Article: Visiting Zion National Park & Fort Zion & Laverkin Overlook

Article: Visiting Kolob Canyon Part Of Zion Natl. Park

Visit to the Garden of the Gods

After we spent one more night in Silt, Colorado, another hotel deal lead us on 17th of July to Centennial in Colorado which is in the tech center of Denver where we stayed for the following three days.

On one of the days we drove to a nearby attraction called the Garden of the Gods which is located in Colorado Springs (the car journey from Denver to the attraction takes about an hour).

The Garden of the Gods is a city park that contains beautiful red rock formations.

Photo of Siamese Twins at Garden of the Gods
Photo is for Sale – click on image

In the mid-19th century the surveyor called Rufus Cable explored the site together with his companion and he was so struck by the beauty of this site that he suggested it be called the Garden of the Gods as it was a place where gods assemble. It is a popular site to do mountain biking, rock climbing and hiking. You can find several easy to moderate hiking trails there.

What makes this park so special and popular are three reasons. One is the obvious beauty of the nature, the second is that the trails are easily accessible and the third reason is that it is free to enter.

In the late 19th century Charles C Perkins purchased a large part of the land where the park is located today and upon his death his family donated the land to the city with the condition that it shall always be free for the people.

Garden of the Gods

We arrived there in the morning before 10am as we wanted to participate in the free nature walk. As it was July, it was already very busy. There were only a few spots left at the visitor center. We picked up a map and thereafter drove to the Northern Parking lot from where the walks start from. Unfortunately there weren’t any parking spots left and we had to drive further south along the Garden Drive and eventually ended up finding a parking space near the Scotsman Picnic area. We ended up being too late for the 10am nature walk. Officially they provide the free nature walks at 10am and at 2pm. To our luck they also provided additional walks at other times of the day when it is a busy time of the year. We joined the next walk at 11am.

Path of Nature Walk

Our guide was very good and he really brought the story of the park to life and gave you a good insight into the nature. During the tour you walk right in between the rocks. They reminded us of those you can find in Arizona and Utah. They are just on a more compact and smaller scale at the Garden of the Gods. Along the walk we passed various visitors and rock climbers. Some of the rocks are not so big which makes them ideal for beginning climbers.

The nature walk was approx. 30 minutes long and afterwards our guide directed us to the Chambers/Bretag/Palmer Trail which is a moderate hiking trail that sort of circles around park. We crossed the road near the Sentinel Rock and then turned right. If you continue along this trail you come back near the top of the Northern Parking Lot. It is perfect to get a good viewpoint and to photograph the Garden of the Gods.

Trail Sign

After we had walked along this trail for a while and once we reached a good viewpoint, we headed back down as we also wanted to do the Siamese Twins Trail which is a little bit south of the park.

We parked at the nearby Spring Canyons Parking Area and then hiked up to the twins. Overall are the hiking trails in the park not so long and difficult, however the heat in the summer makes it a little bit harder.

There weren’t so many cars at the parking area near the Siamese Twins. The hike to the rocks is really worth as it gives you some good viewpoints and you can take a photo through the twins.

Once we finished the hike we drove out of the park through the South where the famous balanced rock is. There were many people gathered around the rock and the traffic was very slow on our way out so we didn’t actually had to stop to get a good photograph of the balanced rock.

This photograph shows you the balanced rock at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

We can highly recommend visiting this park, although due to its popularity, it is probably best to be seen in the week during the off season.

Details for the visit of the park

Opening hours of the park:

May – Oct: 5 am until 11pm

Nov – Apr: 5 am until 9pm

Note: The opening hours of the Visitor Center are different from the hours of the park!

Address Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center

1805 N 30th St

Colorado Springs, CO 80904, United States

Click here to visit the website of the park

View of Garden of the Gods from Palmer Trail

This is the 6^th part of our US Cross Country Road Trip Adventure from the West Coast to the East Coast.

You can see the other parts (articles/videos/photos) here

On 15^th of July 2014, we continued our journey from Heber City in Utah to Silt-Rifle in Colorado.

