Life, as of Late

Prior to having kids, I knew becoming a Mom would limit a lot of my freedom in their early years, especially when it came to travel. Since having kids, I’ve been determined to still enjoy all of the things I want to in life, keeping in mind that it would require a lot of intentionality and effort on my part. So naturally, when we moved to Utah last summer, I planned a trip to explore one of the state’s most beautiful national parks, Zion.

The challenge, of course, was figuring out how to enjoyably (and safely) explore the park with two young children. We decided to visit Southern Utah in late August to avoid some of the intense heat the region experiences earlier in the season. Coming from Utah County, the drive down is approximately 4 hours long which, as I’m sure you can imagine, can be strenuous on everyone in the car from the crying children to the stressed adults. My advice would be to plan the drive either during their nap time to offset some of the time when they’re awake in the car, or leave early in the morning or later at night. We opted to leave in the late afternoon during their nap which made for a relatively smooth trip.

To make the most of our trip, we decided to stop at The Coral Pink Sand Dunes, which is an absolute must if you’re ever in Southern Utah! I could not recommend it more. We arrived in the evening and made a pit stop there before heading to our hotel in Kanab for the night.

The following morning, we headed out to Zion! From Kanab, the drive was about an hour long, but beautifully scenic and picturesque. We entered from the east entrance on Zion-Mt Carmel Rd and headed toward the Springdale entrance to find Zion eBike Rentals. We rented two Rad Runner eBikes that came equipped with a rear basket and optional attachable children’s seats. Upon arrival, we were given a brief tutorial of how to operate the bikes as well as a thorough explanation of the route we’d be taking. This in total took about 15-20 minutes before we were off to explore the park.

There is a slight learning curve when operating eBikes if you’ve never used one before, but you quickly get acclimated as you continue to ride. The bikes we rented were so smooth and traveled up to 20 miles per hour – so much fun! When e-Biking through the park, there is a designated roadway that travels north to south designated solely for shuttles and bicyclists! This made for such a convenient way to explore while avoiding the crowds. The roadway will lead you to various shuttle stops/trailheads where you can park your bikes and enjoy a hike including The Narrows, Emerald Pools Trail, The Watchman and so many more.

Originally we’d wanted to stop at the Emerald Pools Trail, but it was still a mildly hot day even in late August so we decided to just enjoy our bike ride instead. It did not at all disappoint. Although, we had to yield to shuttles by pulling over, the roadway itself offered so much space to ride and sightsee. The views were breathtaking and with very few other cyclists or people around, the quiet that accompanied it was serene. On the way back to the bike shop, we amped up the speed a bit and really had a blast! This trip actually made me consider purchasing an eBike once we returned home lol

Along the way you’ll see the towering mountain rocks of course, but you’ll also cross bridges over rushing rivers, ride through region-specific trees that line either side of the path, and see a plethora of plants and cacti. It truly is an incredibly scenic route and the perfect way to enjoy the park with your children with ease. What under normal circumstances would be a stressful trip has become one of our fondest family memories and such a cool experience. For more details regarding Utah E-Bike Adventures including pricing, visit: https://www.utahebikeadventures.com/