Daniela was kind enough to indulge me with an early wake up time, hiking in the dark, and withstanding a windy morning to watch the sunrise from Canyon Overlook. The trail is short, only 0.5 mile one way, but it’s a little more adventurous hiking it in the dark with some of the drop offs (and one spot where we had to take a minute to figure out where the trail went). It was worth it to watch the day come alive as the first light illuminated the Towers of the Virgin and Zion Canyon. It was a pretty morning!

We were still in time for breakfast at our hotel, so headed back there after Canyon Overlook. Then we returned to the park to do the Riverside Walk. We were still early enough we could drive into the main canyon - when we left later in the day the road was closed since it was at capacity. We parked at the end of the road at Temple of Sinawava and walked the paved, mile long trail along the Virgin River with soaring sandstone walls. It would’ve been nice if the trees were in bloom, but it was still a nice walk.

In the afternoon we attended a ranger talk about geology, where one of the subjects the ranger discussed was rock falls in the park. Right after the talk the ranger got a notification that there was a rock fall in the main canyon and the road was closed. We got lucky that we did what we wanted to in the main canyon before it was inaccessible (the road was still closed when we left the next morning). In the evening we took another walk along the Virgin River, this time on the Pa’rus Trail so we could watch the sun set on The Watchman. It was another lovely day!