Grand Canyon etc. Day 3: Scout Lookout, Emerald Pools, Zion 🚙 Bryce Canyon

For day three of our Grand Canyon etc., we hiked in Zion and then drove to Bryce Canyon.

Zion Hiking

One of the big attractions of Zion National Park is a high summit with steep, narrow and, at times, chain-assisted passages with drop-offs on either side. It’s so popular that you need a permit obtained through a lottery system. Our family had 7 people wanting to go, but we’re only able to get 6 permits. I volunteered to skip Angels Landing so Megan and my son could experience it, but I wanted to hike with them until the final permit-only section just in case someone changed they or mind.

The approach to Angels Landing ends at an overlook called Scout Lookout. Hiking to that point alone is a strenuous 4-mile out-and-back, and we decided that it was best for the nieces to not attempt it. We ended up forming three groups. Group A was the 6-person Angels Landing group. Group B was my mom, one of the nieces, and me. Our goal was to hike to Scout Lookout and then form a plan once we knew for sure who the Angels Landing crew was. Group C’s plan was to hike the Emerald Pools trails which are only rated as moderate. We would all meet back at the Visitor’s Center.

The hike up to Scout Lookout was indeed strenuous. It was steep and winding. I felt reassured that my daughter went with Group C. No one in Group A changed their mind by the time we got to Scout Lookout, so Group B stayed together. We hiked a little farther on the West Rim Trail before hiking back down to the trailhead.

The sun crests over desert mountains with a lush valley in the distance below. — The view from Scout Lookout

The niece with us was tired of hiking, so we split up again. She would go with my mom and do less demanding activities. I decided to crank out the emerald pools. The map seemed to indicate that I could make a little lollipop route out of the middle and lower pool trails.

I hiked the Kayenta Trail to the Middle Emerald Pools Trail to the Middle Emerald Pool. It was so underwhelming I wasn’t convinced I was in the right place. I continued on to the Upper Emerald Pools Trail. This section was steep, and by this time it was really hot. Thankfully the Upper Pool was more picturesque. I hike back down to the Middle trail, which continued on, but no signposts indicated that it would loop back to the lower trail. I continued on for almost a mile before reaching the junction. I headed back on the Lower Emerald Pools Trail and saw the Lower pools which were the biggest and most vegetative of the three. I then hiked back out on the Kayenta Trail.

I was the last one to get back to the Visitor’s Center, but I enjoyed my solo adventure.

Zion to Bryce Canyon

After the hikes we drove to Bryce Canyon. I was surprised the route took us through Zion instead of back out our familiar entrance. The drive was incredible.

We exited the park through the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, a small mile-long tunnel through the mountain. Exiting on the other side revealed rock formations with patterns we hadn’t seen yet.

It seemed every few twists and turns revealed new rock shapes, colors, and markings. We saw bighorn sheep and the Checkerboard Mesa, a mesa with horizontal banding snd vertical fissures. After a while the terrain opened up and the plant life increased.

Four bighorn sheep cross a road. A car is stopped for them. The terrain across the road is red stone with a striped pattern. — Bighorn sheep crossing the road just outside of Zion National Park.

We checked in at our hotel, did an e-bike recon trip, and then ate dinner at Bryce Canyon Pines Restaurant. After dinner the kids swam in the hotel pool while the adults formulated a plan. I went for a run to Bryce Canyon National Park and back.