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Photographers Guide to Zion National Park

Travel

How to see all the iconic spots in 2 days

Zion National Park has been on my bucket list for over five years. I was so hyped up about it that when I passed near it on my Great Western America Road Trip in 2022 I actually cut this OUT of the itinerary so I could make sure I had a proper amount of time to explore.

Zion is the second most visited National Park in the U.S., seeing over 4.3 million visitors a year and climbing! It’s no wonder it's so popular, what with its 232 square miles of sandstone canyons that are gorgeously split by the Virgin River. Not only can you hike up as high as you can handle and overlook the canyon, you can go down to water level and literally hike through the river into narrow slot canyons.

At Zion, there is something for everyone, but this blog is NOT for everyone. This blog is for photographers. Photographers, if you did not know, are NOT athletes or extreme hikers. I personally don’t feel compelled to hike 12 miles for sh*ts and giggles. No, I want the path of least resistance, the greatest reward balanced with the least labor. 

If that is the type of lazy photographer YOU are as well (or you have bad knees like I do), then this is the right blog for you. I personally spent two days in Zion, and after doing a ton of research, I was able to see many of the ‘vibes’ you expect from Zion without hiking for 10+ miles - heck not even 5 miles! There are some amazing spots to go to with much less effort, but in my opinion, they don't offer nearly as much reward for a photographer.

For your knowledge, Zion is essentially broken up into three sections. The western half is known as ‘Kolob Canyon’. The center is really the bread-and-butter of Zion, it is the main canyon everyone knows about and has the shuttle that takes you through the stops past all the iconic areas. Then, there is the eastern half through the tunnel.

While the center IS of course amazing, you do NOT want to neglect the western or eastern portions. In fact, those areas are significantly less trafficked but still offer amazing sights. 

With that background, let’s dive into the TOP FIVE spots you must see for Zion, with a few more smaller bonus spots at the end.

Zion Map and Current Alerts

Stop #9 - Temple of Sinawava / The Narrows

Difficulty 7/10 - 3.5mi Roundtrip

You’ll want to board the shuttle bus as early as you can and go ALL the way to the end of the line - stop #9. This takes you to one of the most iconic types of places to see in Zion - slot canyons where you hike through the river. Be warned in advance, this is an area where you CAN INDEED hike for MILES (like over 10 easily). This is also an area where, if you just keep going, you may need to navigate in water up to your NECK.

If you’ve heard of the iconic “Subway” trail (9 miles total) that is still on my bucket list - this is the closest alternative. While it doesn’t have the Subway formations, it DOES have the vibes of that trail (wadding through the river slot canyon).

But, you can also do what I did. You can ‘sample’ the region while avoiding both of those concerns. Don’t get me wrong, I kind of want to go back and devote a whole day to diving deeper into this one area. But for my two day trip, I did not go nearly that far but was still very happy with what I got to see.

You first walk from the parking lot on the “Riverside Walk”, a 1 mile paved trail. It then ‘ends’ right in the river. This is when you start wading through the river and the canyon narrows further and further. I personally went around ¾ of a mile into this section. It got up to my knees at the most. The area just beyond where I stopped went up mid-chest. Keep in mind, I was there in the fall during LOW water levels. I can’t emphasize enough, look online and check conditions as water levels can vary significantly throughout the year.

What is nice about this particular section is you very quickly get those ‘walking in the river in a narrow canyon’ Zion vibes without having to go crazy hiking. BUT you also CAN just ‘keep going’ as much as you want. Just don’t forget for every step forward, you’ll have to take it back at some point!

I’ll admit, when first walking through the river it felt like every step took FOREVER. But after a bit, you definitely get used to balancing. I highly recommend walking sticks, and honestly you can get waterproof gear up to your waist so you stay dry and warm. I embraced getting wet.

Waterfalls on Riverside Walk

Waterfalls on Riverside Walk

Entering the Narrows

Entering the Narrows

Narrows with Sunny Mountains

Narrows with Sunny Mountains

The Shuttle Bus Hits

Difficulty 1/10 - 0.2mi roundtrip

Now that you are at the end of the shuttle, there are a few iconic spots I recommend stopping on the way DOWN. What is nice is they are mostly roadside. This is a good way to spend the rest of Day 1 after doing Temple of Sinawava.

Stop #8 Big Bend - Directly overlooks the iconic 180 degree winding gorge area, from which you can see where the most popular hike leads to, Angels Landing. That is an intense hike up to the TOP, not for us today and it also happened to be closed when we went. 

Stop #4 Court of the Patriarchs - A short .1 mile (one way) winding path to an overlook of 3 cliffs named after old testament figures. It is also lined with cactus and just overall a nice little walk.

Stop #2 Human History Museum - Another spot that just gives great views 360 degrees of the canyon. Of course, the Museum itself is worthy of a peak.

Stop #1 Visitors Center - Last, you can end Day 1 (if you are matching my itinerary) checking out the goods at their Visitors Center.

Big Bend

Big Bend

Court Of The Partriarchs

Court Of The Partriarchs

Canyon Overlook Trail via Tunnel East Entrance

Difficulty 7/10 - 1.0mi roundtrip

I started Day 2 off VERY early, getting to this trailhead BEFORE sunrise. It is worth it. Not only is parking very limited here. If you get here through the tunnel, be warned it IS a long winding road and long tunnel and can be eerie at night. But it is perfectly well paved and perfectly safe if you are smart (no gravel or bumps or narrow roads or anything like that).

