Zion National Park is known for having some of the best hiking anywhere in the world, with incredible vistas flanked by massive canyon walls. But a little lesser known is the wonderful biking in Zion that’s available to you, in fact they’ve taken great steps to ensure that it’s biker friendly. There are several routes that you can take, but I’ll just tell you the route that I took and about the great experience I had.
Pa’Rus Trail in Zion
I began my biking in Zion route right next to the entrance to the park at the Pa’Rus trail that goes right through the camp grounds. The Pa’Rus trail offers a great ride for anyone, regardless of your biking skills. You’ll ride along the Virgin River, you’ll cross over several bridges that give you an inspiring view of the beautiful river below. It’s not steep, in fact it’s more of a leisurely ride that even little ones could take on.
I loved this part of the trail more than I anticipated, the bridges, the views, the meadows that you ride through all make for a Zion experience that is just fantastic.
If you continue to ride up the Pa’Rus trail you’ll eventually go underneath a bridge before climbing back up to the main road where the trail ends. Here is where you need to make a decision, do you jump on the bus system and ride up to the top, or do you take on the challenge of riding up through Zion yourself? The busses all have bike racks on them so you can just load them up and take the easy way out.
Riding a Bike up Through Zion
So if you’re feeling a little adventurous and want to earn your exhilarating ride down, then make certain you take the slightly harder route and ride your bike up without the busses.
As you do you’ll be able to see the canyon in a way that those who don’t never will. You’ll be riding along with your neck strained from looking up at those beautiful canyon walls that are so amazing. You would see them on the way down as well, but on the way down you’re more concerned with not wrecking by going too fast to really be able to soak in the view.
One of my favorite places along the way was right before you reach the lodge, as I was riding up I soon noticed that the road was all but covered by huge cottonwood trees that added a little shade, and a feeling of quite before the storm. Maybe it was the contrast from the wide open views of the Virgin River and the Great White Throne, to the intimate feeling of those trees standing guard as I rode up the canyon.
As you go beyond the drop off area for hiking Angels Landing you’ll soon be greeted with a different part of the canyon that offers a unique view and feel. When you hit the “big bend” you’ll have a hard time not stopping to rest for a bit to soak in the views there, but you’re almost to the top so keep going!
Just before you reach the top and the start of the narrows (or where the busses stop and drop off their last riders) there’s a little waterfall off to the side that you simply must go and see. There’s been a deck built that allows you easy access to go up and see this little stunning waterfall.
Biking to The Top of Zion
Now that you’ve reached the top, you’ve earned the thrilling ride back down the canyon. And oh what a ride it is! There’s very little strenuous peddling required from here on out, but be careful as you can get some pretty significant speeds as you head back down. It really makes for a great cap of great ride, to end it with dazzling speeds down the mountain.
And that’s it, that’s how you bike Zion. There are other routes you can take, but this is the most straightforward one, and as you can see is very rewarding as well.
