Zion on Two (and Three) Wheels: A Beginner’s Guide with Heart

By Gail Newbold — When a friend from Washington told me biking in Zion National Park was the highlight of her entire Southern Utah trip, it jumped to the top of my bucket list. It didn’t sound too difficult or complicated: Book an e-bike from a rental shop in the charming town of Springdale and cycle into the park. Lock up at a bike rack located at any shuttle stop on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive if you want to hike. Get back on the bike and do it again.

So, while it should have been simple, it wasn’t. But once everything fell into place, it felt monumental. What could be better than two of my children flying into the St. George Regional Airport from Brooklyn and Denver for this ride of my dreams, and on Mother’s Day, no less?

The basic logistics weren’t the problem. Pretty quickly my daughters and I nailed down compatible dates, flights for them, driving for me, and lodging for all. Renting bikes was a breeze. The biggest challenge stemmed from my desire to buy a recumbent trike before the trip. I’d been contemplating this move ever since renting one for a six-day ride into Canada in the fall of 2024. I loved the comfort and security it offered. No sore butt, neck, shoulders or wrists. No worries about tipping over on fast starts and stops. But trikes are expensive and I wasn’t sure I could justify the purchase. Would it be like the proverbial treadmill-turned-clothes-hanger and sit in my garage gathering dust? Friends and family convinced me that over time it would pay for itself in avoidable rental costs. And hey, if I didn’t use it, I could always sell it.

I combed the classifieds for a month before the bike of my dreams popped up in Fort Collins, Colorado—a shiny red HP Velotechnik Gekko 26. I live near Salt Lake City, but the seller was willing to meet me halfway at a Love’s Travel Stop in Wamsutter, Wyoming. The next hurdle was the stream of money required for all additional accoutrements (something I hadn’t anticipated): helmet, pedals with straps, hydration vest, lock, headlamps, tail lamps, phone mounts, panniers and more (most of which I still don’t have.)

More urgent was getting the gear shift system changed to levers instead of twisting, and then figuring out how to fold and unfold the trike for transport. The videos made it look deceptively simple. My husband Dave is a super handy guy, but the folding gave him no end of grief. Every time I watched him struggle, my stress levels skyrocketed. He wasn’t going to Zion with me and I was worried my daughters wouldn’t be able to figure it out. I don’t have the strength to do it myself. I debated buying a rack to avoid the folding challenge, but the cost felt prohibitive.

The day before my drive to Southern Utah to pick up my daughters, I made a 10-point checklist of bike details to review with Dave. We’d been busy all day, so it was 5 pm. Suddenly Dave strode into the house looking stricken. “You have a flat tire,” he said. I have a high panic reflex. My legs felt like I’d just avoided being killed in a car accident. So much effort had gone into planning and prepping, and I was so excited to ride my new bike in Zion. I was devastated. What would I do? I frantically called Bountiful Bicycle who’d gamely gotten my unusual bike into shape earlier that week and begged them to let me bring it down on a Friday night just before closing. They kindly agreed to my immense relief.

Mother’s Day in Zion

Fast forward to the big day. My very can-do Brooklyn daughter Brooke Newbold who bikes regularly in the city, got tired of waiting for my not-so-sporty Denver daughter Farrah Lamoreaux to help her haul my heavy Gekko out of the car. I watched in shock as she singlehandedly lifted it out of my car and unfolded it in record time. The two of them walked to the rental shop for their RADs while I had another panic attack because the LCD display on my trike wasn’t lighting up, which meant no power for the hills. Yes, I was a total novice. I finally found an on/off button on the underside of the battery.

We started our ride on the Pa’rus Trail, the designated multi-use path within the park that connects to the 7-mile Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The towering cliffs, brilliant May foliage, deep blue skies and morning breeze were an intoxicating combination. I wiped away tears of joy and gratitude.

Experiencing Zion’s spectacular and dramatic scenery from a bike is entirely different and vastly more rewarding than seeing it from inside the shuttle where you might be standing or not by a window. And once off the shuttle, all you can see is the area immediately surrounding one of the nine stops.

We biked up the scenic drive for our first hike. I’d targeted Scout Lookout because it takes you to the point just before the Angel’s Landing permit area where people braver than me navigate the final scary ascent along the ridge. Brooke hiked Angel’s Landing as a young teen but had no interest in doing it again. It was unseasonably hot, so the 2-mile ascent with 1,122 feet of elevation gain wiped me out. I begged my daughters to hike at their faster pace and let me slog behind, but they refused, saying they weren’t in a hurry. Happy Mother’s Day to me. The views at the top were worth the effort as were the pair of owls tucked into the foliage enroute.

