April 22–26, 2026 | Salt Lake City & Zion National Park
Some trips are about places. This one was about people — college friends from GCT Coimbatore, thirty+ joining for a reunion in Salt Lake City — and the places were just spectacular. Here’s everything you need to know to do it yourself, with the lessons we learned the slightly hard way.
Getting There: Salt Lake City Airport → Zion
Land at SLC, head to Terminal A to pick up food, and car rental is right outside baggage claim. From there, it’s a five-hour drive to Springdale — smooth and scenic, with a pit stop at the food court at Fillmore (the Burger King will do the job). Give yourself the full five hours and arrive ready to exhale.
Where we stayed in Zion: SpringHill Suites Springdale Zion National Park — and we’d stay there again without hesitation. We booked adjacent suite rooms (246 and 247) that share a common deck balcony facing the mountains. That private deck with seven seats, tables, and the red canyon walls turning gold at dusk? Worth every penny.
Perks to know: free buffet breakfast every morning, free coffee and tea all day in the lobby, a stunning lobby with games, a fire pit deck with mountain views, and a shuttle stop practically at the front door. Book directly on Marriott’s site for the best rates.
Park entry: A week-long vehicle pass is $35. But if you’re doing any other national parks on this trip, the America the Beautiful Annual Pass at $80 covers all of them — a no-brainer.
First night dinner (arrival night): Bit & Spur Restaurant & Saloon — walk across the street from the hotel. Open until 10:30pm. Order the tofu tacos with pineapple was delicious. Don’t skip them.
Day 1 at Zion: Angels Landing via Scout’s Lookout
Breakfast at 6:30 am at the hotel, then we drove to the park visitor’s centre and took the free shuttle. Make a note of your parking zone number before you leave — you’ll thank yourself later.
The route: Shuttle Stop #6 (The Grotto) → Scout’s Lookout → Walter’s Wiggles → the top.
What to bring:
- Trekking poles — absolutely must. Buy them on Amazon before you go. One pole works, two are better. We used ours constantly on the switchbacks and were glad we had them.
- Knee pads or a knee cap if your knees have opinions.
- Water and snacks — there are tiny, fearless squirrels at the top who will absolutely chew through your bag if you look away.
The path is broad and paved for much of it, with genuinely breathtaking views at every pause. The switchbacks wind up through canyon walls, the inclines test your legs, and Walter’s Wiggles — the famous series of 21 tight zigzags near the top — is where you slow down and take it one at a time. Take a knee, take a breath, take a picture. We did this at 55 years old. You can too.
At Scout Lookout, the views of Angels Landing are among the most dramatic we’ve ever seen. Stand there, feel the accomplishment, eat your snacks, and watch the squirrels.
Coming down, we went slow and steady — slipping on the descent is far more likely than on the way up, and your knees will tell you in no uncertain terms.
Post-hike lunch: Thai Sapa on Zion Park Blvd. Ask for the private corner area. We arrived ravenous and ate everything from appetizers to dessert. The food is genuinely excellent — homemade Thai curries, fresh ingredients, vegetarian-friendly — and they grow some of their own produce.
Afternoon coffee: Feel Love, a local coffee shop in Springdale. Quiet, charming, exactly what tired legs need.
Pick up your Narrows gear — do this today. After coffee and before dinner, head to Zion Outfitter or Zion Guru to collect your rental gear for the next morning. The full kit — wetsuit, neoprene socks, water shoes, and the essential wooden pole — runs around $55 per person. Here’s the important part: try everything on in the shop before you leave.Put on the neoprene socks, step into the shoes, get the ankle wrap snug and leather-firm with no grease. Make sure the fit feels right, that nothing pinches, and that you understand how the pole works. Sign the waiver, ask the staff any questions, and walk out fully ready. Doing this the evening before means your Narrows morning starts calm, not rushed — and you’re not figuring out a wetsuit zip in the parking lot at 7am.
Sunset: Drive to the Prius Trail for sunset views of the mountains in colours you don’t have names for. No park entry fee required after 6pm (worth confirming at the gate, but this was our experience).
Dinner: Iceberg Drive Inn on Zion Park Blvd, open until 9:30pm. Grilled cheese, vegetarian sandwiches, banana shakes, onion rings, fries — a perfect carry-out spread. We brought it all back to the hotel deck and ate in the canyon air with seven seats, seven people, and nothing to rush for.
Day 2 at Zion: The Narrows — What to Know Before You Go
This is the famous one. You’re walking up the Virgin River through slot canyon walls. It is as magical as advertised. Here’s everything we wish someone had told us.
Gear rental: You need a wetsuit, neoprene socks, and special water shoes, plus the essential wooden walking pole. Rent from a Springdale outfitter before heading to the park. The trick with the leather ankle wrap — no grease, firm and snug — was key to making the wetsuit feel manageable.
Important lessons learned (the hard way):
- Bring spare sandals or dry shoes. Leave them in a bag at the entry point to the water before you step in. We did not do this. Within minutes, water was inside our neoprene socks — which came as a surprise but turned out to be manageable as the hike continued. The real problem was at the end: soaking wet shoes and socks, still needing to walk 1.5 miles back to the shuttle, then drive to the outfitter to return gear. Pack dry footwear. Full stop.
