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).

- – - – - – - -

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

Zion National Park - Centennial Celebration

—————

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.

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.

— End —

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/

—–  End  —–