Zion National Park, Utah???

I will be going there for 5 days. Has anyone gone? Can you suggest any beauitful places to go see? I would love to see some pictures from you trip. Thanks

I recently came back from my Zion and Bryce trip. I am working on my pictures and I hope my first web gallery will be done in a couple of weeks or so.

What are you looking for specifically? Though I am far from an expert on Zion, I might be able to give you some pointers. When are you going?

BTW: My family and I loved the place!

One of my favorite NPs. See the Landscape gallery under Portfolio on my site for stuff I've taken over the last couple of years (pre-Canon, so all were on a Nikon P&S).

With 5 days there you can see most everything. In the main canyon my favorites are the Emeral Pools trail--be sure to go all the way to the third one, Weeping Rock, and Scout's Lookout/Angel's Landing. The last is most of a day & Angel's Landing is not for the faint of heart (believe the sign that warns of a strenuous hike--they are NOT kidding)--but it's worth it. Make sure to go to the east side & hit Kolob Canyon as well since you have many days.

Once I get set up with the WA and good tripod setup, I really want to get back up to Angel's Landing again.

BTW, you should be able to go any time you want, you're so close. I can make a weekend trip of it (passing through your town before lunchtime on the way).

I love that area. Two dear friends live there. If I were going, I would take some dust precautions for lenses, and then polarizers. Things are extremely bright in open sky, however if you get to walk into some of the openings of the rocks, beautiful shapes and patterns appear, but you may have to deal with the reflection. I would recommend shooting RAW or bracketing. And I agree, you have all you need. Oh, battery power, make sure you have plenty or a charger nearby, and lots of memory space. You will like it.

My family went many years ago, we hiked up one of the harder trails to a high mountain. It took about 3 hours. From one top to another there is a ridge that is abour 12 inches wide and you only hold onto a rope to guide you. I didn't go, but stayed in a rest area. My husband went all the way he could. It was so quiet up there. All the trails are well maintained. The views on the top are wonderful. The guides have a choice of many levels of hiking up. We did one of the harder ones. My husband says they have some trails that are prone to flash floods when it rains. So, if you are adventurous, take the road less traveled. We have a poster of "the Patriarchs" in our family room. We didn't get up there, but that view is wonderful.

It's been really hot in UT lately. Make sure you have plenty of water, it's also very dry. I would take a circular polarizing filter because you'd want something to help out with contrast.

I live very near Zion N.P. and hike and visit there almost every weekend. Five days will be alot, though, just for Zion. I'd look into visiting Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon and maybe the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Let me know when you're coming and I can give you some better advise. We vacation in the area in mid-late Sept to take advantage of lower temps, fewer people and spectacular Fall colors a bit to the North.

Here's a link to some of my pictures, POTN has made me want reorganize them so it's a work in progress. Many to post, also. http://winpics.fototim​e.com

I'm not much help with equipment, I pretty much just take pictures and do a minimum amount of PP. I have not used a polarizer up to this point.

In a year and a half we've only missed hiking/Jeepin' on one weekend.

Have fun,
Win

There are some places that allow you to drive an SUV very close on a rim. That is something to consider.

In Zion you're actually in the Canyon not at the rim, I don't think there is a viewpoint you can drive to. There is an area called Toroweap that you access over a 60 mile dirt road and that puts you right on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Spectacular!

I want to recommend a book for anyone coming here. this book has tips on places that most people would never find on their own. I use it alot.:

"Photographing the Southwest" Vol 1 Second Edition by Laurent Martres. I have absolutely no stake in anything to do with this book, it just rocks!

Have fun,
Win

claudermilk what is your website?
WIN, great shots my favorites are #1 and #7. I want to find a place like the water you were in.

I have 5 GB of memory and an electric camp site so I can recharge every night.

I am looking for some waterfalls if there are any. I would love to try with star shots (never atempted any tips?) and maybe some wildlife if I see any. I am not a fan of the desert atmosphere but I think there will be better then Vegas, but nothing like the Smokey's.

I am aware of dust precaution, I live in Vegas.