Just know, after doing this hike (and the following ‘Eastern Half’ section of this guide), you can enjoy this winding road and tunnel on the way BACK into Zion. Not only is the tunnel itself amazing, but the winding road down into Zion is amazing and has plenty of pull offs.

This trail is short at just 0.5mi to the destination. However, it is a lot of steep areas, steps, and narrow paths. So, I still rank it as hard as the Temple of Sinawava due to that difficulty. 

However, that is the exact reason this is ONE OF MY favorite things I did in Zion. If you had wanted to do something like ‘Angels Landing’ but realized that was much too intense - this is Angels Landing with Training Wheels. Seriously. You have a very cool hike winding directly along the sandstone up to a cliff edge that overlooks the entire canyon. It is absolutely stunning, and the journey itself is just about as amazing as the destination itself.

Pay attention on your left as you go and you may spot the openings INTO the Zion Tunnel itself. I thought that was super cool. And at the end, if you timed it right, you can enjoy sunrise overlooking Zion. This actually overlooks the winding road you took to get here.

Stunning Overlook - Your Destination!

Stunning Overlook - Your Destination!

Off Trail Views

Off Trail Views

Zion Tunnel from the Trail

Zion Tunnel from the Trail

Trail Walkways

Trail Walkways

Trail Panorama through Cave Nook

Trail Panorama through Cave Nook

Zion East Side

Difficulty 1/10 - 0.1mi

Again, we follow the difficult hike of the day with easy roadside adventures! After your hike, you are now in the eastern section of Zion I mentioned. From here, just follow the road further east and you will see ALL sorts of great pull offs and sights on this road (all the way up to the East Entrance Ranger Station). I don’t recommend passing THROUGH the station here, as getting back may have a line of traffic, and there isn’t a whole lot more to see east of there.

Some spots I particularly enjoyed were unmarked pull offs. First you will go through a short but beautiful little tunnel (kind of hard to miss). From there, one of the pull offs I enjoyed was at Many Pools Trailhead that gives great open views. Second was an unmarked pull off where you can have quite a bit of fun doing a short SHORT hike up the sandstone layers.

The last spot I enjoyed was Checkerboard Mesa View Area. By this point, you are close to that Ranger Station. This view offers a nice overlook of the entire eastern canyon and also those unique checkerboard formations.

From here, I drove ALL the way back through and out of Zion’s main entrance. It not only gives you a chance to view this eastern section from the opposite direction and enjoy the eastern tunnel and winding road in daylight, but if your lodging is in the central area (like Springdale) then this is by far the quickest route back as well.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to repeat or your lodging IS further east, you could keep going out east and around to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. I personally didn’t make it out here but did have it bookmarked as a fun place to explore (if you enjoy Sand Dunes).

Small Tunnel

Small Tunnel

Many Pools Trailhead

Many Pools Trailhead

Unmarked Pull Off

Unmarked Pull Off

This is the pull off I mentioned where you can climb some sandstone. This picture is NOT the one you CLIMB I promise. But right next to it is one that is only like a 20 degree slope. That's where you can explore the amazing detail of the sandstone layers.

Kolob Canyon (Western Zion)

Difficulty 1/10 - 0.1mi

Now, we can wrap up day two (or you can tag this onto Day 1 depending on your time as it IS isolated and not really ‘on route’ to the other areas). Time to head to the western half of Zion. Again, it is mostly a road trip adventure where you can simply pull off anywhere you want. We routed our way up to the Lava Point Overlook. While this destination does offer a nice view, it really doesn’t compare to what you’ve seen up to this point. I do also want to note the LAST mile of this is a rougher gravel road. Not terrible but not super great. But 95% of the route is nicely paved.

Honestly, if you are short on time, I would CUT this section or ONLY do the first 5-6 miles. Some of my favorite areas of this drive were in that first half (the entire route along ‘Kolob Canyon Road’ is about 22 miles, but it goes slow with stops and it is windy and uphill).

The route starts off right away with nice views to your left. Then right here you have a little strip where you wind on top of a very narrow area on both sides that was pretty cool. From there, you wind up into the mountains more aggressively and around here enter a very fun flat plateau region with cows by the spikey mountains.

Shack by Mountains

Shack by Mountains

Cows Grazing in Plateau

Cows Grazing in Plateau

Surreal Landscapes and Storms

Surreal Landscapes and Storms

Two Days and That’s a Wrap!

With that, you’ve gotten to see vibes of places like Angels Landing and The Subway without needing RARE permits and hiking 10+ strenuous miles! Instead, the Temple of Sinawava and Canyon Overlook Trail are your friendly 7/10 alternatives.

From there, there is SO much to explore just driving around the eastern and western halves and making use of all the roadside pull off spots.

But I am just one photographer doing my thing. If you’ve been to Zion and think I missed an easy, but stunning, spot to photograph, let me know in the comments!

About the Author

Nicholas Klein

Founder and visual artist, specializing in all aspects of a businesses presence from imagery and video to graphics and web. A graduate of IPFW with a Bachelor in Fine Arts, Concentration Photography as well as an Associates Degree in Business. His personal photography works are focused on landscape, travel, and aerial photography.