If you live in the UK you will almost certainly be aware of Sport Relief, This event takes place every two years, and encourages people to get active and raise money for charity to support projects here in the UK and abroad. One facet of Sports Relief is to get celebrities to take on particularly gruelling physical challenges.
A BBC presenter, Alex Jones, despite being a non-climber was persuaded to take on the highly demanding challenge of climbing Moonlight Buttress, a massive 1,200 feet high slab of rock in Zion National Park, Utah. The climb takes 3 days and involves spending 2 nights suspended again the rock face in a ‘portaledge’, a kind of cross between a sling, a hammock and a hanging tent. Not the type of thing that looks like it would set you up for a good nights sleep.
Virgin River, Zion National Park
Alex dug deep and completed her climb, much to her credit, and there is a programme about it on BBC IPlayer. If you have seen any footage or pictures from Zion, you will know the Park is staggeringly beautiful, and you may well have wondered about visiting it. Well, wonder no longer. It is really easy to visit Zion National Park from the UK and makes for a fantastic trip. You don’t have to do any climbing to have a great time, and, you will be relieved to hear , there is a wide choice of fabulous hotels right on the doorstep of the Park. You can sleep in a lovely, comfy bed in a nice hotel room, complete with running water and a flushing loo. Just spare a thought for all those sleeping on portaledges as you snuggle down for the night.
View into Zion Canyon
If you haven’t seen it on TV, Zion National Park contains a massive canyon, cut deep into the sandstone by the Virgin River, The scale of Zion Canyon, with its steep cliffs, side canyons and lush floor makes it absolutely jaw dropping to look at. Often, when you visit canyons you view them from the top, looking down. The great thing about Zion is that you view it from the bottom looking up. This really help you to get to grips with the scale of it.
If you like to hike you will love Zion. There is a huge range of trails from the easy, flat Riverside Walk on a paved path suitable for buggies and wheelchairs, to the vertiginous heights of the Angles Landing trail. The side canyons are fabulous to explore
Adrenaline junkies will also love Zion – there is climbing, canyoneering and white water kayaking.
Exploring a Side Canyon, Zion National Park
For those who like a gentler pace of life there is also plenty to do. You can amble by the stream, check out some of the 207 species of birds that make their home in the Canyon, go horse riding, or simply sit and enjoy the view. The Park Rangers also run a series of events that are always informative and fun. You can learn about the geology of the Park, its human history, the animals and plants that are there and all kinds of other things. If you enjoy photography or art you will find plenty of inspiration in the landscape to fuel your passion.
To find out more about what there is to do in the Park, any permits required for wilderness hiking, climbing and canyoneering, your best source of information is the National Park Service website.
You can plan a visit to Zion as part of a bigger road trip. We have a couple of suggested itineraries to help you along. One has you flying in and out of Las Vegas, and includes a trip to Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon. The other starts in Salt Lake City and takes in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Bryce Canyon, Zion and ends in Las Vegas.
To help you out even more, we have listed some information about how to get to Zion and some hotel recommendations below. Have a brilliant trip and please send us a photo.
Getting there…
Virgin Atlantic fly direct to Las Vegas from the UK. We love them for their great on board entertainment systems and family friendly approach.
British Airways also fly directly to Las Vegas from the UK. We particularly like B.A if we want to fly from a regional airport as they tend to offer a great range of connecting flights.
If neither of these options appeal we like Skyscanner for a good listing of all the operators running flights.
We recommend Holiday Autos or Easycar for car hire. Check out our car hire info for ways to save money. You may want to cover your excess and increase your liability cover with a policy like that from Worldwide Insure or Insurance4carhire.com.
Where to Stay…
Zion National Park is right next to a community with plenty of accommodation choices – Springdale, Utah. The free Park Service shuttle bus runs into Springdale which is really handy. Once you have parked your car you can ignore it for the duration of your stay, unless you want to explore outside the valley. For more info on the shuttle see the NPS website. We have stayed at the Majestic View Lodge and the Driftwood Lodge. Both hotels have fabulous views, an outdoor pool, free Wi-Fi and are on the shuttle bus route.
