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Travel: Utah...Again! 2025
By Robert Ellis
Some might say I have a fascination of Utah, and they would be right! I believe this is our sixth time visiting that diverse state. It is a nature lover's, hiker's, and photographer's dream destination.
This return trip included plans for riding e-bikes through Zion National Park and hiking the Overlook Trail (if we could score a parking spot) at the top of Zion Park. This was our 4th visit to Zion. Twice with other family members, once separately, and one other time with another couple. On the last “separately” trip, e-bikes had crossed our mind, but it didn’t happen. This trip it was planned for.
Upon leaving the park we planned to travel North towards Bryce Canyon National Park.
The next morning, having overnighted in Panguitch, Utah, we were scheduled to visit Kodachrome State Park, then Willis Creek Slot Canyon and afterwards Bryce Canyon. The last stop for the evening would be Cedar Breaks National Monument, since it was on the way to our hotel at Cedar City, Utah.
The next morning the itinerary was altered from the "Vortex or Candy Cliffs" in Utah to visiting Valley of Fire in Nevada. The last night of our trip ended overnighting in Vegas.
We'll be posting photos from Robert's latest trip over the next few days. Bookmarke the headline to this article to view them all in one place.
This story was posted on 2025-05-17 12:47:48
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Travel: Enter the E-bike
2025-05-17 - Zion National Park, southwest Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "The shuttle busses are an excellent way to visit the canyon. There's several stops to get off the bus, enjoy the sights, take in hikes, and get back on one of the many busses that travel through the canyon. The down side is you do go by many places you would like to see, but are limited to only the view you have from the bus windows.
Enter the E-bike. We had a blast! In this image, the accompanying mother and daughter are riding by me while I take a cell phone pic. This was from the bike/pedestrian route only...near the beginning of the canyon ride.
Zion, for me, still reigns as the most majestic and beautiful park I've ever visited."
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Travel: eBiking in Zion National Park
2025-05-17 - Zion National Park, southwest Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "Highly recommend renting an eBike for the day. You can take your time and see ALL Zion has to offer, at a leisurely pace, with only one simple rule. When a shuttle bus comes from behind, you have to come to a complete stop and let it pass.
Another plus is starting at the visitor's entry point, a route for bikers, and pedestrians only, allows you to travel alongside the Virgin river; a route and views you won't ever see if you limit yourself to just bus only. We chose bikes with a basket on the back, so I could pack my camera bag, as well as food for a picnic later in the day."
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Travel: Zion National Park, Utah (1 of 2)
2025-05-20 - Zion National Park, southwest Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "This image is from the 'grand finale' spot at the end of the Canyon Overlook Trail. A very popular hike in Zion, and one of my favorites. It's one of the shorter hikes, with not much of an elevation gain and the added bonus of seeing most of the canyon from above. Plus, if you have a fear of heights, and want to engage that fear, you can walk as close to the fence as you dare! Hey, even I got up the nerve and touched the fence!
Parking is limited for this hike. One tiny spot near the entrance of the tunnel through the mountain and a few further down the road, adding another 1/4 mile to the hike. Even if you can't score a spot, the drive from the canyon floor to the top of the mountain and through the tunnels as well as the viewing the geological formations on top of the mountain (Checkerboard Mesa in particular) makes it a must see and highly recommended to be included in your itinerary.
From this road, you'll be on the route that takes you to Bryce Canyon National Park, and Mossy Cave trail (part of Bryce) as well as the State Parks; Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Red Rock and Kodachrome. There's also a couple slot canyons near Bryce as well. We hiked into Willis Creek slot canyon on this trip...but more on that later."
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Travel: Zion National Park, Utah (2 of 2)
2025-05-22 - Zion National Park, southwest Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "Another image from the Canyon Overlook Trail. This is only a small portion; more properly the end of the canyon and bus route through it. You can just make out the road in the canyon floor meandering through park. From the canyon floor--near here, but not visible in this photo--is the trail head for the 'Wading the Narrows', the second most popular hike after #1: Angel's Landing.
Wading the Narrows is a slot canyon that has the Virgin River running through. It goes on for miles, but most turn around after about a half mile. The water is extremely cold, with small 'boulder' type rocks that are hard to see that add difficulty to the hike. Walking sticks help with navigating the swift water. You can rent hiking sticks as well as waders in the park.
