Emerald Pools: Zions National Park

Difficulty: Easy

2 miles round

This is a very easy hike in the Zions National Park. It is one of the most popular hikes due to it's ease, beauty, and the fact that it is right across the street from the only lodge located within the parks boundaries. We did this hike the night we arrived, to stretch our legs after being in the car all day. It's a great little hike and perfect if you're hiking with little ones.

As soon as you cross the street to the trail head you cross a bridge to the start of the trail. Rounding the corner you will come upon a beautiful view of the river in front of some cliffs.

Now, living and hiking in the PNW, we have waterfalls. Soooo, if you are doing this hike used to our waterfalls, this may be a disappointment to you, it's more of a water trickle. But, the thing that makes this little water trickle so fun is the fact that it goes right over the trail. I would imagine if you were hiking in early spring it would be a bit more grand.

This would be at the lower pools. As Aaron and I were approaching this first stop we heard an animal in close proximity. It sounded like the bleating of a sheep, and since we saw a few big horned sheep on our drive in, we had no reason to believe otherwise. Imagine our surprise when we were told that they were frogs.....FROGS! They sounded just like a heard of sheep, and the closer we got to the pools, the louder they got.

Many people turn here, especially the elderly and families with tiny tots. Most keep going though, since the entire hike isn't much more than 2 miles.

At the top there are more of those crazy "goat frogs". They are everywhere and we actually had visual verification that they were in fact frogs...... weird!

The top of the Emerald Pools is very beautiful, and if it weren't for all the silly frogs it would be a very peaceful place to sit and relax. It's a wonderful little hike.

Directions: The pools are in the south end of the park. In order to get around the park in the summer months, you have to take the tram. This hike is on the second stop, and starts at the lodge. The first half of this hike is paved, so you could even take someone in a wheel chair to the lower pools. There are really three stages to this short hike - the lower pools and waterfall, the middle falls and then the upper falls.