March 1, 2025
Zion National Park has been at the top of our bucket list travel destinations for a while now. It seems like social media is filled with picturesque views of red rocks and the incredible Narrows hike. But as soon as we discovered that we could bike through the park, we made this trip a priority.
We headed to Zion during the last weekend in February. December through February are the quietest months visitor wise. These numbers then triple in March and it stays busy through October. I HIGHLY recommend visiting in the off season. Springdale, the town just outside the park, is very small and I really don’t understand how it accommodates 600,000 visitors. Everywhere we went, whether it was biking or hiking the most popular trails, it felt like we had the park to ourselves.
The other big bonus of visiting in the off-season is that the shuttle buses aren’t operating yet. They typically run from early march to the beginning of November. When they’re operating, Zion Canyon Road, the main road through Zion, is completely closed to private cars. I’ve heard the wait times to board shuttles can eclipse two hours.
We actually biked the road one day before the shuttle season started. I was worried that it would be far too busy with cars to bike, but it turned out to be great. The park service closes the road once the parking lots are full. When we started this ride early afternoon, the road was already closed which meant very few cars actually passed us. We had nearly the entire road to ourselves!
So between avoiding shuttle lines and crowds and getting the best, unrestricted views of Zion, biking through the canyon is the obvious choice! There are plenty of places to rent bikes around town, especially e-bikes. Since we wanted traditional bikes, we opted to rent from Zion Cycles. Officially the ride starts at the Visitor Center. I do suggest just riding through town if that’s where you’re staying to save the headache of parking. There is a nice bike lane on Springdale’s main street. Once at the Visitor Center you must pass through the pedestrian fee station to buy a national park ticket before reaching the official start of the trail. Luckily when we rode through, the station was closed.
Just after the fee station, follow the Pa’rus sign to the left. This is a 3.5 mile multi-use trail that leads directly to the Zion Canyon Road just after going underneath the Canyon Junction Bridge. Honestly the Pa’rus Trail was not my favorite part of the ride. It was filled with pedestrians and curvy so the ride was pretty slow and seemed to take forever to ride the 3 miles. I was happy one we reached the actual road
From the junction Zion Canyon Road is 14 miles round trip. The road ends at the Temple of Sinawa which is the trailhead for the overly popular hike through the Narrows. For the most part, the road is fairly flat making for an easy ride. You’ll pass Zion National Park Lodge and the Grotto parking lot about 3.5 miles in. The Grotto is home to the famous Angel’s Landing hike along with the Emerald Pools, West Rim and the Grotto trails. The Grotto also has a water filling station and bathrooms open year round.
Hill Alert!
Just passed the Grotto you’ll reach your first and only climb of the ride at the 5 miles mark. The climb really isn’t that steep, but is still a lung burner thanks to the high altitude. After finishing the climb you’ll reach the Big Bend turnout, a great place to catch your breath while admiring the towering rocks.
Then it’s all cruise control for the last couple miles to the Temple of Sinawa. The easy ride let’s you soak in the amazing views, stop for pictures and enjoy the lack of crowds. Once you reach the end of the road, you can walk the 2 mile round trip Riverside Walk if you still have energy. This trail takes you to the start of the Narrows hike where you literally walk through the Virgin River and its canyon. Since we already did the full Narrows hike earlier in the day, we opted to just turn around and head to another trailhead.
We headed back the four miles to the Grotto turnout because we wanted to hike to Scout’s Landing. This is about a 4 mile hike to where Angel’s Landing starts. While you do need a permit to hike the full Angel’s Landing, no permit is needed to do the beginning of this trail. This was a very steep hike including the well-know Walter’s Wiggles. While you are treated to beautiful, sweeping views of the canyon, be prepared for a climb (and the downhill was almost harder!)
By this time the sun had nearly set so we started the chilly 6 mile bike back to our hotel. We decided to avoid the annoying Pa’rus Trail and just cycle down the main road after the junction so we could keep our speed. When we started the ride, it was a gorgeous day with lots of sun. But the canyon does cool off quickly at night because the canyon walls block so much sun. Also, the road was back to being open to cars as we finished our ride because it was dusk. This made the ride a little more challenging, but the cars weren’t that big of hindrance.
When the shuttles are running, it’s required of riders to pull over and fully stop with a foot on the ground to let the shuttle pass. Since the shuttles weren’t operating yet when we rode, I can’t speak to how disruptive this was to the ride. But I thought we accidentally lucked out by avoiding shuttle season because the cars really didn’t get in the way at all.
I was also surprised to see how popular e-bikes were on this road. We were definitely in the minority with our traditional bikes. I think biking to the trailheads would be a fantastic alternative to taking the bus to avoid any wait times. Most places even rent bikes with baskets for gear and special holders for the walking stick needed for the Narrows.
Due to the bike being so flat, it made it easy to stack a hike along with the bike ride to make a perfect day in Zion!