Zion National Park
Yes, it is one of those long 3 days weekend. During times like this I would recommend that you take an extra day or two to make your tip more relaxing. By doing this, you get a total of 5 days of vacation when you only use 2 vacation-working days.
On this trip, we drove from Orange County, California to Las Vegas, Zion, Vegas and back to OC. On our first day, we woke up at 9am and started driving at 10:30am. This was a great idea (which was not planned) because we were able to catch the tail of a monsoon in September 2023. I found out later that people who left earlier, got stuck in rain and water on the 15 freeways. The reason is that the 15 freeways from Victorville to Las Vegas is a desert and flat. When it experiences heavy rain, the road gets flooded, and it takes time for it to sip into the ground. Any cars that is brave enough to race through a pool of water have a chance of getting stuck.
NOTE: If you are running empty on gas, see if you can make it to Barstow Mobil station (1390 E Main St, Barstow, CA 92311). The reason, at the time of this is article, is that the gas price are cheaper here than anywhere else. I would just fill up to ¾ tank and fill the rest at Las Vegas because the price of gas in Nevada is like $1+ cheaper. (Disclaimer: I’m not being sponsor by Mobil)
Once we got to Las Vegas, we first visited Bellagio’s indoor garden display. It is always a treat to see the design and display there. I believe that the display changes every season. And most importantly it is free to all guests.
NOTE: If you have the Ceasar credit card, you get free parking at any Ceasar owned establishment. Also, you can use your points to get free rooms like we did.
The following day, we when to “Chinatown” in Las Vegas and pick up two large order of Pho and as 3 Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) at LV Pho 7 (Disclaimer: I’m not being sponsor by LV Pho 7).
On the way to Zion, we stopped by St. George to stretch and have lunch. We always stop here because there are plenty to do, and it is free. First, there are lots of great hiking trails for the kids to expel their bottled-up energy. Second, there is the Red Hill Garden where you can bring your stroller to walk around. There are picnic tables for you to have lunch and restroom for the kids to use before hitting the road again. And finally, my favorite the St. George slot/narrow. Check the video at 9:15 and you will know what you mean. The name itself will tell you everything.
Here is the location of St. George slot/narrow: 37°06’59.8″N 113°34’34.3″W
After lunch we drove 1.5 hours to the gate of Zion National Park. We go into the park and 2:30pm and enjoy the beauty of Zion.
Note: If you want to visit Zion and looking for free parking, you can park at the Visitor Center. There are 2 options here. Either you must be there extremely early, like 5am in the morning, and secure a parking spot and sleep in the car or come after 1 pm. After 1pm, the early birds would want to go home or have lunch that would free some parking spaces at the visitor center. If you have kids, it is better to have an early lunch and then drive down to the Visitor Center.
Note: Since 2022 to 2023, if you have a 4th grader with you, the entrance to any National Parks are free. Make sure you register on https://www.nps.gov/brvb/planyourvisit/annual-4th-grade-pass.htm
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