When you are on the road, you sometimes need to allow yourself to let loose and travel without a plan.

Prior to our road trip adventure we thought of a few points of interest to visit but overall we kept our plans free. Let’s see what we can see…

Flower at Maroon Bells Scenic Area

The ski resort Aspen was next on our list. We stayed at a hotel in Silt right next to the Colorado River. The day before we looked a bit into the visit to Aspen but overall didn’t really feel like wandering past designer stores and trendy cafés and restaurants.

At one point we suddenly found the Maroon Bells Recreation Area which is near Aspen. The name Maroon Bells sounded like a mix of a band and a TV series. They are two mountain peaks in the Elk Mountains and received this name because of the red colour on the rocks and their bells like shape.

Over the past 8 years we have travelled extensively around the USA but we never heard of it.

The next morning we headed to the mountains. From Silt it took us about an hour in our minivan until we reached the Maroon Bells Interpretive Center at the Aspen Highlands Village.

Highlands Center Maroon Bells Recreation Center

You can reach it from Aspen by car in less than 10 minutes (see more details at the end of this article).

To preserve the nature one can only explore the recreation area by bus during the day in the summer which is from mid-June until Labor Day (Labor Day is the first Monday in September). There is limited access for vehicles when the buses are not operating.

We parked our car for free outside of the Maroon Bells Interpretive Center at the Aspen Highlands Village and then purchased our ticket inside the center (the building adjacent to the parking lot).

It was a Wednesday and at the ticket counter a friendly staff member told us that it was half price Wednesday which was pretty cool. Was an even better day ahead of us?

Maroon Bells Bus

The entrance fee includes the free shuttle bus that takes you around the recreation area.

We boarded the bus and drove all the way up until the station near Maroon Lake.

Up there a friendly staff member took a photo of us with the beautiful bells and the lake in the background.

It immediately felt like a very special place.

From the lake you can do four types of hikes:

1. Maroon Lake Trail

An  easily accessible trail which starts shortly after the parking lot. You simply have to head to the lake.
Length: It is a 1 mile round trip hike along the lake
Difficulty level: Easy

Maroon Lake Trail

2. Falls Loop Trail

The second trail starts at the top end of the lake just after the bridge and leads you past cascading waterfalls and the quiet of a beaver pond.
Length: 1.5 mile round trip
Difficulty level: Easy

3. Maroon Creek Trail

This beautiful trail leads you downstream along Maroon Creek.
Length: 3.2 miles one way hike
Difficulty level: Easy

Maroon Creek Trail Sign

4. Crater Lake Trail

Number four is for more advanced hikers leading you along a steep and rocky trail past the Deadly Bells Kiosk and one has to climb on an ancient rockslide.
Length: 3.6 miles round trip
Difficulty level: Moderate

All the trails were signposted and you can get a free map of the area and trails at the Maroon Bells Interpretive Center.

Initially we walked a little bit along the first trail. It was fairly busy there but not like a visit to the Grand Canyons.

Although we travel a lot, we really like it when there are hardly any tourists around and so we headed to the beginning of the third trail as we guessed that most people would not want to do the long trail.

The Maroon Creek Trail starts at a bridge just off the lake. It was a wonderful hike. We guessed correctly as there were hardly any people around. We only met two couples along the way! It sort of leads you the way back down just a bit further in and from where the bus drove up to the lake.

Trees along Maroon Creek Trail

At first the hike was shaded underneath forest trees and bit by bit, more beauty was revealed. This hike is good for wildlife sightings although we only saw a beaver which quickly ran past us.

The trail ends at Maroon Creek Road at the East Maroon Portal from where you can take the next bus back to the Center. Make sure you go to the road.

Important!

It is best to start this hike in the morning instead of the afternoon because the buses near the end of the operating hours may be too full and so the bus drivers cannot take you with them.

A visit in the summer is a great time to see the nature and it is probably also very picturesque in autumn.

The day at the bells felt really special and we can highly recommend a visit.  It seemed like nature at its best something that the state of Colorado has plenty of.

