Utah OPPOs - Best Short Hikes?

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
06/06/2018 at 10:03 • Filed to: None

Will be out there in a couple weeks with one of my brothers and my three kids (youngest is 5) - planning on seeing Zion, Bryce, GSENM, Capitol Reef, Arches & Canyonlands. With my little guy, we won’t be doing any long hikes, so looking for great short hikes (~3 miles or less) in the area. We’ll be in St. George one night, then outside Bryce, then in Green River, then in Moab - taking Hwy 12 through the parks in the middle of our stay. Thanks!

Also, suggestions for short, easy off-road excursions would be great, too. We’ll be in my wife’s AWD MDX, so nothing too hairy - ha!

DISCUSSION (28)

Ash78, voting early and often > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 10:30

Paging Hammerpunch Fisthead, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

This will be an epic trip. As soon as my kids can make it more than 2 miles without whining, I’m all over it

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 10:34

I’m jelly, those are some prime spots. Other than it may be Hot AF, like 90-100+. I guess you can do part of angles landing in zion, and many of the hikes in Arches are pretty easy. Tool around dead horse you can walk right up to the canyon rim and look down a couple thousand feet. If you have a competent 4x4 the white rim trail is a good day long drive that is just technical enough to make it interesting but not anything a 4x4 couldn’t do off the lot on highway tires.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/06/2018 at 10:43

Because of the heat, we’ll probably some of the The Narrows in Zion instead of heading up to Angel’s Landing. Looking forward to the hikes in Arches - will have to get there early while it’s still cool. We’ll actually be hitting the Grand Canyon earlier in our trip, so they’ll get the holy-shit-that’s-a-big-hole experience. =)

Looking forward to doing the White Rim one day, just not this trip.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Ash78, voting early and often
06/06/2018 at 10:46

Haha - I’m sure he’ll be chiming in shortly.

I can’t wait. We’re actually doing the Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Yosemite, Monterrey/Carmel (with my sister and her family), Death Valley & the Colorado National Monument as well. =)

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 10:59

When we did our overland thingy, we hit the Mossy Cave Trail (back side of Bryce Canon). Unlike Zion, it wasn’t packed and the short hike was pleasant and short.

Kinja'd!!!

OmerCarrothers333 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 11:16

Sadly, I don’t know southern Utah. Go on KTVX ABC 4’s website (the tv station I work at) and look up “Good 4 Utah Road Tour”; there’s some great video packages by a reporter named Alana Brophy about different fun, outdoors-y things you can do in some of the state parks around the state.

The following was a shameless plug to make my corporate overlords happy.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/06/2018 at 11:26

Looks great - thanks for the tip!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > OmerCarrothers333
06/06/2018 at 11:30

Thanks for the tip!

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 11:31

I would not do the white rim in an MDX it would make it but the front bumper and the underside would get pretty scraped up.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/06/2018 at 11:35

Yeah, a friend of mine did it this spring, but in a modified 4Runner Trail. My old Pathfinder could probably handle it fine, but getting it out there would be the bigger challenge - ha!

cmill189 - sans Volvo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 11:37

I avoid the short hikes so I cannot be of help with that. If you aren’t accustomed to desert heat, bring way more water and sunscreen than you think you’ll need. Just be extra prepared, regardless. Too many people get stuck or lost on the back roads every year.

Highway 12 is amazing but be careful if others in the car are susceptible to getting car sick. Here’s a pic I took in February of this year.

Kinja'd!!!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > cmill189 - sans Volvo
06/06/2018 at 11:51

Yeah, I’m used to longer treks as well, but I’m shooting for not carrying around a 5 year old on my shoulders - ha! We will definitely be over-prepared and won’t venture too far from the main roads; I can’t wait to show my kids just how big and amazing the world is out there. I’ll keep my enjoyment of the mountain roads in check, but they’re pretty conditioned to windy roads, thankfully.

Beautiful photo.

cmill189 - sans Volvo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 12:09

Sounds like you have a pretty epic trip planned. I saw your other destinations. I about lost my mind on Highway 12 then I got the “Hogback” section and it completely lost it. Hopefully you won’t get held up by RV’s and Harley riders. They tend to ruin every good road around the country.

7:07 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 12:17

I live 20 minutes from Zion. Here’s the thing: when it’s hot, most tourists try to wear as little clothing as possible. That’s how you overheat and have heat problems and major sunburn. Wear loose clothing (think linen) that cover your arms and legs and wear a hat. There is little humidity here so it’s actually cool(er) in the shade. Cover yourself in breathable clothing like you would see yard and landscaping workers. They wear that stuff for a reason. And take lots of water. And start your hike at 6am because there are SOO MANY PEOPLE HERE THIS TIME OF YEAR.

I’m not a hike expert, so I can’t help much there. Weeping rock is great with small kids. .4 miles or something easy.

