After our morning hike up Angel’s Landing, we went back into the town of Zion and settled in at a little Thai restaurant for an early dinner before continuing on our journey. The plan was to zip over to Bryce Canyon that evening, camp there for the evening and then wake up to catch a glorious sunrise at Bryce Canyon before continuing back up North to Utah’s other beautiful national parks. Though we had limited time, we wanted to spend a bit more time in Zion and decided to catch one more sunset here before zipping over to Bryce.
After chatting with our server at the restaurant, we decided on the Canyon Overlook Trail as our next location to photograph at, as the server promised it was a prime location to catch a beautiful sunset. And it did not disappoint!
The well-advertised trail head to Canyon Overlook Trail is located immediately east of the 1.1 mile long tunnel that you can’t miss. There is a small parking lot that fills up quickly right across from the trail head, but if it is full by the time you arrive, there are also a couple of additional small overflow parking areas further east down the main road. Park at one of these if you have to and walk carefully down the road back to the trail head.
And keep an eye out for desert bighorn sheep climbing up the rocky hills – we saw plenty of these little guys!
The Canyon Overlook Trail is a short little 1 mile round-trip hike that is easy to navigate and perfect for families, children, or people rushing up to catch sunset from a gorgeous overlook!
The beautiful trail is fairly level and will take you on a tour around sandstone formations above the Pine Creek slot canyon. There are railings around a large portion of the hike, but be careful with small children as there are a few sections that are exposed where a fall could be very dangerous. The rocks here are extra-inviting for little ones to want to climb, so make sure they do so in a safe area without exposure. There’s plenty of that around!
There are also some pretty neat rock caves to explore along your hike.
Once you make it to the viewpoint, there is a sign that points out important landmarks, such as Bridge Mountain, the highest peak on the left side of the canyon, and East Temple, to your right.
At the top, pick your seat among the sprawling canyon rock; pretty much anywhere you sit is the best seat in the house!
We raced down in the dark with headlamps as soon as the sunset colors were gone, eager to make it to Bryce Canyon and set up camp. (Going down in the dark is totally do-able for adults, but watch your step as there are a few exposed areas.) Enjoy your hike!
Keep an eye out for my next blog post where I’ll chat about beautiful Bryce Canyon and show my photos of the jaw-dropping scenery! Better yet, sign up for my mailing list, to be notified by email when a new blog post goes live!
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