Thanksgiving in Zion and Bryce – Better Than the Grand Canyon!

Bryce canyon. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

By Jennifer Schlueter

When my friend Lena asked me if I wanted to accompany her to Zion National Park, I had to look up where it was and if it was worth a trip. After seeing pictures online, my decision was clear: Absolutely! Since she had friends in Salt Lake City, we would add two days there and, thanks to a recommendation, one day in Bryce National Park.

We expected the drive to St. George, (a small town close to Zion, about 2 hours north-east from Vegas) to be about five hours and 30 minutes, but LA traffic turned it into an 11 hour drive filled with our singing to *NSYNC, Destiny’s Child, and the Backstreet Boys, and indulging in English toffee, German Pfeffernuesse, and popcorn – something had to keep us awake, right? The one hour time change made us arrive at almost 2 a.m. at the Coronada Inn. Lena’s friends John and Beth had arrived hours before and had already slept when we woke them up to get into our hotel room (by the way, 2 nights, 2 hotels, 4 people, cost us only $27 total!). That night I did not sleep because of loud snoring.  Furthermore, the air was so dry that we woke up coughing.  All in all, it was much too cold for someone who is accustomed to the LA climate.

Zion National Park. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

Our hotel offered us healthy treats such as fresh waffles, cereal, white bread with jelly, and orange juice for breakfast, on which we feasted before we took off to Zion. Instead of being smart and parking one of our cars outside of the park, we took both cars and paid separately even though we all could have just paid for one pass. The nice lady at the entrance gave us a map where everything (free shuttle transportation, hikes and their difficulty, history etc.) was described.

You start off at the Visitor Center, where the shuttles with nice and knowledgeable drivers take you to different stops within the canyon from where you can hike various trails with magical names like the Weeping Rock, Emerald Pools, or Angels Landing. We started at the very end of the canyon, at the Riverwalk that took us to the so-called Narrows, where the river flows through a narrow rock formation. In the summertime, you can walk through the river.

The Riverwalk through Zion canyon. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

Next, we hiked up the hill on the Emerald Pools trail with the lower, middle, and upper pool – several small lakes and waterfalls – and descended on the Kayenta trail, which – out of the three – was the one with the very best views:

These three hikes were enough for us on this cold Thanksgiving day, and because we did not want to miss dinner at a place we had researched beforehand, we left to our next motel in Panguitch. The drive took us about one hour and 30 minutes through Zion and later through the mainly flat, snow-covered landscape of Utah, which is – surprising to me – full of German bakeries that I wish I could have tried, but, unfortunately, everything was closed due to the holiday.

The Riverwalk through Zion canyon. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

At the Blue Pine Motel we were greeted by a very friendly receptionist.  We then dropped off our stuff in our cozy room before leaving to Ruby’s Inn by Bryce to enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner. The line was long and the restaurant was packed because the Inn was one of the few places offering Thanksgiving dinner for travelers. The buffet displayed typical Thanksgiving dishes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, etc. for only $20!

Exhausted from hiking and in a food coma, all of us fell asleep early. Again – a night with almost no sleep. The snoring was the least of my problems this time… The heater was on blast and all of us were sweating, but turning it off in the icy weather, barely over 0°F, would have meant freezing (to death). So, we ended up increasing the motel’s electricity bill for the night running the heater AND the AC simultaneously (which finally accounted for a comfortable sleeping temperature).

The Kayenta trail at Zion. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

The next morning, we woke up to a two-inch snow blanket and I quickly began to panic about how we would drive our California rental, which was obviously unequipped with winter tires, to Salt Lake City later that day. Everyone calmed me down and said that it would all melt by the afternoon (I recognized that I had officially become more Californian than German).

Fortunately, John and Beth drove their car to Bryce, and Lena and I tagged along since they had been there before. At Bryce, we also went in with a pass and received a map, but this time, we were able to drive around in our own car instead of shuttles. This was great because it was freezing outside and my California-weather hiking shoes did not quite keep my feet warm.

Zion canyon. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

John took us to different viewpoints named Sunrise and Sunset, but the best one was the Inspiration Point. After a short walk on a trail with lots of snow and no guardrails, we made it to a stunning view overlooking much of this impressive canyon:

After Bryce, we drove to Salt Lake City, spent two wonderful days in one of its suburbs, and drove 12 hours back to LA thanks to Thanksgiving traffic.

For more trips and travel inspiration, visit travelorette.wordpress.com.

Trail to Inspiration Point at Bryce canyon. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

8 Quick Tips for Travelers:

-If you go to more than three parks a year, buy the annual pass.
-You can upgrade your day pass to an annual pass up until seven days after purchase.
-For the passes, you pay $30 (as of Dec. 2015) per car. If you have four people with two cars, park one car outside.
-If you are on a budget, do not stay directly in the canyons, but a 10 or 20 minute drive away.
-If you leave from California, make sure you have winter tires; you never know when you will find yourself in a snowstorm during (Utah, not California) winter months.
-Do not think you will not be cold (as a Californian or acclimated Californian).
-Check for flood warnings, snow, and other weather extremes.
-The parks are absolutely kid-friendly and all kids we encountered loved climbing and exploring.

Bryce canyon. – Photo by Jennifer Schlueter

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