Weeping Rock and Emerald Pool

weeping rock

After we finished hiking Angel’s Landing, it was mid-afternoon, so we decided to hit some of the shorter hikes.

We hopped on the shuttle and got off at the stop for Weeping Rock, which is a short hike (only about 1 mile round trip) on a paved walkway, but it does get steep. You’re rewarded at the top by a cool, misty breeze blowing off the dripping rocks above. The water was quite cold as it dripped on us.

under weeping rock

After that hike we got back on the shuttle and got off a couple stops later at the lodge, which is also the stop for Emerald Pools. This was another paved walkway hike, and while it wasn’t as steep as Weeping Rock, it did have some steep spots and rolling hills. And the pavement wasn’t in great condition, either. This hike is about a mile and a half round trip to the lower pool, but the lower pool was looking less than emerald and we were pretty underwhelmed. By this point we were getting tired and opted not to hike to the middle or upper pools.

not very emerald looking

As we hiked back to the shuttle stop my sister called to say that they (she, my parents, one of my brothers and his wife, and River and Ocean) were at the museum. So we took the shuttle to the museum to meet them. Dad wanted to do some hiking, as did the little boys, so we went back to Weeping Rock.

The second time we did Weeping Rock, I pushed Ocean in the stroller since my parents had brought it and we were too far from the visitor center parking lot to ditch it. I’d already gotten a workout hiking to Angel’s Landing and back, and I got another workout pushing a stroller full of solid toddler up the trail. Going back down was almost as difficult since I had to make an effort not to go to fast or let the stroller get away from me. All in all, not something I would recommend for anyone else.

The stroller also proved to be a pain on the shuttle when we headed back to the visitor center. Everyone else was also heading back so the shuttles were super crowded. Even folded up the stroller was too wide to go down the aisle, so I was stuck at the head of the aisle, blocking everyone in and unable to go anywhere (Mr M was wrangling the boys). Lots of fun.

On the way back to the rental house we stopped at a grocery store for a few things and saw a shave ice stand in the corner of the parking lot, so we cooled off with some sugar covered snow.