Day 17 - Zion National Park

There are some great hikes to choose from in Zion National Park and we realised we were going to struggle to fit all the ones in that we wanted to do in the short time we had there.  One of the travel books I'd been using to plan our trip suggested the hike to Observation Point, this was also mentioned on many websites and blogs as a top walk so that was a must-do.  We were also keen to hike Angels landing.  We figured that the Observation Point Hike would take a lot longer as we also wanted to incorporate Hidden Canyon and the Weeping Rock, so we decided to do that on the first day and planned to do Angels Landing the following day as we would need to leave the area by early afternoon to move onto the next stop.

We drove into the park nice and early and caught the shuttle bus to stop 7 for our hike to Observation Point. 

It was quite cold but soon warmed up as we got walking.  The walk is described as strenuous but we found it easy and didn't need to stop at all, we passed a few people on the way that seemed to be struggling.  It's nice to know that all the walking has helped us get fit as one time I know I'd have really struggled too.

Weeping Rock

The walk is one of the most scenic we have done, the colours of the rock are amazing and the leaf colours changing with autumn are simply stunning.

We particularly enjoyed the walk through the Echo Canyon, every corner we turned there was something else to marvel at. 

Once we reached Observation Point we spent a while taking photos and enjoying the view before heading back down again. 

We detoured to the Hidden Canyon on the way which was fantastic, I loved the perilous ledge path and once we'd explore the canyon we headed back down to the bus. 

We were keen to visit Menu falls and do the virtual but the bus didn't stop there so we walked the half mile or so down the road until we reached the secret path.  After this we walked down to the next stop and arrived just in time to get the shuttle bus back to the visitor centre.

Then off for a meal at our hotel and an early night ready for an early start tomorrow.