Of the famous “Mighty 5” within Utah, Zion National Park was the first park we chose to explore. We selected a scenic boondocking site along the Virgin River, just a few miles east of the park entrance. We had the area to ourselves, for the most part, and the children were free to roam and explore a shallow river, teeming with thousands of round tadpoles.

Zion is truly deserving of its name. It’s a little paradise in the desert–a quiet green oasis along the Virgin River. Steeples of stone soar into the sky above the deep cut canyon floor. Deer, squirrels, and turkeys wander among the visitors, knowing they have nothing to fear.

I think all of our mouths hung agape on our first drive through the park. The variety of landscapes, plants, and geological formations is astonishing. At the visitor center and the museum, we learned a lot about the rich history of the valley. From the ancient Anasazi people, to the late Mormon pioneers, many cultures and people found this place to be a sanctuary and called it home.

Milky Way arching over a dark ridge dotted with distant lights under a starry sky
View of the night sky from the valley we camped in.

Two boys playing in a shallow desert creek with long sticks
Finding minnows and tadpoles.

Smiling children in matching green shirts walking a trail, one carrying a walking stick
Who knew a darking beetle could make kids this happy?

Zion canyon of red and white cliffs above green pools with tiny hikers on the trail
Hiking with new friends to a Junior Ranger program.

Striped pink sandstone slopes topped with hoodoos and pinyon pines

A lone hiker dwarfed by the tilted white-and-orange face of a colossal sandstone dome
My kids scaling up the side of Checkerboard Mesa.

Girl seated on smooth pink slickrock below a piñon-juniper hillside
Notice the lack of shoes? She said she could climb better without them. The sandstone does give great traction for climbing.

Three bighorn sheep standing along the crest of a slickrock fin
Some big horn sheep just hanging out, causing an “animal jam”  on the road from gawking camera happy visitors like us.

A toddler faces a rock squirrel standing upright on a desert overlook
Cute little beggars.

Close-up portrait of a rock squirrel at eye level
“Are you SURE you can’t feed me?!”

A camper lowers a bag of peanuts toward a squirrel reared up on its hind legs
Don’t worry, we did NOT feed him. We were very impressed at his reach though!

Mossy streaked fin of red sandstone shot straight up against the sky
Dripping canyons walls with hanging ferns. In the desert!

Girl in a bright pink dress watching a rock squirrel from the red rocks

Rock squirrel reared up on a red boulder, begging
Last squirrel picture, I promise… But how cute is a yawning squirrel?!

Girl standing atop a boulder in a green canyon with towering red cliffs
The “Take a picture of me!” pose.

The Virgin River braiding over riverbed boulders beneath Zion's red buttes

Children playing and a horse grazing beneath a vast live oak in a park
Deer come up every evening to graze beside playing children and lounging guests at the Zion Lodge.