This is as close to the edge as I cared to go...these two apparently have no fear of heights, since they were chatting away with feet dangling over the 1000 foot cliff."
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Travel: Kodachrome Basin State Park, 1 of 2
2025-05-25 - Kane County, Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "Kodachrome is often overlooked by vacationers mainly due to its close proximity to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. So if you want to escape the large crowds and take it easy for a day, this is the park to visit. It is known for sedimentary pipes and sandstone spires (like this one in the photo), nice family-friendly trails, and of course, colorful rock formations. The Park's website states: 'There are nearly 70 sandstone spires, ranging from 6 to 170 feet tall. Additionally, there are 67 sedimentary pipes in the park and surrounding land.'
We didn't spend as much time as we would have liked, nor take any of the hikes at the Park. The energy we were reserving would be used for hiking Willis Creek Slot Canyon and possibly some hiking in Bryce Canyon on this same day."
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Travel: Willis Creek Slot Canyon, 2 of 2
2025-05-30 - Kanab, UT - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "This slot canyon is very photogenic, with the scene changing every step of the way. I don't know enough about slot canyons to know when is the best time of the day to photograph them, but I was happy to have the Sun overhead and pouring into the canyon walls, creating contrasting colors along with differing lights and shadows.
In this photo the creek is all but dried up. On our visit, in Photo 1, you'll notice a tiny stream of water in the canyon floor. It should be noted if there's a chance of rain forecasted for the area-on any given day...slot canyons can become death traps. I observed some debris about 15 feet high up, lodged in the canyon walls; a reminder that it's not the place to be during a storm.
Fortunately this part of Utah is almost always sunny with bluebird sky days!"
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Travel: Bryce Canyon National Park, 1 of 2
2025-05-31 - Southern Utah - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "This is another beautiful National Park near Zion. It's considered part of the 'triangle' of three National Parks in this area. The Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon completes the trio.
Bryce has nice hikes inside the canyon. However, if you are limited on time or only want to view it from the lookouts...there's numerous pull-offs for just that. You can pretty much see the entire park from just driving around. They even have shuttle busses that will take you to all the stops.
This spot is Bryce Point, my favorite in the park. A few years ago, we took some photos of this area as the Sun was setting."
Note: Click here to see photos from Robert's 2022 trip out west.
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Travel: Cedar Breaks National Monument, 1 of 2
2025-06-05 - Brian Head, UT - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "This beautiful National Monument is one of those gems that is often overlooked since its neighboring Bryce Canyon draws all the attention and large crowds. It is only about an hour away from Bryce.
It is much like Bryce Canyon, but at a much smaller scale. It is still very picturesque, with very few crowds (we were the only ones that day). It has a new Visitors' Center, with some hikes around the rim, and awesome views that make it a worthwhile stop. Due to its 10,000 foot elevation and winter snow pack, the main entrance road is open to car traffic only from late-May through mid-October. The day of our visit it was windy and around 34 degrees; the idea of any type of hiking was quickly put to rest."
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Travel: Cedar Breaks National Monument, 2 of 2
2025-06-06 - Brian Head, UT - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "I mentioned with the first photo, the weather was a cold and windy 34 degrees. Wearing shorts and a hoodie, I braved the conditions long enough to take in a little bit of photography. I could see this National Monument being more enjoyable to visit during mid-summer, when you can take your time and maybe hike some of the rim...and not having to run back to the car to warm up!"
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Travel: Valley Of Fire State Park, 1 of 2
2025-06-08 - Moapa Valley, NV - Photo by Robert Ellis, robertelliswoodworking.com.
Robert writes, "This beautiful Park is about a 45 mile drive from Las Vegas, and about an hour away from the Hoover Dam; both places are well worth visiting if you're in the Vegas area. In my opinion the Valley of Fire State Park is worthy of National Park status...a true gem in Nevada. Careful consideration should be taken of the weather status and what time of year to visit. During a Summer visitation you're likely limited to staying inside your air-conditioned vehicle, due to the extreme high (and dangerous) heat.
For our mid-May visit we were fortunate enough to catch a temperature high of about 80 degrees...perfect for hiking. The left side of the photo you can catch part of the road that runs through the Park."
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