For those of you that like me love vacationing in a spot of jaw-dropping beauty and like to be active I would like to share one of my all-time favorites with you: Zion National Park in Utah USA.
This is actually my first post here, so perhaps a short introduction is in order as well: I am Pauline, a mountain fanatic born in a completely flat country (Netherlands). Therefore I try to go into the mountains as often as possible and would like to share some of my trips with you! All picture are made by myself.
Zion
Zion is a canyon cutout from sandstone and an oasis of plants and animals in the otherwise quite dry state of Utah. What makes Zion so special is the different colors going on: the soft reddish of the sandstone, the vibrant green of the plants and the burst of colors at sunset. Best thing is you can camp in Zion so no need to spend time getting there, just get up and go. Zion is a heaven for climbers, but also people that love hiking will find a lot of fun here.
As you can see the river has cut a deep canyon in the mountains. If you are up for a bit of a rest you can walk in the valley by the river, but the best views are from the top of course.
Angel's Landing
The most well-known hike of Zion is Angel's Landing, so called because well when you get to the top you pretty much feel like you landed on earth's sweet spot. It is important to realize though that Angel's Landing is not for the faint of heart and requires decent fitness. To get to the top of the cliff you must make a steep ascent next to often large drops. We went with three girls (me and two trail friends) two of us pushed on, one decided to turn back because of the exposure.
Here you can see it is a pretty steep start to the route, but this path is well-maintained and well used. Even if you don't want to do the last scary bit this path is worth getting the view over the canyon.
This is the final part to the landing. As you can maybe see it does have some iron chains that you can hold, you are however not secured to the rock. But man does it pay off to get there! You might be able to tell from my happy face haha I felt pretty on top of the world!
It takes about 4 hours to get up and back from the start of the trail. Make sure to bring enough water: it gets dry and hot. Also really keep an eye out for the weather, you do not want to be caught out by a thunderstorm on a super exposed rock! The National Park service gives an overview of other possible hikes as well here I would recommend camping in the park, the campsites are well maintained, bring you close to the action and you get to sleep in this amazing nature!