Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993 TAG: 9301100160
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JEAN SIMMONS KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: MOUNT CARMEL, UTAH LENGTH: Long
ROCK STARS OF THE WEST
In one you feel like a pygmy; in the other you become a giant.Often lumped together, two national parks in southwestern Utah are completely different. Don't settle for one, thinking you've seen both.
Zion National Park is viewed primarily from the floor of the canyon; massive rock formations tower overhead, minimizing everything and everyone below them.
Bryce Canyon National Park, on the other hand, is seen from the rim of vast amphitheaters filled with free-standing spires, sculptured pinnacles and multicolored minarets; you are the master of the realm you survey.
Both parks lie off U.S. Highway 89, the logical route motorists would follow coming up from the Grand Canyon or Flagstaff, Ariz. The cutoff to Zion is at Mount Carmel Junction; Bryce is reached by Utah 12 about 42 miles farther north on U.S. 89.
Through a windshield is admittedly not the ultimate way to view the awesome rock formations of these parks, but many visitors lack the time or physical stamina to follow hiking trails into the back country for a more personal exhilaration.
Fortunately, a paved road penetrates a portion of Zion National Park and another skirts the magnificent vistas of Bryce Canyon, both allowing wonderful viewing, even for car-seat potatoes. Short strolls from parking areas bring rewards aplenty for the general sightseer.
Wheels are a near necessity, either one's own or by way of a guided tour, and not only for non-hikers but also to reach most of the trailheads. An open-air tram operates in Zion during the summer season, and a shuttle service is available to hikers. In Bryce a 1938 classic limo makes guided scenic tours.
Zion and Bryce are less than 75 miles apart by way of U.S. 89, a designated Scenic Byway, but to make a daylong side trip from one to the other is hardly feasible. Travel between them is beautiful but slow, even more so within the parks themselves.
Each park deserves to be a destination in itself, preferably for longer than the usual one-night stands. Both have fine accommodations within the park boundaries, although getting reservations can be a challenge. Zion in particular is heavily booked for next summer with some dates already sold out.
Summer is, of course, the high season, but spring and fall have their advantages - mostly in the way of fewer people and less traffic. While the parks and their National Park Service Visitor Centers are open all year, winter is for a different breed of traveler. Lodge facilities are available all year at Zion but only from May into mid-October at Bryce.
The same concessioner, TW Recreation Services Inc., operates the facilities at Zion and Bryce (as well as those on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon). Each park has a main lodge with complete dining facilities and interesting menus (alcoholic beverages available), a gift shop, post office and information services. Adjoining them are attractive motel-like rooms and cozy, well-equipped cabins. Rooms have two queen-size beds, phone, full bath and private porch; cabins feature a fireplace, phone, two double beds, carpeting, full bath and private porch. Just don't expect television.
Year-round Visitor Centers in both parks have full ranger services, museums and slide programs. Zion also has a second Visitor Center at Kolob Canyons in the northwest corner of the 226.8-square-mile park, accessible from Interstate 15 and about 40 miles from the South Entrance. Zion National Park
Space is limited and crowding a problem in Zion. More than 2.5 million people visited the park in 1991, most of them by motor. By the year 2000 as many as 4 million are anticipated. Talk and studies regarding a shuttle service to relieve the congestion are on-going, but funding remains the big obstacle.
Zion National Park
There are two main entrances into the congested Zion Canyon area, one from the south and the other from the east, both on Utah Highway 9, which becomes a park road as it cuts across the southeast corner.
Just outside the South Entrance and a couple of miles south of the Visitors Center is the town of Springdale, with all kinds of visitor facilities (bed-and-breakfasts, motels, restaurants, laundry facilities and more). Two campgrounds,where 218 sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis, lie between the entrance and the Visitors Center.
The East Entrance is about 12 miles off U.S. 89 from Mount Carmel Junction via Utah 9. From here the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, as the park road is called, proceeds 11 miles west to the Visitors Center, its principal feature being a mile-long tunnel cut through solid rock. Be forewarned that vehicles exceeding 7 feet, 10 inches in width or 11 feet, 4 inches in height are required to pay for an escort. The tunnel is followed by 3 1/2 miles of switchbacks that descend 800 feet into the canyon to the Virgin River.
Bear left to the Visitors Center for information on all aspects of a park visit, including back-country hiking, and for camping permits. Or turn north on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, which parallels the Virgin River and passes such formations as the Great White Throne and Angels Landing before terminating at the Temple of Sinawava. All this at an elevation of about 4,000 feet while the walls and monoliths tower to nearly 8,000 feet around you.
Of the dozen or more trails leading off this 13-mile round trip, the paved Gateway to the Narrows Trail is the most popular (more than a half million annually). From there the more active hiker can wade upstream several miles farther into a 20-foot-wide canyon wedged between 1,000-foot walls.
Midway up the Scenic Drive and among lush greenery (in season) lies Zion Lodge, which was built in the 1920s, burned in 1966, was hastily rebuilt in about 100 days and was restored to its original classic rustic exterior in 1990. The lodge, including the adjacent 120 rooms and cabins, has become a year-round operation. The large restaurant was refurbished in 1992 to its original ambience.
The lodge setting is especially wonderful in the early morning or late evening when the sun throws its rays on the colorful rocks above.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Except for Christmas Day, Bryce Canyon's Visitor Center with its natural history museum is open all year. But don't expect much more in the way of facilities. (Winter visitors will find all-year accommodations at the Best Western Ruby's Inn just outside the park.)
Entrance is at the northern end of the long, skinny national park, 14 miles east of U.S. 89. Bryce, with 56 square miles, is but a fourth the size of Zion and more of its wonders accessible to the motorist.
Here we are at 8,000 feet, the approximate height of the towering monoliths at Zion.
Bryce Amphitheater is the name given to the northernmost area, which includes Fairyland Point, the Visitor Center, North Campground, Sunrise Point, the Lodge, Sunset Campground, Inspiration Point, Bryce Point and Paria View, not to mention numerous trails of varying length, including a horse trail.
The main park road, open all year, goes almost 18 miles (35 miles round trip) to Yovimpa Point with a dozen overlooks for fantastic views of the colorful, ever-changing formations to the east.
During the lodge season, many visitors get their first awesome view of the rock sculptures by taking the short walk up to the rim at Sunset Point. They also can join the Rim Trail, rated easy to moderate, at this point or at other stops along the drive. The round-trip distance is 11 miles, taking four to five hours; between Sunset and Sunrise points, the trail is suitable for wheelchairs.
Many other hikes of from one to five hours leave from various points. In addition there are back-country hikes taking one to three days that are regarded as strenuous. In most cases, the return is uphill. Several of the trails are said to be extremely difficult to locate in winter, when the snowfall averages 95 inches.
For added enjoyment of your visit, I recommend you spend $2.95 for The Bryce Canyon Auto and Hiking Guide, published by the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association; it is beautifully illustrated and well written.
Bryce Canyon Lodge underwent a $2 million restoration in 1989 to restore the main building, one of the few remaining original national park lodges, to its 1930s appearance and to upgrade all facilities. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available from late April through mid-October. Motel facilities become available April 15 and cabins on May 1. Bryce is less heavily booked than Zion.