Trans-Zion variations in two days?

I'd lean strongly towards option 2 or something like it. Skipping the last few miles to the west rim, with all the views down into Phantom Valley, and then the section down past Angels Landing misses what is by far the best part of the whole hike.

Lee Pass to the Kolob Arch trail is a fast, hard packed trail. Hop Valley has a few miles of slow sand with no shade. The miles past Wildcat are good trail and rolling, requires a bit of effort but still fast. The initial miles from the West Rim TH are flat and fast, and the drop down into the canyon is good trail (paved or rock much of the way) though it will pound your feet and legs.

Plan 2 is definitely doable if that kind of mileage is within your capabilities.

Definitely option 2. Make sure you know where water will be. It would be very wise to leave a gallon cached near the Wildcat TH. Theres no good water through Hop Valley.

I did a similar trip last OCT. Started at Lee Pass and camped the first night at Wildcat Canyon, then took the West Rim Trail to Angel's Landing and the Grotto.

I'll echo what David said, Hope Valley is sandy and slow, and there is no good water there. When I went in OCT, there wasn't any good water past Kolob Arch to Wildcat Valley, I had to hike almost all the way to the West Rim TH to find some. If you are accustomed to 15-20 mile days, it won't be difficult to do it in two days. Make sure you do Angel's landing, it's worth the climb!

Once you get into the valley, the park runs a free bus that will take you back into town, and stops right near Zion Adventures.

Please check back with this message and let us know how it went. I'll be in Zion for 2-3 days later in the year after doing the JMT so I'm looking for something similar to option 2 as well.

first off have you ever been to Zion before ?
if not I would seriously consider a third option.
base yourself in the main Zion area, camping at Watchman.
then do a series of day hikes to the most scenic areas.
this place is too beautiful to simply spend 2 days in the less desirable parts of the park. put up with the crowds for your first visit and take it all in.

if you've been there before or insist on a 2 day hike, then your hard option is the one.

We did the entire Zion Traverse in April last year and the water sources along West Rim Trail were sparse, mostly trickles and mud muddles.
check with the rangers when you get there.

But again, for a first timer, day hikes :

1. Grotto up to Angels Landing, and then further out West Rim Trail

2. up East Rim Trail a few miles and then back

3. a few other really cool short but exciting via ferrata type trails with great views.

4. maybe even a slot canyon day hike, but some of these require permits and gear.

Art, interesting advice. I have been to Zion, but frankly it was in my twenties in the 90's and at the time I was focused on rock-climbing and this was a side trip from Red Rocks. I have good general memories of it, but can't remember what we did – though definitely not Angel's Landing, would have remembered that!

I'm going to mull over the day hike idea, I'm not averse to it. I fear I'll miss Angel's Landing if I don't do day hikes and go for option two since I'm arriving too late on Day 0 to do it and Day 1 and Day 2 in the hard option probably would not permit Angel's Landing.

I just got back from a week in Zion a week ago and did many of the trails you mentioned (Lee Pass TH to Kolob Arch, Wildcat TH to Grotto, as well as some spectacular day hikes – Narrows and Subway (both bottom up).
I second why David C and others said: the 2nd option is the way to go, if you're accustomed to such mileage. Water is indeed unreliable – even with warm temps and plenty of snow still melting, we went through the lower half of the West Rim trail/Potato Hollow with no running water, only snow to eat/melt. Even the stream marked on the NatGeo TI map was dry in mid March.

Also, if you're not averse to crowds, the Subway and Narrows hikes are great. If you move fast you could do both in a 10-12 hour day. Also, Kolob Canyon is really beautiful, but the Arch is a bit anti-climatic and the Hop Valley Trail is dry, sandy and relatively unspectacular. So, a potential option 3 would be to spend day one hiking from the West Rim TH to Angels Landing/Grotto and then do the Narrows and/or Subway on day two. You could do both days fast & light and make it back to Zion Canyon/Springdale in time for a nice dinner. Just make sure you get a Subway Permit ASAP.

Thanks all for great advice. I'm leaning towards day hikes. I planned ahead and booked Watchman for Day 0 and both Wildcat Canyon and Kolob permit for Day 1.

I was going to drop those Day 1 permits in favour if staying at Watchman. But Watchman is fully booked now. Anybody have experience with the South campground on a Friday night in late April for my Day 1 night? It's first come, first served – would it be safe to rock up at 6 pm and get a spot?

Thx, David

Plus, do you all definitively recommend not missing Angel's Landing? If so, I'll definitely have to do day hikes, unless I could do Angel's Landing on Day 0, arriving at about 4pm to Zion gates. Possible?

I would not count on getting a site at the South Campground at 6pm on a Friday. Might want to look into reservable options in Springdale.

Angels starting at 4pm is possible. Sunset will be around 830pm, with useable light for close to an hour after. Park outside the entrance at 4, walk in, be on a bus at 415, and on the trail by 445. Plenty of time to get to the summit, and maybe enough to get back down to Scouts Lookout before full dark. I'd bring a headlamp with good batteries and a beer and enjoy the sunset, before descending the chains in the dark. If you've got some climbing background going down in the dark is actually a total blast. Just check to make sure you don't miss the last shuttle back.

David D. (OP)- its not that Angel's Landing is an absolute must …
its just that (in my opinion) the first day of your initial plan, is not nearly as amazing as other areas, Angel's Landing included.
if you're not really familiar with Zion's beauty, and only have 2 days, why not cherry pick, for this trip anyways.
if its hiking you want, you can get in 2 full days of hiking easy.

even the east entrance of the park is amazing, and different than the central canyon.
lots of visuals in this place.

I would probably (in fact did) save the Zion Traverse for a 3rd or 4th visit to the park.

But it's your trip, so do whatever works best for you.

I second everything David said. South Campground will most certainly be full – it was full before noon two Fridays ago and rangers reported record attendance so far this year. Angel's Landing is great and doing it around sunset would be a good way to avoid the traffic jam (at least on the way down). If you're going to be doing the West Rim Trail anyway, doing Angel's Landing on the way back to the Grotto would probably be the best option, as it saves time and energy by avoiding the long climb out of the canyon.

Another option would to be head to Kolob Canyon on day 0, hike to the arch, and spend the night at either: a) one of the sites on the way back out along La Verkin Creek Trail, or b) a motel in Springdale. You could then get up early on day 1, leave Kolob Canyon and hike from the West Rim TH to Angels Landing/The Grotto or do other day hikes, such as the Narrows and/or Subway. At least, that is how I'd recommend squeezing the most into 2.5 days in Zion.