Biking Zion and Red Canyons

Today we drove from Zion to Bryce, but first we did a couple of bike rides. Starting from the visitor center, we rode Zion Canyon to the end of the road and back. This is not a very long ride, but it’s so impressive to look up at the sheer walls of the canyon. There is very little traffic, although there is a rule that bikes pull off the road and stop whenever a shuttle bus comes from behind.

At Big Bend we stopped because a ranger had a spotting scope set up. Turns out there was a California Condor nesting site below the rim of Scout Lookout where we had lunch yesterday. No condors appeared, but sometimes they perch on the rim real close to people. The ranger was a Livermore kid—saw my Livermore Cyclery jersey and mentioned he spent plenty of time in the store. He did a good job explaining all the condor facts too.

After leaving Zion through the east entrance, we stopped for a short bike ride on a very nice bike trail at Red Canyon, just before getting to Bryce. It was warm and uphill and we weren’t very energetic.

We stayed the night at Bryce Pines—ate in their restaurant too.