The BEST VIEW at Zion National Park: Observation Point (via the East Mesa Trail)

Yesterday we spent the day exploring Zion National Park for the second time. Due to the shuttle ticket system we focused on hikes you can do without the shuttle and still saw some incredible scenery. And today we're heading back to the park to experience a hike that we have done before but in a different way. While Angels Landing gets a lot of the love at Zion today we're going to show you what some would say is the best view in the park observation point. We did this hike during our last trip to Zion and it was incredible but since our visit the main Visitors captured the moment the rock fell 3,000 feet down cable mountain. But we recently learned of another way to get to observation point via the East Mesa Trail which is on the east side of the park. So today we're gonna go check it out. Alright we sort of made it to the trail. We read in a lot of the reviews that the road to the actual trailhead is super rough. We're walking right by it right now and it's very very rutted and we heard do not go on it if it's wet, snowing, anything. Even if you have four by four people sometimes get stuck. So everyone suggests parking about a half mile down the road from the trailhead in this big dirt lot and then walking to the trailhead from there. So that is what we're doing now. The dirt lot is pretty large. We were the only car there when we first parked but I think someone else is joining now. But it can fit probably like 30 cars or so I'd say. The hike is about 6.7 miles but if you throw in this extra half mile there, half mile back, it gets closer to eight. Good thing is there's less elevation this way. It's pretty flat whereas if you go from the canyon floor it's around 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Much tougher. We made it. For real this time. The biggest difference when hiking to observation point from the East Mesa Trail versus the trail that goes up through the canyon is that on the East Mesa Trail you're kind of in a wooded forest surrounded by a lot of trees. So far there aren't really any views. There's some kind of tucked through the trees but it's mostly just a nice pretty wooded walk. Whereas going up through the canyon, you're obviously going up through the canyon and you have views of the canyon almost the entire time. So some would say this hike is less scenic. It's probably more about the destination versus the journey. But at the end of the day you get that same amazing observation point view at the end. Another note to make is this trail can get super muddy after a rain or after the snow melt. You can definitely see a lot of the remnants of that. The ground is very... looks like there's a lot of footprints in the hardened mud. Thankfully the last few days has been really sunny so it's all dry for us. Oh my gosh. Wow. Nice little pull-off spot here. That is so cool. It's just like the canyon, like the V in the canyon. It is so deep. It's not all just a walk in the forest. You do have a few stops along the way to whet your appetite for epic views. Check out this amazing view. You can see the entire canyon, the valley floor. You can see the watchman that we hiked to last night. It is just incredible. It's just so jagged and rugged and you can see Angel's Landing which is probably the most popular hike in the park. It's that hump right there. So Angel's Landing is famous for its chain section that takes you up this very steep ridge with sharp drop-offs on either side. It's got two-way traffic on it too so it can get a bit sketchy. So if that's not your thing, you want a safer route or viewpoint, come to Observation Point. And as you can tell we're actually higher than Angel's Landing by over 700 feet. Also on that chain part where there's two-way traffic and it's really tight, oftentimes there's a weight to get up there. So you're just hanging onto this chain. Steep drop-offs, that's not for me. Whereas here at Observation Point there are only three other people here right now which is amazing. You can actually see the specks of people at Angel's Landing. They're very tiny but you can see little ants, little human ants over there. It is really cool. So full disclosure, we have never done Angel's Landing. Just the thought of the chains and the drop-offs, it just doesn't sound like something I would enjoy very much. So we've stuck to Observation Point instead. But from everyone we've talked to, all the blogs we've read, from people who have done both, everyone says that Observation Point is hands down the best view in Zion. Much better than Angel's Landing. The difference is if you want like a thrilling, exhilarating hike, maybe do Angel's Landing. But if you just want a nice, easy, enjoyable, calm hike with an epic view, then do Observation Point. Or, if you have time, you can do both and then see which one you like the best. And now, we feast. We're taking the scenic route to lunch and these views never get old. We could drive this road over and over and over again. But one thing we're noticing, it's almost, it's almost noon or it's noon right now and the park is insane. So don't come here at noon. Our hot tip for Zion especially, but a lot of places, probably most national parks that get really busy, is come for sunrise, leave in the afternoon, and then come back for sunset. Adam's getting hangry. I'm hangry and tired. Slangry. It took us about 45 minutes probably to get, like, enter the park, you know, show our pass, get in, and then also get through the tunnel. We just exited the tunnel and the line for the other direction to go through is two miles long. Probably at least, yeah. I would have gotten angry on that one. Yeah, he would have for sure been angry. More hangry and slangry than he he already is. Wow. Yeah, we have been very fortunate to kind of beat the crowds the last, like, yesterday and today by doing stuff really early or really late. But this is the reality of coming to one of the most popular national parks, especially during spring break or some sort of holiday. We finally made it through the craziness of the park. We finally have lunch. We came to this place called Oscar's Cafe, which is a bomb place to get Mexican food. And we got quite the spread, which is good because the hanger is so real right now. Maximal levels. We're both, like, bursting at the seams. We are so, like, angry and hungry. We're hangry. But I guess I'll start with the chips and salsa. So we got their chips and salsa, which if you are sitting in the restaurant, it's bottomless. But you do have to pay for it. So it's not free chips and salsa, which is usually minus 10 points for us. But the salsa smells so fresh and good. And they give you a good amount for takeout despite not getting bottomless. And then both of our meals came with these little salads. So those look delicious and yummy. Those are cool. But the real, the real attraction here is are these bomb plates of food. So I got the pork enchiladas, and it looks heavenly. And this hefty hunk of deliciousness here, I think it's green chili pork. Green? No. Verde chili pork burrito. One of those. It's green chili pork, I believe. It's all stuffed in a burrito. I'm pretty sure it's going to have all the usual burrito ingredients that you would find. Comes with rice, a nice jalapeno, delicious looking sauce, cheese all over it, sour cream, beans. This is not one of those you hold it with your hands kind of burrito. Look at all the goodness going on in there. That is a winner of a burrito. Flavor is so good. There's tons of pico in there. The tons of cheese, as you can see. The pork has like a smoky flavor and just seems like it's been cooking forever. It's just so soft and tender. The green chili sauce gives you a nice tang. Tons of flavor, a little spicy. It's immaculate. It's so cheesy inside. The pork, like Adam said, super tender. It's just like that perfect combination of just like a melted cheese with the warm tortillas and then the sauce on top and then has a guacamole on top as well. It's like all under here too. So this whole thing are the enchiladas. They're just tucked under. It's the whole enchilada. It's the whole enchilada. I don't know if this just tastes good because we are so hungry or... It's dang good. I think it's dang good. Absolutely stuffed. Demolished it. That was a big burrito. They gave me a run for my money but I got it. No match for Adam. No match for me. It's so good. Oh man, we had a great hike. Great food. It got a little hairy there in the middle there. It was kind of tough but everything turned out all right. Coming up in our next video, we're going to explore some more of the area and show you some more cool stuff to do. I just want to pet him so bad. Oh my god, I love that chipmunk so much. He's so cute. It's not all just a walk in the forest. You do have a few views here and there to whep your app... whep your appetite.