Mountains along the path

How to get from Aspen to the Aspen Highlands Village:

A free shuttle service takes you from the RFTA Rubey Park Transportation Center in Aspen to it (departs every 20 minutes starting on the hour).

Maroon Bells Entrance Tickets

Entrance tickets to the Maroon Bells Recreation Area:

Adults: USD 6.00
Children under 6 and seniors: USD 4.00

Bus schedule from the Maroon Bells Interpretive Center to Maroon Lake

Operating hours: 9am to 5pm
Frequency of buses: Every 20 to 30 minutes.

Times/months of the year the buses are operating:
Mid-June to Labour Day: buses run daily
After Labour Day  until September service only commences on Friday’s, Saturday’s and Sunday’s.

Follow this link to visit the website of the Maroon Bells Scenic Area

Maroon Creek

You can see the other parts (articles/videos/photos) here

On 13^th of July 2014, we drove in about an hour from Tooele, Utah to Heber City, Utah. We were able to find a good value hotel in Heber City (using IHG rewards points for a “Point Break” offer at the Holiday Inn Express Heber City) and from there it was only a 20 minute car journey from Park City in Utah.

We had already visited Park City in 2010 and looked forward to returning to this picturesque and touristy mountain town. It became famous in 2002 when the Winter Olympic Games were being held there.

Powder skiing at Park City Mountain Resort
credit: Dan Campbell
provided by: Park City Tourism

It looks a bit like an Americanized version of a Swiss mountain village. The city center is surrounded by magnificent mountains where you can see the typical wooden chalets of winter sports resorts.

There are three ski resorts in Park City:

Park City Mountain Resort – link to website

Deer Valley Resort – link

Canyons Resort – link

There is usually snow from late November through mid-April. Although recent news reports have stated that there is not enough snow this year (2015).

I (Kristin) have always admired the bravery of winter sports aficionados. There is a certain elegance of skiers and a powerful strength of snowboarders. Personally I am too chicken to learn these sports plus we both are not really fans of cold winter temperatures!

Fortunately for us, Park City is more than just a winter sports destination. The mountains offer a variety of hikes and the city center is very attractive, too.

Along Park City’s Main Street, are several historic buildings which look like the ones you would see in Western movies. They represent Park City’s past, as it used to be a silver mining boomtown. Underneath the city are hundreds of miles of mine shafts.

Silverlake Village at night
Deer Valley Resort
credit: Dan Campbell
provided by: Park City Tourism

In the 1950s the town nearly became a Ghost Town due to the decline of the price of silver and with the help of some funding from the government and other benefactors in the 1960s, the city was then able to build its first skiing resort called Treasure Mountain Resort.

Nowadays the historic buildings of Park City are filled with restaurants and quirky shops that not only sell clothes but also art because the city has quite an arts vibe.

Every year in August the Kimball Arts Festival is held on Main Street in Park City.

Main Street

The street is literally filled with art. Not only does it feature over 200 artists from across the country and live music performances but also visitors can create their own art. You can find some more details about the festival at the end of this article. Various works of art are displayed in the Kimball Art Center throughout the year.

Girl of a softball team

It is always surprising how an event can transform the atmosphere in a town or city so it feels like a completely different place. In 2010 we enjoyed a leisurely walk around town and shopped afterwards at the nearby Tanger Outlet Mall*.

This time the town felt completely different. It was mostly filled with girls softball teams and their families. The summer vacation season in the US appears to be the time when the softball championships are being held. At this point it seemed as if the softball teams followed us on our cross country road trip. We saw them on several occasions (starting in Palmdale, CA).

On the one hand it is great to see young Americans being active but not if they travel in groups and stay at your hotel. You suddenly see girls lying around in the hallway, eating breakfast in their pyjamas, chit-chatting in the fitness center (not working out) and entire pool areas are occupied by them!

As for the softball girls in the streets of Park City, they fortunately brought a good vibe into town. They were all dressed up in their sports uniforms as they paraded down Main Street for what seemed to be an awards ceremony or celebration. Some were even covered in balloons and other types of quirky decoration.

