hiking the Virgin River in Zion NP

July in the desert Southwest brings hot temperatures. And hot means really hot. This weekend we had a forecast of 110F. But I was still wanted to go on a hike somewhere. Why not hike in a river and cool off and beat the heat a bit that way?
I decided to head to Zion National Park and hike the Virgin River from the end of the shuttle stop at Temple of Sinewava all the way to Canyon Junction. The entire hike would be in the water.
I headed to the park before sunrise so I could shoot sunrise at the Natural History Museum and the Towers of the Virgin. It was also the spot where I would park my car for the day.
Sunrise was great and the cliffs lit up nicely.

After sunrise, I waited for the shuttle and got off at the last stop. While everyone else was heading towards the Narrows, I headed to the opposite direction. It was still pretty cloudy but I liked it a lot because it wasn't getting too hot too soon.
The views of Zion Canyon was amazing.

It was peaceful out there, just the murmuring sound of the river and the wind moving through the foliage of the willows and cottonwoods. And not a single soul out here compared to the circus heading to the Narrows.

The Great White Throne

I passed the Great White Throne and the shuttle stop for the hikes to Observation Point and Weeping Rock, the river offered great views. There were nice little swim holes as well as rocky sections that were pretty shallow. The temperature was just perfect with the cloud cover.

One pretty thing was an area of algae growth that looked like a little coral reef. There were even small fish hiding underneath the algae.

Several stops followed where I just soaked in the cool water of the river. The swim holes were just amazing. I didn't realize there were so many as I only about a few.
I walked further south and passed Angels Landing, one of the most famous icons of Zion National Park.

Angels Landing

On my way I also encountered the cute Canyon Tree Frogs, they were everywhere. I saw a Jerusalem Cricket as well, these bugs could sting like crazy if you're not careful enough. 

Jerusalem Cricket

Near the river bridge to Angels Landing it got busier and I saw many people for the first time today. Some of my favorite swim holes were also close to the bridge near Angels Landing trail.  I moved on fast and encountered another stretch of river where no one else was there. It was beautiful.

I passed the Emerald Pools area with Heaps Canyon, it was just great to see all the iconic areas from this perspective. I really enjoyed the hike so far.

Heaps Canyon

The sun was out now and it was getting hot pretty fast. I was glad to be in the river where I could cool off every now and then. The last stretch of my hike also offered great scenery and a wonderful canyon landscape.

Mountain of the Sun

Too soon I arrived at Canyon Junction where I hopped onto the shuttle back to the Human History Museum. Total mileage was a bit more than 8 miles, but it was well worth the effort and a great way to get outside on a hot day.