 days in the park as we decided to visit the separate Kolob Canyon section on our way back to Las Vegas. It was the perfect finale to our trip. But, I’m getting ahead of myself!
Zion National Park with Kids
Logistically, we stayed at a great rental home in the small town of Orderville, which was about an hours drive to get to the Visitor Center. While that sounds like a long time, more than half the drive is in the park and that part is beautiful so it is worth the time. In the end I appreciated the ability to withdraw from the crowds at night and that it gave us an opportunity to see the much less crowded east part of the park both in the morning and afternoon/evening.
One item to plan carefully at Zion is once you park your car and get aboard the shuttle you will not want to have to go back. With this in mind, we packed our lunch as well as all of our needs for the day (such as a lot of water, snacks, first aid kit, and more) in our backpacks. You can get lunch and supplies at the Zion Lodge if you need to restock or prefer that option.
Day 1: Temple of Sinawava; Upper, Middle, and Lower Emerald Pools
Riverside Walk (2.2 miles round-trip)
On the first day we made it to the park around 8:30AM and were able to find a spot to park at the Visitor Center. We picked up the Junior Ranger booklets, hit the restroom, and climbed aboard the mandatory shuttle that we rode all the way to the end at the Temple of Sinawava. There are also nice restrooms at this shuttle stop.
While we did not plan to hike The Narrows (and many families did!) we did the Riverside Walk up to the start of The Narrows. Our trip had us here in early April, which meant that we were facing water temperatures of 46F and outdoor air temperatures in the 50’s. As an aside, we spoke to one family on the shuttle who rented their drysuits and shoes and other gear and spent about $50 per person to get outfitted. Perhaps next time – and at a later time in the season 
The walk along the river was beautiful, simple, peaceful, (COLD!) and part of it could be tackled in a wheelchair or with a stroller. Therefore, I would suggest this is a “must see” in Zion.
Upper, Middle, and Lower Emerald Pools (3.1 miles)
After leaving the Temple of Sinawava aboard the shuttle, we rode to the Grotto where we ate a picnic lunch at a nice picnic table and set off on our “real” hike of the day. The kids were a bit reluctant by this point, but as we got going and the scenery opened up they got more into it. The hike we chose was the Kayenta trail connection to the Upper, Middle, and Lower Emerald Pools.
The Ranger suggested we hike from the Grotto to Zion Lodge and we were glad we did both from a scenery perspective as well as getting the rougher, rockier section of the trail done with fresh legs instead of tired ones.
The hike to the Upper Pool is rated moderate, and this is for good reason as there are some sections that are scrambling and you need good footing. There were not significant drop-offs, but we were glad to have our poles both for footing and to help take the stress off the knees on the trip back down from the Upper Pool.
Important to note, the Junior Ranger program required attending a Ranger Talk. On our visit they only offered the program once per day so we chose to visit the Museum at 2PM for a Ranger Talk. Following this we set off for our rental home, dinner, and some time to rest!
Day 2: Court of the Patriarchs, Zion Lodge, Springdale, and Canyon Overlook Trail.
On our second day we headed back to the Visitor Center, climbed back aboard the shuttle, and rode it up to the Court of the Patriarchs. We took the short, but somewhat steep, paved trail to the overlook to take pictures.
After returning back down to the road we caught a bus and headed to the Lodge for some shopping (we had yet to find the hand painted ornaments that we try to get in all the parks).
We then took the shuttle back to the Visitor Center to get the kids’ Junior Ranger Badges and headed into Springdale to get brunch. After a short walk across a bridge from the Visitor Center we were outside the park and caught the Springdale city shuttle bus. We chose to eat at Cafe Soleil (partly because it was a Sunday and there weren’t many restaurants open at the time we wanted to eat and also because we wanted something healthier).
The food was pretty good, not my favorite restaurant we ate at on our trip, but it fit our needs/wants. We also got ice cream at the Springdale Candy Company along the road and peeked in some of the gift shops. The free shuttle runs up and down the main road in Springdale with a variety of stops, but the shuttle gets really packed so expect to have to stand.
Cayon Overlook Trail (1 mile round trip)
Leaving the Visitor Center, after lunch in Springdale, we decided that if a spot presented itself at the small parking lot for the Canyon Overlook Trail we would take that hike. This short, 1 mile hike gains about 165 feet of elevation largely in a series of switchbacks at the beginning of the trail. We were fortunate to pull into the small lot and find a spot. We make a quick stop at the pit toilets by the parking lot and set off to one of the most accessible, beautiful, and memorable hikes we did in Utah.
This hike rewards you with a view comparable to the difficult Angels Landing and Observation Point trails but without the effort and in a family friendly package. Yes, you have to keep a good an eye on your kids and the end of the trail is a literal cliff, but that view!
Following the hike we stopped at different viewpoints along the road on the East side of the park and headed back to the rental home to pack up for our final night in Utah!
Day 3: Kolob Canyon
The following morning we set off north to meet up with Highway 14, a beautiful mountain pass that connects to Cedar City. The road to Cedar Breaks National Monument was closed still due to snow, so we will have to visit there another time. Instead, we turned south towards the Kolob Canyon section of the park and found a side of Zion that left us with a very different impression than the one we gained in the main canyon area.
To be frank, the main canyon feels like Disneyland with its shuttles, crowds, and attractions. Kolob Canyon, however, felt like a National Park where the focus is on the beauty of the surroundings and the nature feels more real rather than sanitized.
Timber Creek Overlook Trail (1 mile round trip)
While there are few hikes in Kolob Canyon and it is relatively undeveloped, the short scenic drive and Timber Creek Overlook Trail were exactly what we needed as a capstone to a wonderful week exploring the Big 5 National Parks in Utah!
The drive is short – just 5 miles – but invites sights that are memorable and distinct from the main Zion canyon. Also to note is that in 2019 they finished a project to reconstruct the roadway, visitor center, and other facilities. At the trailhead there were pit toilets, a nice parking area, and a scenic viewpoint that could be enjoyed without making the hike up. However, we would highly recommend the hike!
That ends our tour of Utah’s Mighty 5. If you missed our visits to the other 4 parks, go back and read about our visits to Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon.
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