Zion: Our First National Park in the EarthRoamer
We entered Zion believing we were prepared. We had a campsite booked. We’d researched the special tunnel permit required for oversized vehicles to exit the park. We had planned the three hikes we absolutely wanted to do. We’d even pre-ordered waders and had them shipped to a Sportsman’s Warehouse in St. George so we could hike The Narrows.
And yet, within a few hours, we learned how much we didn’t know—this being our very first national park in the EarthRoamer.
Almost immediately, we accidentally found ourselves climbing the steep, winding road toward the Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel… without a permit. And not just without one—we were three days early. Luckily, we found a pullout large enough to safely turn around and head back down the canyon before things got truly interesting.
Then there was Angel’s Landing. Despite being certain I’d read that permits weren’t required in winter, we discovered that yes—permits were very much required. Angel’s Landing was one of the big three hikes we’d planned, so feeling a little deflated, we applied for a next-day permit and crossed our fingers. We didn’t get it.
As it turns out, we didn’t actually want the permit anyway.
We hiked up to Scout Lookout (the trail that branches off to Angel’s Landing) and Jacob only made it about halfway before vertigo kicked in. He stopped there, and I finished the hike alone. Seeing Angel’s Landing in person, there was no universe where I would’ve wanted to attempt that sheer thousand-foot drop with nothing but a metal chain to hold onto, and absolutely not without Jacob.
Then there were The Narrows. We had our waders, but we learned that morning you could rent both waders and a support stick inside the park. We had the waders, but not the stick. In the end, it didn’t matter; we didn’t need it after all.
Every initial hiccup seemed to work itself out with surprising ease. I credit a lot of that to visiting in winter instead of peak season. We had space. We had time. We could make decisions without feeling rushed or boxed in by crowds. On most hikes, we passed only a handful of people. We weren’t packed into the campground. We wore jackets and hats, but otherwise didn’t feel limited by the season at all. In many ways, we had more freedom than we would have in summer.
For our first national park in the EarthRoamer, Zion completely blew us away. We’re so glad we went, and even more glad we went in the quiet, cool calm of winter.
Watch the full adventure!