The Watchman’s Glow: Zion National Park
Four amazing days in the crown jewel of Utah’s national parks
4-8 November, 2025
Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah
"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth." — Psalm 50:2
The Watchman Campground
As the trip’s strategic route planner, Peyton did a phenomenal job of saving Utah’s grand finale for our last stop in the state. She had been hounding the Recreation.gov website and in August jumped on a cancellation opening at the Watchman campground.
We pulled up to the coolest campground of the trip!
Nate living his best life!
Camping in the park makes the experience so much more immersive and allows you to skip the entrance lines and other logistical time wasters. Somehow, she even lined up the year’s biggest supermoon (when the full moon is closest to Earth) to coincide with our stay!
The Virgin River was about 50 yards behind our campsite and Nate quickly discovered a rope swing and swimming hole.
That evening we enjoyed a cedar wood campfire and grilled some burgers over the open flames as the moon rose over the mountains. Not a bad first day!
As a bonus, the campground is less than a half-mile walk to the visitor center and pickup point for the shuttle bus that accesses the Virgin River valley and park’s main attractions. That road is closed to private vehicles and the shuttle bus and biking are the only way to access the area. All that to say, after 15,000 miles of driving since the journey started, I was thrilled not to drive the truck for four days!
Angels Landing
We entered the lottery system to hike the popular Angels Landing trail and were given permits for the next morning. Angels Landing is a 5.5 mile, 1500’ of elevation gain hike known for its thrilling, knife-edge ridge and stunning canyon views.
The final half-mile is the most famous: a narrow sandstone spine with sheer drop-offs on both sides, where anchored safety chains lead to the summit. The fearless kids thought the hike was exciting and bounded passed many adults white-knuckling the chains. This included their mother, who I don’t recall being at all nervous when we did the hike pre-kids in 2009. Something about a 9-year old boy holding the chain with one finger, leaning back, and dramatically singing “goodbye life” over and over...
Nate whimsically perfecting the one-finger chain hold
View from the top
I think this video of the descent highlights why the Angels Landing may not be for everyone.
Weeping Rock
The next day we did some shorter hikes to Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock — an undercut rock alcove with water seeping out of the wall that nourishes lush hanging gardens. It is a gorgeous sight, but the thing that makes it truly incredible is that the water weeping today was rain 1,000 years ago! It fell on the plateau above, was absorbed by the ground, and then seeped through thousands of feet of porous Navajo Sandstone, hitting an impermeable layer of much denser siltstone and mudstone known as the Kayenta Formation. After all that seeping, the water drips out at the Weeping Rock as a year-round spring.
Rain, trapped for a thousand years, falling again
The Watchman
When we got back to the campground, I had a thought that it would be cool to do a night hike and watch the supermoon rise. Sadie was up for the adventure, and we set off to hike the 4-mile Watchman trail illuminated by red lens headlamps to preserve our night vision.
From an elevated lookout point at the end of the trail we watched the full moon coming through a notch in the peaks and looked down at our campground and the nearby town of Springdale. After drinking in our fill of the views, we descended the trail with nothing but moonbeams illuminating our path.
Exploring the Canyon
The following day Peyton and Nate put their bikes on the rack of shuttle bus. Sadie and I joined the same shuttle, and we all took it to the furthest up-canyon stop. On their bikes, Peyton and Nate followed the river downstream and rode the 8+ downhill miles back to the campground, enjoying unobstructed canyon views and stopping to meander in the river.
The Narrows
Meanwhile, Sadie and I headed upstream towards The Narrows, a unique and signature hike of Zion National Park. Instead of walking on a traditional trail, you wade and walk in a deep slot canyon of the Virgin River.
The Navajo sandstone cliffs, carved out over millennia by the rushing water, rise up to one thousand feet high on each side! In the narrowest parts, the canyon walls are only about 20 feet apart. Since the water was around 48 degrees, Sadie was a good sport and wore my (somewhat oversized for her) fishing waders while I donned my surfing wetsuit.
Sporting the latest fall fashions — both fabulous and functional!
You can hike upriver almost 5 miles before things turn technical and you need a permit, a rope, and other canyoneering equipment. We didn’t have a destination in mind and went about 3 miles upriver to the famous "Wall Street" section where the canyon walls close in, and light struggles to reach the river below. Having met our river hiking quota we turned back, took the shuttle back to the visitor center, and met up with Peyton and Nate to enjoy one last campfire at the beautiful campground.
At the end of our stay, we were all a little sad to leave this beautiful and amazing place. Thankfully, we’ll swing through here again this spring on our way east. The Watchman is already calling us back.
"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth." — Psalm 50:2
Roberts on the Road
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.
With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
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