After an afternoon of exploring Antelope Canyon we crossed the Utah state line, continuing towards our final destination: Zion National Park. We were speechless after driving through the park’s official entrance.

If you want to stay in the park itself overnight, there’s only one option: Zion Lodge. We wanted to choose a cheaper option and one that let us explore the local town of Springdale. The Bumbleberry Inn is a perfect no frills, but comfortable option. The beds were cozy after a long day of hiking, and they offered free breakfast each morning at a nearby restaurant.

We were up early our first day to beat the crowds on the trails. If you decide to stay in one of the hotels in Springdale, there’s a free shuttle that will take you to the entrance of Zion where you can whip out your annual parks pass.

Angel’s Landing was the very first hike we tackled, and it also happens to be referred to as one of the scariest hikes in America. It’s a 2.5 mile hike with 1,500 feet of elevation gain. And for the last half mile you have to hold onto chains carved into the side of the rock formation with steep drop offs on either side of you. Good stuff.

This first bit is a series of 21 switchbacks called “Walter’s Wiggles.” Each time the switchback took us out over this valley, we had to pause and just take in the stunning views. Because we had an early start, there weren’t tons of people with us… yet.

I had the best time exploring with my sistah. Because we live about 600 miles away from each other, it’s so special to see her and bounce back into our goofy groove.

I’m not exactly sure what these holes in the walls were, but they looked pretty spooky.

So I will fully admit that I had to stop at Scout Lookout and not go with the others to the summit of Angel’s Landing. My fear of heights were just too strong for me to push through that last bit with the chains. When I saw a woman being carried down in tears cause the last stretch was just too much for her, I knew I made the right choice. And I wasn’t alone! I made friends with all the others that didn’t want to risk falling off the edge of the world.

HUGE props to these ladies who successfully made it all the way up and back!

I borrowed one of their photos from the summit to show you how insane the view is:

On our way back down the switchbacks, the crowds had arrived. If you’re doing Angel’s Landing - it’s critical to do it first thing in the morning!

We found some peace and quiet back down below.

Sunset at Canyon Junction Bridge. A beautiful ending to a great first day of the park!

Our final day of the trip and once again we’re up early to fit in a full day of hiking before our flights home that night.

We kind of accidentally found our way onto the East Rim Trail and it ended up being one of my favorite ones we did.

It wasn’t crowded at all, and the hike itself was challenging and exciting: tons of switchbacks, interesting valleys, and steep rock formations.

We didn’t do the full trail all the way up to Observation Point because we wanted to squeeze in lunch and a couple of other trails but it’s definitely on the list of places to see when we return. I think we all agreed that wading through the Narrows trail is also on that list.

Countless laughs with these wonderful, beautiful ladies got us through all 32 miles we hiked on this trip. I’m so glad we through this adventurous trip together at the last minute, and I hope you’re feeling inspired to grab your close friends and get out there to hike and see some more of this gorgeous world.

Sadly the sun went down and we scrambled back to the car after squeezing in one final little sunset hike… cause we had red eye flights to catch from the Vegas airport!