Hiking the Zion Narrows

If the weather is amenable, a trip into the Narrows is undoubtably the highlight of a visit to Zion. Beyond the end of the Zion Canyon road, the Virgin River flows for several miles through a narrow gorge that is perhaps a thousand feet deep but only thirty or so feet wide. The narrowest sections, where the river fills the canyon completely, are a majestic sight, and definitely the most memorable part of my visit to the park. On a good day this trip is popular, but as always many people turn back after only a short foray upstream. You won't mistake the most impressive sections of the Narrows for a wilderness environment, but it's by no means ruined by crowds.

A full trip through the Narrows, going from North to South with the flow of the river, is a lengthy one way slog of 16 or so miles that requires a permit, and either a (long) day or an overnight stop. Spectacular sections lie within a few miles of the end of the paved trail at the North end of Zion Canyon, however, and these are easily reached on a day hike. There's no trail as such, you progress upstream along the banks of the river where they exist, with frequent fordings and extended stretches of wading otherwise. When I did this hike with my brother, during a dry spell in September, the river was not too cold and it was generally possible to stay within water that was not much more than knee deep. Unless you do more river wading in everday life than me, though, that still feels pretty deep! The rocks make for treacherous going - boots and a wading staff were essential. We made it as far as Orderville Canyon, which joins the main canyon close to one of the most impressive sections of Narrows. Orderville Canyon can be explored for some distance itself, but although it's also an impressively narrow (and much drier) gorge it's not nearly as interesting or photogenic as the main canyon.

The sole downside of this hike is that it's dependent on good weather. There are three considerations: the warmth of the water (summer is best - by November you'll need a wetsuit or even a drysuit for the legs), the water depth (lowest in the Fall) and the risk of thunderstorms and flash floods (worst in July and August). All things considered, June, September and early October are probably the optimum times. The Park Service posts the weather forecast and local flash flood danger in the visitors' center, and waiting for a favourable forecast is essential. The Virgin River was in flood the day we arrived in the park after heavy thunderstorms, and you certainly wouldn't have wanted to venture into the water under those conditions, much less be stuck somewhere upstream in the canyon.

There are excellent photographic opportunities throughout. A tripod is very useful as it's pretty dim even during the main part of the day in the narrowest parts of the canyon, and a waterproof bag for your gear is also a good idea. The main challenge photographically is the extreme contrast between sunlit and shaded parts of the canyon - as a result although the whole canyon is very scenic many of the images you see come from a handful of spots where it's easier to make good images.

Angels' Landing

Trailhead: The trail leaves from the Grotto trailhead in Zion Canyon. This is a very popular hike (with good reason) so expect the trail to be crowded for most of the day.

Zion's other signature hike is to Angels' Landing, a narrow sandstone fin that juts into Zion Canyon from the West Rim. There are spectacular, almost fairytale, views of the canyon from the top, and getting there is most of the fun. The trail first climbs steeply from the floor of Zion Canyon up to and along a side canyon, before reaching a junction with the West Rim trail at Scout Landing. From there, the route crosses a precarious neck of rock - at one point just a few yards wide with sheer drops on both sides to the canyon below - before climbing again to reach Angels' Landing itself. Chains have been bolted into the rock to provide handrails for the most exposed stretches, but there's no real danger of slipping and falling except, perhaps, in wet or icy conditions, which I wouldn't fancy. Having done this hike twice though - and watched many people turn back at the narrowest section - it's clearly not a place for anyone afraid of heights!

Zion Subway

Trailhead: The Zion Subway is located along the rather more prosaically named Left Fork of North Creek. The non-technical out and back hike to the bottom of the Subway starts at the Left Fork trailhead along the Kolob Reservoir Road. Note that permits are necessary even for a dayhike in this drainage. I had no trouble securing a permit for a weekend in November (in fact I saw only two other people all day), but in the summer advance planning is necessary.

Anyone with even a passing familiarity with photography of the American Southwest will have seen pictures of the Zion Subway - a beautiful undercut section of canyon pitted with deep blue pools. Providing that you manage to secure a permit reaching the Subway isn't difficult - it's a 4.5 mile one way hike up the Left Fork of North Creek that takes maybe two and a half hours. The hike starts at the Left Fork trailhead and, shortly afterwards, the trail drops off the rim and descends steeply to reach the creek at the canyon floor. From there, it's just a matter of turning left and following the creek upstream to reach the narrow section. There's no formal trail, but although the route requires some scrambling and thrashing through undergrowth there's nothing that will deter the determined hiker. The lower reaches of the canyon are pleasant but unremarkable - the spectacular scenery is all concentrated within maybe half a mile of the Subway. You'll know you're getting close when you start to encounter undercut walls and attractive cascades where the creek flows over staircase-like slabs of rock. At one spot much of the water flows through a narrow crack just a few inches wide in the rock. Just beyond the crack there's an imposing straight section beyong which lies the gloomy entrance to the Subway. Hiking now up the creek, you turn the corner and find yourself in the Subway section. Water flows across the whole canyon floor here and the rock is very slippery - good footwear is needed to avoid becoming part of the classic scene!

Having reached the Subway, there's an almost irresistable desire to explore the canyon further upstream. Alas, it can't be done. Just a few yards beyond the spot where the classic photo is taken the canyon slots up, and futher progress is blocked by a section that requires swimming and, immediately afterwards, an unscalable waterfall. To see the upper reaches you need to descend the canyon on a one-way trip starting from the Wildcat Canyon trailhead further up the Kolob reservoir road. Although this is one of the easier canyoneering trips in Zion, it still requires ropes and a willingness to swim through frigid water to complete.

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...

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

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).