Shameless plug: We have some vacation rentals if you are looking for a place to stay while in Zion.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 7:07
06/06/2018 at 12:25

Thanks for the good advice! We’ll definitely be shooting to get there early. I actually had a friend suggest we skip Zion, but we’ve got to at least see some of it while we’re there.

Wish I would’ve thrown this out earlier - we’re already booked in St. George, but thanks.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > cmill189 - sans Volvo
06/06/2018 at 12:29

Just watched a video - wow!

I’m sure we’ll get behind slowpokes, but we’re not planning to get on too much of a rush that day anyway. =)

cmill189 - sans Volvo > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/06/2018 at 12:42

That’s a great picture! Zion is a lost cause for me now. It’s been so packed the last five years it’s not enjoyable anymore.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 12:56

There are good reasons to skip Zion, most of those reasons center around it being the most popular park in southern UT, the most accessible from major metros to the south, and the area accessible by car is really tiny. It’s expensive to stay near and often wall-to-wall people, too.

On the upside, if you can find a parking spot, there are a lot of really short vista trails accessible from the road.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 13:27

We’ll see how it goes. At least we won’t be there on a weekend!

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 13:28

Bryce has nice trails and, while popular, isn’t as popular as Zion (further from I-15), plus it has more road/area to absorb tourists.

My parents love Capitol Reef because it used to be really dead since so few had heard of it. In the fall you can pick/eat a lot of apples there. The only trail I can recommend there is Hickman Bridge, which is fairly short, but it is an out-and-back. We hiked from the Fruita campground up Cohab Canyon and down the other side before doing Hickman Bridge the first time I was there and found it just too much for the amount of water you can carry.

There’s a spring called “Matrimony Spring” that was capped and just pours water out of a pipe, which then flows through a culvert into the Colorado River along SR 128 north of Moab. Get some water there, it’s my favorite.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 13:32

Sadly, this doesn’t tend to help much. It’s that popular.

You could probably have fun identifying all the random languages you hear there, too. People from Europe and Asia with a lot of vacation time are there every day of the week in the high season.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 13:38

Figured as much. If we go in and there there’s no place to park, we may just turn back and push on, but I’m really hoping to hike the first part of The Narrows, at the very least.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 13:42

Sounds like a great trip, very jealous. In Yosemite the hike to Taft Point is one of my favorites...not too long, mostly flat. Definitely worth the view. Although it’s crowded everyone must see the main valley at least once, but outside of that Mariposa Grove (and kids will love the HUUGE trees) is pretty amazing as is Hetch Hetchy.

If you’re stopping in the Carmel area assuming you’ll spend some time in Big Sur as well?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 13:44

Added Hickman Bridge Trail and Matrimony Spring to the itinerary - thanks!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
06/06/2018 at 13:58

Thanks for the Yosemite tips - we’ll check out Taft Point and Hetch Hetchy to see if we can make those work (my sister will have even littler kids along with her). We’ll have just been in Sequoia, so will probably skip Mariposa Grove due to time. We’ll be driving up from Fresno that morning and will need to be back to Oakley, CA, that night (where my sister lives), so we’ll have to be selective.

Not sure if we’ll make it down to Big Sur, as this will be a day trip as well - would love to, though!

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > cmill189 - sans Volvo
06/06/2018 at 14:29

Thanks! My friend is an annoyingly good photographer.

Yeah we had no idea it was going to be that crazy! On a road trip and the instructions were to find a place to park and take the shuttle. No thanks!

After sitting in traffic for a while, we did find an un-crowded spot+hike on the east side of the park. (East Rim Trail, apparently)

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/06/2018 at 14:50

Coming from Sequoia you would’ve already seen big trees anyway, so maybe skipping Mariposa Grove is a good idea. Also if you’re coming from Fresno Hetch Hetchy is all the way on the other end and a bit out of the way, so for a family trip maybe its not that great an idea. The Taft Point trailhead is right off the main road to Glacier Point (which is the iconic spot you can see right across to Half Dome from – so probably a good option if the family is up for the hike. Instead of going left to Taft Point you could also go right to Sentinel Dome which is pretty cool too (and might be a bit shorter). Either way, you can’t go wrong. Can’t wait until our little one is old enough to do big family trips like that with (a ways out, she’s 3 weeks old haha) – hope you share some highlights on Oppo.

Always tough trying to fit in everything you’d like to in to a vacation - but at least personally I’ve never looked back in regret having taken things slower and spending more time in fewer places on vacation.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
06/06/2018 at 14:59

Haha - congrats on the little one! Soak up these early days.

We were already thinking about trying to get up to Tenaya Lake, so we’ll see how the day goes. I assume we’ll do the valley first and then see how much time we have to see more.

I’m definitely trying to balance seeing a lot and actually taking the time to experience the places we’re going. I figure with little kids, their attention span is pretty short anyway, so several short stops/walks may work better for them than one long half-day hike.