When I visited Zion a couple of years ago, I thought the Zion Narrows were awesome (but challenging) for photography. That's where the river cuts through a very deep and narrow canyon. You can walk the whole thing from top to bottom - I think it takes about 12 hours - but that's not necessary to get an appreciation for it. You can very easily walk in from the bottom and just turn round when you get bored.

The challenging bit is because of the variation in light levels. Most of the Narrows are in deep shade because the walls are so steep, but (depending on the angle of the sun etc.) you can get some very bright patches. And the sky can be pretty bright too. I wasn't terribly happy with the shots I got, because of this. If I were going again I'd bracket the exposures like mad.

I found where the the White Rim Trail is at Canyonlands. The lady I spoke to about this got her canyons a little mixed up. She said it was at Zions. This is the site:

http://www.earthroamer​.com/galleries/200205w​hiterim/

It's supposed to be amazing. If you have time, that may be a place to consider. Bryce is wonderful, I have film pictures of that. The time we went to Zion's all my Kodak film was bad and none of the pictures turned out. We ended up buying a poster just for fun and that's what we have from that trip that was good. I was depressed for weeks!

Thanks for the kind words.

If you're coming between now and mid-Oct definetly look into hiking the Narrows. You can rent shoes and hiking sticks right outside Zion, you'll need a stick for sure. Check at the Vistors Center for weather conditions. You enter this hike from the last stop on the shuttle, Temple of Sinawawa, take the River Walk to the end and enter the river there. I've only gone as far in as Orderville Canyon which enters on the right, about 1 1/2 hours up stream. Try to do this hike early, the river gets really crowded and loud later in the AM! We've done it twice and are in the river before 7 AM.

There are very few water falls in Zion after the snow melts or unless it rains. If you want to escape the desert heat for a day, consider the Cedar Breaks area. There is a great litttle hike called "Cascade Falls" off RT 14 by Navajo Lake. The temperature will be 25 degrees cooler than the Zion area. Go to Cedar Breaks N.M., a smaller version of Bryce. From there take the road toward Brianhead, you'll see a road to the right which goes up on a mountain, great views from 11,000 ft. Usually alot of Marmots running around the rocks. You get to Cedar Breaks by either going up RT 15 to Cedar City or go out the East side of Zion and go North on Rt 89 to Rt 14.
This is a day trip from Zion, I'm up in that area all Summer to escape the heat!

Get a good map of Utah, I'm liking the one put out by Benchmark, it shows all the Scenic Backways and Byways.

Win

Please call me if you have any questions. 435/635-4000

Win wrote:
I live very near Zion N.P. and hike and visit there almost every weekend. Five days will be alot, though, just for Zion. I'd look into visiting Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon and maybe the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Let me know when you're coming and I can give you some better advise. We vacation in the area in mid-late Sept to take advantage of lower temps, fewer people and spectacular Fall colors a bit to the North.

Here's a link to some of my pictures, POTN has made me want reorganize them so it's a work in progress. Many to post, also. http://winpics.fototim​e.com

I'm not much help with equipment, I pretty much just take pictures and do a minimum amount of PP. I have not used a polarizer up to this point.

In a year and a half we've only missed hiking/Jeepin' on one weekend.

Have fun,
Win

I'll be doing a fall photo tour of the area, and would appreciate any advice on where the better areas for fall colors might be around Zion. I plan to fly into LV, head out toward Valley of Fire for an evening and the following morning, then off to Zion for a day or two, up to Bryce and/or over to Page,AZ for some slot canyons, then north through Arches NP, and up to the Monte Christo area East of SLC for the fall color on the mountains there. First two weeks of Oct is my plan.

Zion is one of my favorite parks. I went there last November (note to Steven: November is the best time for fall colors in Zion. Fall arrives late there!), along with a side trip to Bryce Canyon...

http://www.pbase.com/s​dommin/zion05


There are a few pictures of Zion scattered around in here...

http://www.pbase.com/s​dommin/west2003

and here...

http://www.pbase.com/s​dommin/adventures_out_​west

Nice albums Steven and Scott, I can't get enough of this area!

I dropped you a PM Steven (SWPhoto) about Fall in the Zion area. I recommended going up in altitude from the immediate Zion area. The trees will be a little earlier in turning at 8-10,000 ft. It's only a little over an hour to get to those heights. Quaking Aspens at there best!

Win