Park City Museum

Visitors can explore more of Park City’s history at the Park City Museum. It is located along Main Street and is set within the old city hall which also used to house the territorial jail and the fire department. Inside are various exhibits, some of which are interactive and include old movies.

Movies are also an integral part of the winter events calendar. Every year in January, the Sundance Film Festival is being held in Park City, Salt Lake City and Ogden. It is the largest independent film festival in the USA and brings some Hollywood glamour to the area.

One of the screening locations is the Egyptian Theatre on Main Street which is an attraction in itself and you can see a variety of shows (comedy, theatre, music) there all year around. The theatre was built in the 1920s and was inspired by the discovery of tomb of the late Egyptian King Tut’s.

Back in 2010, we also visited Utah’s Hogle Zoo which is located in Salt Lake City. You can reach it from Park City within a 40 minute car journey.

Utah’s Hogle Zoo

It is a pleasant zoo and we especially liked the Wildlife Theatre Bird Show which was very clever. Some of our fellow visitors were every bit as fascinating as the animal. For example we saw a group of ladies with numerous children visiting the park. The women (and their daughters) were dressed in old fashioned clothes with the hair up. It looked as if they were a bunch of sister wives from a compound such as seen in an episode from Big Love (an American TV drama shown on HBO).

On our return journey to the hotel in Heber City, we suddenly stumbled upon the Heber Valley Railroad station. From there visitors can take historic train journeys.

Utah Railway 63

We didn’t take the train so we cannot really comment on that, but the journey seems to have mixed reviews online. For us, looking around the station was a nice addition to our visit to the area.

Follow this link to visit the website of Heber Valley Railroad

Heber City Railroad Station

Details and tips Tanger Outlet Mall

The outlet mall was good, although, we have found that you are in recent years more likely to get better deals at the normal department stores like Macy’s, Nordstrom or Dillards.  We did however find good outdoor wear at the Columbia sports store there. If you are heading to the Tanger Outlet Mall, check out their website, prior to your visit. Here is the link where you can find details of special sales and coupons.

As a general rule for shopping in the US, they always have sales going on during public holidays.

Tip for shopping at Macy’s

If you are planning to shop at Macy’s and you are from out of town (i.e. you live at least 100 miles away from the corresponding Macy’s store) then you can ask them for a Visitor Savings Pass. This pass gives you 10% off over a period of 3 days. You just have to show your ID or passport.

Parking in Park City

As you can see in the following image, there is free parking in Park City at the China Bridge Garage.

Free Parking

Details of the Museum of Park City

Opening hours*

Mon to Sat: 10am to 7pm

Sun: Noon to 6pm

Closed on Thanksgiving and at Christmas

*Call the museum prior to your visit in the off-season which is April, May, Nov and early December as there may be limited opening hours.

Entrance fees

Adults USD 10.00

Seniors 65+/Students/Military USD 8.00

Children (ages 7-17): USD 5.00

Follow this link to visit the official website of the Museum of Park City.

Tips for the Sundance Film Festival

Plan ahead and get tickets early. If you don’t have tickets, you have to line up early in the morning before the box office opens.  Make sure you know the location of the theatres and how long it can take to get there. Try to use the public transport as taxis may be very pricey. Be prepared to wait in the cold. Follow this link to visit the website of the Sundance Film Festival.

Egyptian Theatre Park City

Details of the Egyptian Theatre

Address: 328 Main Street, Park City UT 84060

Link to the website of the Egyptian Theatre Company

Information about the Kimball Art Center

Entrance is free.

Opening hours

Mon to Thu: 10am to 5pm

Friday: 10am to 7pm

Sat: 12pm to 7pm

Sun: 12pm to 5pm

Address of the art center: 638 Park Avenue, Park City, UT 84060

Click here to visit the website of the Kimball Art Center

Details of the Kimball Arts Festival

The Kimball Arts Festival is held from 31st of July until the 2nd of August 2015.

