Kolob Arch trail
Trailhead: Lee Pass trailhead, about 4 miles along the Kolob Canyons scenic drive in the
northern section of Zion National Park. Carry plenty of water for this hike - although it's
not especially difficult there's
not much shade and the return in the heat of the day is mostly uphill.
Although Zion Canyon is deservedly the centerpiece of Zion the Kolob Canyons are also beautiful and
well worth exploring - not least as an antidote to the crowds in the main canyon. Although the
northern section of park is easily accessed from I-15 just south of Cedar City (about an hour
from Springdale) the canyons here are relatively lightly visited. The short scenic drive
offers some of the best spots to view sunset in the park (the panorama above was shot from
the road side near Lee Pass) and there are a number of good hikes. The best known is a 14.4 mile
out and back trip to view Kolob Arch, which vies with Landscape Arch
in Arches National Park for the title of longest arch in the world
(at least so they say, though how well scouted the further reaches of the world are for rock arches
one has to wonder). Having seen both I'd observe at the outset that Landscape Arch is a good
deal more spectacular than Kolob Arch, but nonetheless the latter is still an impressive piece
of rock and worth hiking to see...
Starting from the Lee Pass trailhead the hike to Kolob Arch is a trail of three halves. The first
mile or so runs parallel to the Kolob Canyons and offers excellent vistas as the trail descends to
the floor of the canyon to meet Timber Creek (remember that descent as reversing it will be
moderately tough labor at the end of the day!). The trail then follows Timber Creek for a while
before turning sharply east and descending further through some scrubby forest to reach La Verkin
Creek. This second section is frankly rather tedious, and a couple of backpackers I encountered here
offered up the concise and unsolicited judgement "it gets better"! They were right too, as once
you reach La Verkin Creek the rest of the hike to the arch is much more scenic and the trail,
although a bit sandy in places, allows for fast progress. Kolob Arch lies about half a mile
up a small side canyon and although you can't easily approach the base of the arch a rough
trail climbs above the official viewpoint to allow an unobstructed view of the arch and the
attractive canyon it's situated in. I stopped here for lunch and returned the same way (making
it back to the car after about 6 hours) but there are excellent camp sites situated along the
creek and there are other canyons in the area that you could explore as part of a backpacking
trip.
Double Arch Alcove
For a shorter hike in the Kolob Canyons area I'd recommend the easy trip to Double
Arch Alcove, which is reached by following the middle fork of
Taylor Creek a few miles upstream into spectacular country. The
creek is shallow, and easily forded when necessary, or you can just
walk upstream and ignore the trail altogether. Relatively few people seem to
hike this route, and the destination - Double Arch Alcove - is a
spectacular cave-like sandstone structure set in deep canyon
walls. It's a memorable spot, and there are wonderful, almost
unreal colours in the late afternoon.
Practicalities
When I've visited Zion I've stayed in Springdale, which is the most convenient
base for visiting Zion Canyon and the southern section of the park. There are plenty
of motels and restaurants, including the highly recommended Zion Pizza and Noodle Co.
Las Vegas is the nearest major airport (160 miles), while
the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon National park, and the Paria canyon
wilderness are not too far away either.
You could also stay at Mt Carmel Junction, which is closer to Bryce Canyon,
but it's exactly as the name suggests - a road junction. Wherever you stay, a car is
pretty well essential for getting anywhere in these parts.
Recommended references:
The official website for Zion from the
National Park Service.
Joe Braun's guide to hiking in
Zion is the best I've found on the web, with exceptional photographs. Highly
recommended!
Hiking Zion & Bryce
Canyon National Parks (Falcon Guide).