- The walk to the Narrows is longer than you expect. From shuttle stop 9, it’s roughly 1.5 miles along the river before you reach the water entry point. Beautiful walk, but factor it in.
- Shoe choice matters. We met other hikers who had rented from Zion Guru whose shoes didn’t let water in at all. Worth asking about your rental options before you commit.
The experience itself: Walking against the current with a wooden pole, placing it between rocks, stepping forward one foot at a time — it sounds methodical, but it becomes meditative. The canyon walls rise around you, the sky narrows to a strip of blue above, and the water is cold but not brutal. We found shallower channels where the flow was easier, stopped on rocky banks to rest and snack and sing, and pushed forward until the water reached our waists and a small waterfall marked a natural turning point. Absolutely unforgettable.
Post-Narrows lunch: MeMe’s Cafe in Springdale. We tried Oscar’s Cafe next door first but it was packed. MeMe’s was empty, fast, and wonderful — sweet potato crepe, jalapeño poppers, onion rings, and freshly brewed coffee we grabbed for the drive back. No complaints.
Salt Lake City: Reunion Mode
From Springdale, we drove back to SLC to a VRBO home in Riverton — where nearly 30 classmates were already waiting. Dinner was from The Pie Pizzeria, a Utah institution: salads, pizzas of every kind, dessert pizzas, and crumble cookies left by the VRBO host. Talking and laughing until midnight felt both inevitable and necessary.
Great Salt Lake Boat Tour
Morning after the reunion, we split into three pontoon boats with Exclusive Excursions SLC — 12 people per boat, departing from the Great Salt Lake State Park Marina. The guides are packed with facts: the lake’s extraordinary salinity, brine shrimp, Morton Salt’s operations nearby, the magnesium extraction, how shallow the lake actually is (genuinely surprising), the “peninsula” you can see from the water. A 45-minute tour that earns its price easily.
After the tour, get your group photos with the parked sailboats and the blue sky behind you. We tried walking onto the dry lake bed but were quickly persuaded otherwise (the smell, and a deceased bird, made the decision for us).
Temple Square & Downtown SLC
From the marina, we headed to Temple Square for the free noon organ recital in the Tabernacle — a genuinely moving experience, regardless of your background. The Salt Lake Temple itself was closed for renovation, but the grounds and the Tabernacle on West Temple Street are well worth the time.
Parking tip: Two-hour free parking in the City Creek Mall garage was a genuine surprise for a group of 35. Walk from there to the Square.
Lunch: City Creek Food Court — an enormous variety of options, and enough seating for our whole group without scrambling.
After lunch: Browse for Utah souvenirs, then walk to the Utah State Capitol. It’s a climb from downtown, and you’ll feel it after a large meal, but the views and the building itself are spectacular. The architecture around SLC’s downtown — the temple, the Tabernacle, the Capitol — creates a cityscape that’s genuinely unique.
An Evening in Shalwar and Sequins
The reunion party started with a stop at the Ganesh Temple in Riverton — a beautiful, serene experience that centred us before the evening ahead.
Then: Saffron Valley Indian Restaurant downtown SLC, where we had our own private party room upstairs for dinner — Indian food with a live dosa counter, mango lassi, the works. After dinner, the whole group moved downstairs for hours of DJ dancing, laughter, and one truly special moment: a classmate had used AI to create a custom Tamil song about our SLC trip, with call-backs to our college days in Coimbatore. We closed the night with Mustafa Mustafa, circa 1990s Kollywood, and not a single person was sitting down.
Back at the VRBO for one final late-night session: laughter, a quick poll on next year’s location (result: Fort Lauderdale/Miami, April 2027 — with a lead volunteer already claimed), and then goodbyes that took far longer than goodbyes should.
The Essentials: Quick Reference
| What | Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stay in Zion | SpringHill Suites Springdale | Book adjacent suites for shared deck |
| Park Pass | America the Beautiful | $80, all national parks, worth it |
| Arrival dinner | Bit & Spur | Open late, tofu tacos are mandatory |
| Post-hike lunch | Thai Sapa | Private corner seating, ask ahead |
| Takeout dinner | Iceberg Drive Inn | Carry out to your hotel deck |
| Narrows gear | Zion Guru | Ask specifically about waterproof shoes |
| Post-Narrows lunch | MeMe’s Cafe | Quick, delicious, empty when it matters |
| Salt Lake boat tour | Exclusive Excursions SLC | 12 per pontoon, guides are excellent |
| SLC Indian dinner | Saffron Valley | Private dining upstairs, DJ downstairs |
Five Things We’d Tell Our Past Selves
- Bring dry shoes to the Narrows. Leave them at the water entry point. Non-negotiable.
- Trekking poles for Scout Lookout. Two if you can manage them, one at minimum.
- Note your parking zone at Zion. The lots look identical when you come back tired.
- America the Beautiful pass. If you’re visiting more than one national park, buy it before you go.
- Do this with people you love. The trails are easier, the food tastes better, and midnight comes much too fast.
Next stop: Fort Lauderdale/Miami, April 2027. Watch this space.
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