Dual Waterfalls in Zion National Park

Zion National Park has been eroded and shaped by the constant effects of water moving over the soft sandstone formations.   Melting snow or rain storms are most prominent in the spring-time and this leads to opportunities to view some magnificent waterfalls within the park.   Zion National Park is actually a large plateau where deep canyons have been carved into the plateau.   The plateau gathers snow and rain and then funnels the resulting water flow down, sometimes into narrow canyons commonly referred to as slot canyons.  As water gathers from multiple points on the plateau, it gathers force and often jettisons itself out over the edge of the plateau before gravity grabs hold and curls the force of water downward.

With so many gathering points along the top of Zion, waterfalls may often be seen at nearly every turn.   This only occurs during days of strong snow-melt or during a heavy rain-storm.   So count yourself lucky if you are in Zion National Park when these events occur.    The water from these falls funnel down to gathering points on the valley floor where they flow eventually into the Virgin River.  The Virgin River is the main water flow through the Narrows of Zion and this river continues through the park, out past the towns of Springdale, Rockville, Virgin and on to Hurricane, St. George and eventually to the Colorado River.

Waterfall from a slot canyon at Zion National Park

Flash Floods: With so many narrow slot canyons in Zion National Park, the fast gathering water has no outlet and walls of water will come raging down a slot canyon at a rapid rate and at heights that can exceed 40 feet.   This is a rare occurrence but one that you do not want to witness from the bottom of a slot canyon.   So on rainy days, be sure to stay out of slot canyons.   Also be wary of strong increases in temperatures on spring days when melting snow can quickly gather water in large amounts.

Guided slot canyon trips: Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort offers guided canyoneering adventures into area slot canyons.   Click here for more details.

Bring your camera: The waterfalls in Zion National Park are a spectacular sight and you’ll want to shoot plenty of photographs.   You’ll find that spring-time is remarkably scenic with the blooming flowers and budding trees.   Combine this with the waterfalls, and occasional views of wildlife and you’ve got some great compositions and colors for beautiful photographs.

View of Zion National Park main canyon

1- Center of Scenic Wonders:   Zion National Park is located in an area that offers the greatest concentration of natural scenic wonders in the United States (perhaps the world).  Try to identify an area that has more national parks, along with numerous national monuments, state parks, forests, lakes and rivers, all within a one-day drive.   In fact, within two hours of Zion National Park you’ll find Grand Canyon, Lake Powell (Glen Canyon, Grand Staircase National Monument, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, and there’s more.

Hiking in Zion National Park

2- Trip Advisor #1 Rated:   Trip Advisor recently rated Zion National Park as the #1 National park destination in the United States, even over the Grand Canyon.   There may be several reasons for this, but Zion is much easier to access and to experience than the Grand Canyon, and frankly the views are more beautiful.   Is the Grand Canyon also great?  You bet, that’s why it is rated #2.

3- World Class Hiking:   There are miles and miles of trails to hike in Zion.  Many of these trails have been paved for the comfort and access of everyone, even handicapped individuals.  There are also many unpaved back-country trails to access.   You have your choice of easy walking trails to strenuous ascents that lead to incredible views.   But even the person who seeks a casual walk to get a great view will enjoy the easy trail to Canyon Overlook, just above the Zion tunnel.   The walk into the Zion Narrows is rated one of the best hiking experiences in the world and Angels Landing trail is just as magnificent.  The adventurous person will enjoy Canyoneering in Zion National Park

Moon Over Zion National Park

4- Weather:  The base of the main canyon in Zion National Park sits at 4,000 feet above sea level, and this elevation makes for cool mornings and evenings in the summer and mild winters.   Zion is spectacular in winter months and the views of formations are even more visible without the leaves on the cottonwood trees along the Virgin River.   It rarely rains in Zion and skies are blue and vivid over 300 days per year.   But if it does happen to rain while you are there, count yourself lucky, because you are likely to see 20 or more waterfalls cascading over the canyon walls.   Zion Ponderosa Ranch resort sits on the eastern border of the park at an elevation of 6,500 feet.   Summer nights are beautiful here and you’ve never seen more stars in the sky than above Zion Ponderosa.

5- Size:  Zion is large enough that you can find a quiet spot for yourself, even in the busy summer months.  Just do a little research or ask our guides about the secret places where few people ever go.   Zion National Park is 30 miles in length and over 15 miles across at its widest point.

Canyoneering in Zion National Park

Canyoneering:

Most people have never heard the term canyoneering.    In fact the dictionary doesn’t even recognize the name.   So what does it mean?   Essentially canyoneering is the art or experience of exploring and traveling through canyons.   The similar term of canyoning is used outside the United States to describe this experience.

