3 months ago
Visitor Center Pedestrian Bridge Checkpoint and Bike Shuttle Issues - Leaving a review for the Visitor Center pedestrian bridge checkpoint and the biking and buses experience. Zion is beautiful, but the way the Visitor Center is operated makes visitors feel more like a problem than guests. The ranger at the pedestrian bridge checkpoint was the low point of our trip. I was camping at Watchman with my senior parents and took my daughter across the bridge to buy trekking poles. When we tried to return, the ranger refused to let us back to our own bikes, which were locked up about 75 feet away, unless we paid $20 per person. She showed no interest in the fact that we had a valid campsite and no interest in the fact that my parents were at our RV site just south of the bridge. It felt rigid, unreasonable, and completely disconnected from common sense. The biking experience was also frustrating. We were on pedal bikes riding the 9 miles from the Visitor Center to the Narrows. About 95% of the bikes on the road were e‑bikes, but the shuttle buses treated all cyclists the same. They repeatedly forced us to a complete stop even when both lanes were open. Drivers rang bells or honked until you put a foot down. At one point I was already stopped, started rolling again as they passed, and the driver still shook her hand at me as if I had done something wrong. The scenery is world class, but the visitor experience is overcrowded, overregulated, and surprisingly unfriendly. The park deserves better management and so do the people who come here to enjoy it. We left a day early and adjusted our trip to go elsewhere.