After our descent, I was exhilarated to be back on my bike with a breeze in my face. We cycled at a slow pace to the end of the scenic drive. None of us wanted to hurry through the breathtaking scenery, and were too hot to tackle anymore hikes. During lunch at Zion Lodge, I suggested we behave like Gen Z’s and catch up on our phones since we had cell service. It was fun to read our Mother’s Day messages.

Even though it was late afternoon by then, the rental bikes weren’t due till 7:30 pm so we decided to ride to Grafton Ghost Town and cemetery. I began questioning the wisdom of this since some of the ride was along the busy highway in and out of Springdale and some on washboard dirt roads. It was hot. Happily, the ghost town and cemetery felt worth the effort. We especially loved the ride back to Springdale facing towering cliffs and buttes.

My daughters peeled off to return their bikes while I cycled alone to our lodging. Once in the parking lot, I sat by my car feeling physically spent, and utterly dusty, dirty and sweaty. But in the best way possible. We’d biked a total of 32 miles. I was incredibly happy and proud. And grateful—for my daughters, for the beautiful world I live in, and for my physical ability to do the ride—something I do not take for granted.

From Central Park to National Park

The day after our ride, I asked my daughters to share their perspectives on this first-ever experience. Were they nervous? Brooke, who has a Citi bike pass and lives in Brooklyn, said, “If I need to go any place within five or six miles I take a bike instead of the subway. Or I’ll ride when I need a break and want to get out of the apartment. I’m on a bike about five days a week, so no, I was not at all nervous.”

Farrah owns a bike in cycle-friendly Denver, but said, “It’s had a flat for five or six years. I think the last time I rode it was during Covid with my son, and I tried to jump a curb and fell over and got all scraped up.” She admitted to being a little nervous at first on the RAD e-bike. “There were a lot of people and other bikers on the initial trail and my bike was so heavy, I was afraid if someone did something erratic, I’d have to jerk to a stop and fall off my bike or lose my balance. I wanted to be far enough behind them so I could slow down easily. Once we were on the paved road, I felt more comfortable but I wanted to bike slowly to enjoy the scenery.”

I expressed surprise that on our way back from Grafton, Farrah led the pack. “By then I just wanted to get back to our lodging as fast as possible and get off my bike,” she laughed. “Also, the RAD cruisers were really comfortable but at some point your bottom starts to hurt.”

What did they like most about the ride?

“I enjoyed being out in the open covering a lot of ground,” said Brooke the city-biker. “And it was really nice to have a designated bike path and scenic road where you only had to worry about shuttles and an occasional car. It was a whole new way of seeing Zion. I’ve been here multiple times, but biking made it all fresh. And I hate the shuttles. I hate waiting in long lines. I hate being packed in with people standing. Last time I was here, the shuttles weren’t air conditioned.”

Farrah liked the feeling of being up close and personal with the scenery and having the freedom to hop on and off the bike at any point instead of being trapped on a shuttle. “Even though I grew up in Utah, I’d never been to Zion because I’m not very outdoorsy. I think sometimes when you grow up in a place, local sights feel sort of old hat and it’s more interesting to explore further afield. I was really impressed with how dramatic the scenery was and very different from the mountains in Colorado. I was grateful for this trip because I probably never would have done it on my own. Now I want to bring my husband and kids back and it doesn’t feel hard or scary.”

If you go (and you should):

1. It’s easy to rent e-bikes from one of the many shops in Springdale. My daughters paid about $94 for an all-day rental at Zion Guru. The shops provide instruction, helmets and locks. I researched bike theft in the park, and the consensus was it’s very low. Other rental shops in Springdale include: Zion Peddler (zionpeddler.com), EBikes Zion (ebikezionrental.com), Utah E-bike Adventures (utahebikeadventures.com), Zion Cycles (zioncycles.com), Greater Zion E-bike rentals (greaterzionebikes.com), Outta Here E-Bikes (outtahereebikes.com) and RideZion Adventures (does tours)(ridezion.com).
2. I’d read that no cars were allowed on the scenic drive from March through November, so was surprised to see some. Evidently people staying at Zion Lodge are allowed to drive to the lodge, but no further.
3. The scenic drive is seven miles up and seven miles back.
4. Bikers are required to pull over and stop whenever a shuttle approaches.
5. The new shuttles are electric and air conditioned.
6. Biking is by far the best way to experience Zion for both cycling and hiking. It provides all the joy and none of the pain.
7. Bring your own food or eat at Zion Lodge.
8. Refill your water bottles at several locations along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive: Zion Canyon Visitor Center, Zion Human History Museum, Zion Lodge, Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop (Riverside Walk/The Narrows), the Grotto and South Campground. 
9. It probably goes without saying that the summer months from May through September can be very hot and crowded, so be prepared. Best times to go are March – early May and later September – November.