Wading through pools of water in slot canyon

Canyoneering participants are most often walking, down-climbing (sometimes with ropes) and negotiating technical obstacles in canyons that often contain flowing water or in some cases, remnant pools of rainwater.    With these pools and/or waterfalls, there is often also the need to swim.

There are few places in the world that offer a more magnificent canyoneering opportunity than Zion National Park.  If fact, look-up canyoneering in Wikipedia and the first photo you’ll see (10-16-09) is one of Mystery Canyon in Zion National Park.

Why is canyoneering in Zion National Park so unique? The answer is that the canyons in Zion are comprised of sandstone that has been stained by oxidizing iron.   The many hues of white, ochre and red sandstone provide a colorful experience not found, in such abundance, anywhere else in the world.   Mix in the pine trees, scrub-oak and cottonwood trees that cling to the rock crevices and line the canyons, the blue-sky far overhead, and you have an remarkable color palette.

Some canyoneering experiences require many rappels (with ropes), and therefore also necessitate that at least one or two people in the group have strong skills with rappelling.   The good news is that Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort offers skilled guides to take you on a canyoneering adventure, so that you won’t need to acquire rappelling knowledge.    There are canyons to explore that require just the ability to scramble over or down obstacles or rocks that are 10 to 20 feet high.   In these cases, a simple strong rope and some basic skills and agility will suffice.

Gazing up at the sot canyon walls that rise vertically to great heights

Zion National Park offers some of the world’s best slot canyons for canyoneering exploration.   Places such as The Narrows, The Subway, Orderville Canyon, Mystery Canyon, Englestead Canyon and others offer various levels of adventure and challenge.

In Zion National Park it is often best to start at the top of the canyon and hike down.   Zion Ponderosa offers shuttles to pick you up at the end of your canyoneering adventure.   You may also choose to enter the Narrows from the bottom and walk up-river as far as you choose and then turn around and come back down.   With this method you can leave a car outside the park and return via Zion National Park shuttle (during main season).

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Visit our canyoneering page by clicking here to learn more about the special slot canyon adventures that we offer.

Zion National Park lodging choice over a hotel or motel

This post is an explanation of why selecting Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort as your Zion National Park lodging experience is the right decision.   First let’s review the lodging options at Zion Ponderosa.

1- Camping / RV Park. We have many guests who would rather bring their RV or tent and stay with us because of the full package of dining and activities we also provide.

2- Cowboy Cabins. These inexpensive cabins will sleep up to six and are the equivalent of staying in a Zion National Park motel except that the bathrooms and showers are in nearby facilities, but all cabins have a front porch for enjoying our beautiful mornings and evenings.

3- Cabin Suites. These nicer cabins will also sleep 6 and are the equivalent of staying in a Zion National Park hotel, but you have your own place with with full bathrooms, air conditioning and a great view from your own front porch.

View from the porch of a cabin suite near Zion National Park

4- Vacation Homes. We have 20 different vacation home rentals (cabin style) which are generally the equivalent of staying in a deluxe Zion National Park hotel suite.   There are many sizes, and varying degrees of amenities.  Just pick the one that suits your needs.   These are great for groups of friends or families who want to be together.   These can be quite economical when spreading the cost over a larger group.

So there a simple overview of why Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort is the choice when selecting your place to stay for Zion National Park lodging, hotels, motels and resorts.

What other reasons can we offer for choosing us as your Zion National Park hotel, motel or lodging option?

a- Dining. During the main season we offer excellent fine dining at the Blue Belly Grill.   Our guest rave about this fine dining experience.   It makes their choice for Zion National Park lodging even easier.    Through all the months we are open, we all offer buffet and À la Carte dining at Gus & Rosey’s Buffet.   The quality of this option is also excellent.

Two-tierred swimming pool - gravity edge at Zion Ponderosa

b- Activities. When you’re choosing your Zion National Park hotel or lodging, you really want to have options for things to do.  Consider, as compelling evidence, our large two-tierred gravity edge swimming pool and a host of other activities such as horseback riding, ATV tours, climbing wall, zip-line, paintball, rifle range, and more.    At Zion Ponderosa we offer more on-property activities than any place in Utah.   We even offer some excellent packages that make these activities quite inexpensive.

c- Proximity. Our location on the border of Zion National Park and just 75 minutes from Bryce Canyon National Park, makes us a convenient place to unpack once and spend many days.   The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument begins just 25 minutes away.  We are situated on the upper side of Zion National Park among the Ponderosa Pines at 6,000 feet and just minutes from the official east gate of Zion National Park.

