November 18, 2020
We are staying at Zion Lodge, so after a quick breakfast, we headed out to do the trails closest to the lodge, The Kayenta Trail with stop-offs at the three Emerald Pools. It is fall, so the colors are spectacular. The Cottonwoods turning their fall yellow is breathtaking.
The elevation at Zion National Park goes from 3666 to 8726 and it sits on the edge of the Colorado Plateau making its geology light-years away from Bryce. Two million years of the Virgin River flowing through the canyon carving into two Jurassic formations, the Kayenta Formation and the Navajo Sandstone, created a labyrinth of canyons. Zion also sits between two active faults.
Zion is Hebrew for “a place of sanctuary and tranquility”, it was given the name by Mormon pioneers in the 1860s
As the west was expanding, it was difficult to get to this area due to the lack of roads. Around 1910, when old wagon roads were upgraded automobiles started arriving in this area, the road into Zion Canyon was built in 1917.
The park was established in 1919 with a proclamation by President Taft, at the time is was called Mukuntuweap National Monument. In 1917, the acting director of the newly created National Park Service visited the canyon and proposed changing its name to Zion.
The Zion Lodge complex was built in 1925 designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood in a rustic architectural style.
In 1920, 3,692 people visited Zion. In 2019 it was over 4.4 million. Even during COVID in November the park is full, and the lodge is sold out
Here are some more shots from today’s hike.
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