Opening hours of the festival

Friday, August 1st: 5pm until 9pm

Saturday, August 2nd: 9am until 7pm

Sunday, August 3rd: 9am until 6pm

Entrance fees

Friday: Summit County Residents Free

Other days and non-residents:

Adults: USD 10.00 for a weekend pass

Children/Students 6-17years: USD 5.00 for a weekend pass

Children 5 and under: Free

Follow this link to visit the official website of the Kimball Arts Festival.

Owl at Utah’s Hogle Zoo

Details of Hogle Zoo

Opening hours

Mar 1 to Oct 31:

Gate 9am to 5pm (the grounds are open until 6.30pm)

Nov 1 to Feb 28

Gate 9am to 4pm (the grounds are open until 5pm)

The zoo is generally open every day except on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Entrance fees

Summer (May 1 to Sep 30)

Adults USD 14.95

Seniors (65+) USD 12.95

Children (3 to 12) USD 10.95

Children (2- younger) Free

Winter (Oct 1 to Apr 30)

Adults USD 11.95

Seniors (65+) USD 9.95

Children (3 to 12) USD 8.95

Chidren (2-younger) Free

Click here to visit the website of Hogle Zoo

NOTE: The above details were last checked in February 2015!

Summer Scenic View of Park City
credit: Park City Chamber/Bureau

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Day 2 at Zion National Park: Kolob Canyon

On the second day we headed from St George to the Kolob Canyon part of the National Park. The Kolob Canyons Road in the North sets off at Exit 40 of I/15.

This drive was a little bit longer than the one to the other side of Zion.

From the Interstate it did not look like anything special, however, once we were passed the Visitor Center and drove along the 5 mile Kolob Canyons Road, we were very pleased with our decision to drive there. The landscape was amazing, too.

Sign Timber Creek Overlook Trail

In comparison to the other side of the National Park, it was much calmer and substantially less people were around. There were several free parking spots at the parking area at the Kolob Canyons Viewpoint.

At the parking area starts the Timber Creek Overlook Trail.

The round trip takes about 30 minutes and is 1mile/1.6km long. At the beginning of the trail was a sign that warned you about mountain lions and what to do with them during an encounter. The sign said do not run away from it and try to look large. You should wave your arms, throw rocks or sticks at it. If attacked, fight back.

Insect

Who would have thought that you should throw rocks at Mountain Lions? We would probably freeze or run away.

The only scary thing we encountered, were some giant insects.

At the end of the trail you can have views of Timber Creek, Kolob Terrace and the Pine Valley Mountains. It was a beautiful and easy hike. The terrain was fairly flat and not as rough as the one from the Overlook Trail. An additional advantage was that we only met a few people.

Afterwards we drove a little bit down the Kolob Canyons Road and enjoyed our lunch at one of the free benches along the road. It was a suitable place for it and you could really take in the beautiful view.

For us, nature is best enjoyed without the masses of tourists and that is why the second day in the National Park was so much better.

View Timber Creek Overlook

Fees Zion National Park:

The entrance ticket is valid for 7 days (status Oct 2014): USD 25.00 per vehicle or USD 12.00 per person (for pedestrians, bicycle, motorcycle and organized groups).

Click here to visit the website of Zion National Park

View Timber Creek Overlook Trail at Kolob Canyon Zion National Park

After St George we headed north to Tooele in Utah. The drive took about 4.5 hours. Tooele is a city near Salt Lake City. It basically was just a 3 night stopover point for us and we stayed there because Paul found a great accommodation deal.

These special hotel deals can sometimes reveal some surprising gems which you would not ordinarily look for. This was the case for our next part-time home in Heber City in Utah…

Lizard Zion National Park

You can see the other parts (articles/videos/photos) here

We arrived safely at our St George, Utah hotel on July 6th, checked in, and decided to relax and leave the adventure for the next morning.

Over the years we have visited some pretty impressive National Parks in the US and we were hoping to see some more treasures during our Road Trip Adventure.

Utah is a safe bet and this time around we headed the next morning to Zion National Park.

Day 1: Zion National Park with Fort Zion & Laverkin Overlook Road

The drive from St George to the Zion Canyon part of the National Park took about an hour.