So this provides just a few clear reasons why choosing Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort as your Zion National Park lodging is the right choice.   We invite you to call and ask questions about availability and the many reasons whey you’ll enjoy staying with us.   800-293-5444

Bighorn Sheep - Zion National Park - Near Zion Ponderosa

Bighorn Sheep peering over cliff edge - Zion National Park

Drive through the upper east-side of Zion National Park and it is not uncommon to come across one or two bighorn sheep.   In some cases you may get lucky and find a larger group of them foraging along the cliff-faces or within the confines of a lush alcove where the dining is best. 

Bighorn sheep were re-introduced to Zion National Park in the 1970’s.   Their is plenty of evidence that the desert bighorn sheep inhabited this area anciently but for many reasons the species did not survive.   Just 12 bighorn sheep were brought into the park and now their numbers range over 150. 

The picture to the left shows several bighorn sheep at the top of a cliff.   This picture was taken with a zoom lens of these animals that were sitting 500+ feet above the main road in the park.     These animals frequently move up and down the cliff-faces in Zion National Park to spend time on the upper plateaus or down in the canyons foraging for food.  

They are often hard to spot since they will frequently stand very still.   Their color helps them to blend in with the rocks, so in order to spot bighorn sheep you’ll either want to spend some time scanning the cliffs and looking for the tell-tale shapes of these animals.   You may get lucky and find them close to the road on the upper east-side of Zion.

If you happen to catch the bighorn sheep moving up or down a cliff-face, count yourself lucky.  Stop your vehicle or pause on your hike and spend some time watching them.   You’ll be amazed at their ability to negotiate what often appears to be a sheer vertical face on one of the formations within Zion.    Not only are these animals agile, but they are also very fast and, when necessary, they can travel at significant speeds across the rocky terrain of the park.  

These animals cover a lot of ground in any given day and range inside and outside the boundaries of the park.   If you are able to view the animals at a closer distance (often with zoom lens or binoculars) you will see that their hind-quarters protrude significantly beyond their rear legs.   This appears to act as a counter balance to their body movement and allows them to sit back on their haunches as they move down a cliff.

Bighorn Sheep - Ram - Feeding on brush in thicket - Zion National Park

One friend of mine indicated that, while hiking in the park, he came across a mother and baby on a narrow ledge trail.   The mother realized that she and the baby had no course but to go down a steep rocky face to a larger ledge 30 feet below.   The mother sat back on her haunches and slid down the face with hooves clattering until she reached the larger ledge.    The baby sat hesitantly calling out to mom for reassurance and finally followed suit.   I imagine it was the first time the baby had done that and, like many youngsters, may have wanted to try it again. 

So now that you know a little more about the bighorn sheep in Zion National Park, grab your long-lens camera or binoculars and enjoy some time spotting these magnificent creatures.

Zion National Park - Centennial Celebration

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A rodeo begins at 8:00 p.m. followed by a barn dance at 8:30 p.m.   ”Two Much Fun” is the featured band for the barn dance.    Tickets are $21.50 for adults and $10.00 for children 12 and under.  

Employees of Zion National Park will receive a discount.  

For details contact the resort at 800-293-5444.

Guests at Zion Ponderosa helped to raised money to fight Leukemia

Last week, through various activities hosted by Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort, we and our guests were able to raise $1,282.00 for the fight against Leukemia.   Our resort sponsored a number of activities including a 5K walk/run to raise monies for Leukemia treatment, prevention and research.

A morning view of the main canyon of Zion National Park

This year, as a national attraction, Zion National Park is 100 years old.   Zion was established as Mukuntuweap National Monument by President William Taft on July 31, 1909.    While various activities are occuring throughout this centennial year, on July 31 of this year there are several small activities slated to occur within the park.  

An additional recent cause for celebration is the announcement of a new commemorative stamp for Zion National Park.  This is just the second time that a stamp has been created for Zion National Park.   

Zion National Park Stamp

Come see why Zion National Park was set aside 100 years ago as a national treasure.   We invite you to spend some time with us at Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort.

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Panorama View of one section in Zion National Park

One traveler made these comments about Zion National Park:  “The stunning red monoliths and canyons of the park invite visitors to explore its beauty by camping, biking, touring by car, hiking, and more. Adventurous travelers can embark on the exciting Angel’s Landing hike and the views make the daring climb well worth it. It’s the best view in the entire park, and best hike I have ever done! Do not miss it!”

From our 4,000 acre ranch that borders Zion National Park you can see portions of the canyons that make up this spectacular destination.   The exciting thing for visitors to Zion Ponderosa is that our location on the east-side of Zion brings you closer for day-trips to Bryce Canyon National Park (75 minutes), the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (25 minutes), the Grand Canyon North Rim (2 hours) and even Lake Powell (110 minutes).  

Views over Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort toward Zion National Park

Read more about the top-ten rankings of national parks in this story - http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/tripadvisor/37961/

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