Hello. We are considering going to Zion natl park in early spring. Has anyone been? I can't get a clear idea of what the weather will be like. Also, my kids are 5 and 1. We'd like to go for walks and mellow hikes, ride bikes and sightsee.

Any thoughts on if this is a good time if year to go? Will we be able to find some kid friendly hiking?

Thank you,
Cheryl

I think it will be fine to visit then. Shouldn't be too hot. There are certainly some trails that are not too demanding either, and some that ARE. One of the really fun things is to hike up the slot canyon through the creek. You can rent boots for that. Edit: You'd have to "carry" the 1-yr old of course.

It's not my favorite Park (lots of people), but is spectacular in its own way. I liked Bryce Canyon and Arches National Monument much more.

- Jack

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It is good to have a goal in mind. This makes all the hrs ,of cleaning better with a planned trip in mind. Would you suggest she make reservations?

Oh definitely, if she plans to use the RV campground. The main one has electrical hookup in some of the spaces.

- Jack

Would you be able to provide her with a reservation # or web site. Perhaps you can point Cheryl in the right direction for a site map and info. on which sites are electric.

OK, here's the Park's webpage. It has all the information she needs for Watchman Campground: Zion National Park - Watchman Campground (U.S. National Park Service)

From there, she can find links to other camping areas. Watchman is the most "civilized".

- Jack

Cheryl Zion is a good place to camp with kids. Watchman is a very nice campground South is nice too but they allow generators. The shuttle started on April 1 last year and is a great way to get around the park. Especially with kids. We have taken it to the end and with a picnic strolled down the river. The road is empty when the shuttle is running and most folks don't hike between the stops. It should be quite warm too. The Virgin river will be cold with the runoff in the spring and you would not want to take a child on the narrows when it's running high. We have often gone in the Fall because it stays warm into November when the other parks are cold.
Bryce and Arches are great too as jack said and I would recommend them.
@ Jack have you gone to Capitol Reef NP? Highway 12 between Bryce and CRNP is spectacular. The campground at Fruita is like a park and the apples in the orchards are free. As attested too by the fat and happy deer. It is a nice palce to camp because most folks only stay a day on their way between Arches and Bryce. There is much to explore from the desert canyons to the streams and pondorosa pines on Boulder mountain.
The picture is Zion canyon in November.

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Thanks for the great info, and the links. It wasn't easy finding somewhere that we wouldn't have to worry too much about snow or rain. It seems like Zion is going to be perfect for us!

Jack and Janet, I can't help but think that we might enjoy Bryce or Arches more. I like areas with less people too and I went to Arches as a young child and it made such an impression on me. My 17 month old is just miserable in the car though. And I am sure you can guess what a miserable 17-mo old does.... Cries. A lot. Screams. A lot. Zion is about 8 hours from where I live and we are going to do it in two days, much of it at night while he sleeps. I don't want to go any further until he starts to have an easier time in the car.

Sam, it was better to clean the trailer with a trip in mind, that is for sure!

Rolff, glad to hear Watchman is nice. The sound of generators is really unpleasant to me. I'm glad they don't allow them there. I don't really care about having hook-ups for myself but I almost prefer to stay at places that have them just so I don't have to hear generators.

So, is it a tough drive to get there? A lot of tough grades or thin narrow roads? We will be driving from So. California. Will there be the chance of us having to drive through a snowy area to get there at that time of year?

Thanks!
Cheryl

ps - Great pic! I hope the trees are as pretty in the spring!

I have pictures of Zion park from 2004, I think. The camera I had then wasn't to good, slow shutter speed, if the camera wasn't held very steady pics were blurry, also detail wasn't to great and it took pics in Bitmap. I will convert to JPG and put in a PDF file, soon. I have none of the campground but think we had electric. Also some pictures were lost, due to a mistake on my part. 1999 laptop, small hard drive, deleted wrong folder, to make more room, had to use recovery software to restore pics.but some got overwritten before I discovered my mistake. More information than you probably wanted to know but I will post pics as soon as I can.

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I would suggest that the first time you go out that you have electric at your site. It makes life so much easier. Down the road you can boondock,dry camp.