There are four main roads within the National Park:

a) The Kolob Canyons Road runs in the North

b) The Kolob Terrace Road which is the longest road within the park. It runs until the Kolob Reservoir and then you have to return the same way you came from which can make the journey substantially long especially considering the low speed limits within the national parks.

c) Zion Canyon Scenic Drive (this road is not open for public vehicles, you have to take park your car and take the free shuttle bus)

d) Zion-Mount Carmel Highway which we turned into.

Bighorn Sheep

After a while we reached a tunnel. A ranger gave us a stick to hand to the ranger on the other side, indicating that our car was the last one and then we drove through the tunnel.

The tunnel was very dark except for a few windows. Unfortunately you cannot stop inside the tunnel, however, the windows dug into the rock there work perfectly as a teaser.

The National Park offers a variety of hiking routes. You can take a short 30 minute hike or even longer ones up to 8 hours.

We wanted to hike the Canyon Overlook Trail. A round trip hike along the Canyon Overlook Trail takes about an hour and it is 1mile/1.6km long.

Sign at the beginning of the hike

The Canyon Overlook Trail starts right after the tunnel. At first, we did not realize that and headed further to the East until we saw a car parked at the side of the road and a few desert bighorn sheep.

We stopped for a moment and took some photos and then returned to the tunnel.

There is a parking lot at the end of the tunnel opposite the trailhead.

On our visit the parking lot was full and so we had to turn around again and search for a spot further up. The first pull out indicated that parking was not possible and the next one did not indicate anything so we parked there.

Rocks at the Park

From there it was only a 5 to 7 minute walk to the trail. We asked the ranger at the tunnel entrance whether it was ok where we parked and he said that it was fine as long as we are not in the road.

Sometimes you really cannot be sure whether it is allowed to park at certain places.

Everything was set and so the hike could start. The uphill terrain was a mixture between red and yellow coloured soil and rocks. You could really feel the heat off the rocks.

Tree along the path

Along the path were several green trees and plants. The plants definitely made Zion different to Arches National Park which we visited some years ago. Arches did not have so much vegetation and was comparatively dry.

Certain unfenced parts made the hike feel like a little rock climb which was pretty cool. The trail can be easily hiked by someone with basic fitness level.

You just have to wear proper shoes and have enough water with you. There are always some rocks around to sit and rest. The trail was fairly busy and there was enough space to walk around.

Eventually we reached the viewpoint. You can see the Pine Creek Canyon and the lower Zion Canyon from there.

After the viewpoint we turned around and hiked back down the same way we came from. An hour’s hike was the perfect length of time for such a hot summer’s day and the viewpoint was worth all the effort.

Fees:

The entrance ticket is valid for 7 days (status Oct 2014): USD 25.00 per vehicle or USD 12.00 per person (for pedestrians, bicycle, motorcycle and organized groups).

Click here to visit the Zion National Park website

View Canyon Overlook

Fort Zion Virgin Trading Post Utah

On our drive along the Highway UT-9 from Zion National Park back to St George we also stumbled upon a quirky tourist attraction.

It is called the Fort Zion/Virgin Trading Post.

Fort Zion Virgin Trading Post Utah Souvenir Shop

As you drive along the road, you cannot miss it because of its colourful Western Town. It looked like a miniature movie set. Inside you can find a big souvenir shop, a restaurant and you can enter the Western Town including a petting zoo for USD 1.00.

Even though we didn’t enter the Western Town/petting zoo, it was still worth a short visit.

Location of Fort Zion:  1000 Utah 9, Virgin, UT 84779, USA

Fort Zion Virgin Trading Post Utah

The scenery along the UT-9 is amazing and before St George we did another stop. Just after Fort Zion we drove into an unpaved road (to the left about 3 minutes after Fort Zion).

The road leads to the Laverkin Overlook. Unfortunately there was an odd smell just at the overlook and so we quickly turned around. Just before we reached the main road UT-9, I (Kristin) took this beautiful shot of a canyon.

Details of location: Laverkin Overlook Rd, La Verkin, UT 84745, USA

Canyon along the road to Laverkin Overlook