The East Rim Trail is one of the few hikes I’ve yet to do in Zion National Park – and Observation Point is regarded as one of the most spectacular viewpoints in the park. So while there are shorter and easier ways to get to Observation Point, I’m starting near the Zion National Park East Entrance and taking the East Rim Trail all the way to the end. And back the same way, which is hindsight wasn’t too smart, as I could have booked a shuttle avoiding some of the long distance.
I’m starting early, reaching the East Rim carpark and trailhead at about 7am. It’s still fairly chilly in late May in the morning – but it will soon get a lot warmer! I wouldn’t attempt this walk in the middle of summer.
The trail is initially sandy and fairly flat, as it enters the Zion Wilderness after about 0.6km (0.4 miles). Interestingly, the HikingGuy explains that the reason for the Wilderness Area sign being some distance from the trailhead is to create a “buffer zone” between developed areas and the primitive areas that the wilderness areas are protecting.
It’s pleasant and easy hiking, with not another soul around as the East Rim Trail heads in a northerly direction. The trail is old roadway, which follows the sandy wash of Clear Creek.
The first and gradual elevation gain comes as the trail does a long switchback to reach the top of the Navajo Foundation; as the trail swings back to the south along the top of the cliff, you can look back down on the trail below.
There are some great views from here down the Clear Creek drainage and over to Checkerboard Mesa (the name being from the checkerboard pattern, caused by the wind scouring horizontal stripes in the different strata of sandstone).
The East Rim Trail then skims along the top of the vertical cliffs above Jolley Draw, before descending down to the impressive Jolley Gulch (on the way back, I encounter a group of abseilers who are dropping down into the gulch and walking out the canyon). Jolley Gulch is said to be named after an early pioneer of the area, and is accompanied by a grisly story:
Back in the early 1900s, a man by the name of Jolly came to southern Utah early in the spring. Near what is now the East Entrance to Zion National Park, he found a beautiful little canyon where he thought he could make a living raising cattle. Soon after, while spring was still springing, Jolly brought his wife and two children to the little canyon, and built a beautiful house next to a cool brook. His cattle happily munched on the green grass and his family began to settle in.
As spring came to an end, and the scorching summer season began, Jolly and his family were surprised to find that the cool brook slowed to a trickle, turned to moist sand, and quickly dried up. They were far from the Virgin River, and water was no where to be found. As the long, hot days passed and they used the last of their water, Jolly realized that he and his family could not survive. They didn’t even have enough water to leave their new home to go get help.
Finally, his cracked lips spread into a smile, and he unexpectedly invited his wife and children to go for a walk down the dry stream. They came to what was once a lush waterfall. Once there, he threw his wife and children off the cliff and they tumbled to their deaths. He returned to his house, and wrote down what he had done, and then walked back to the dried up waterfall and threw himself down as well.
When you stand at the edge of the waterfall (or dry fall), if you feel the wind blowing at your back, that’s Old Man Jolly trying to kill you. If you feel the wind blowing in your face, that’s his wife trying to save you.
Utah’s Present History
From Jolley Gulch, the East Rim Trail ascends to the fairly arid ridge-top, with pinon pine, Utah Juniper and ponderosa pine providing a little (but not much) shade.
There’s a long and gradual descent towards the top of Echo Canyon, with the trail passing Stave Spring – the only reliable source of water along the East Rim Trail. (Just after Stave Spring is a trail marker showing a distance of 5 miles back to the trailhead – I would suggest it’s more like six miles.)
The East Rim Trail passes the junction with the trail to Cable Mountain and the junction with the Stave Spring Track, as it crosses a wide sage flat before reaching the northern rim of Echo Canyon.
The track follows the rim of Echo Canyon, and the views into and across the canyon get increasingly impressive as the canyon widens.
Eventually, the trail starts to descend the cliffs of Echo Canyon via a series of switchbacks; through the gap at the end of Echo Canyon is Cathedral Mountain and Angels Landing. The descent is not too hard – but I’m not looking forward to the climb back up.
Once at the bottom, the trail undulates a little as it crosses some smaller side-canyons, and a large expanses of slickrock marked by cairns. I see other hikers here for the first time, who have taken the shuttle to the Stave Spring trailhead.
I’m relieved after a solid four hours of hiking to reach the bifurcation of the East Rim Trail: the fork that continues down to Zion Canyon via Weeping Rock is closed; I’m continuing up to the junction with the East Mesa Trail.
It feels like a never-ending set of switchbacks, as the trail winds up the steep cliffs – but it’s mostly a paved trail, that make a pleasant change from the scrambling and route-finding along the bottom of Echo Canyon.
The views also get increasingly spectacular as the trail ascends, with the contrasting colours of the red and white Navajo Sandstone.
The East Rim Trail soon reaches the almost-final-straight before the the top of the ridge…
…and an incredible vista opens up, with Zion Canyon almost directly below.
There’s a couple more switchbacks and increasingly spectacular views, before the East Rim Trail finally reaches its highest point at the top of the canyon rim.
The last mile (or just under) is a level walk along the top of the rim, with some great views into Zion Canyon.
The East Rim Trail passes the junction with the East Mesa Trail just before reaching Observation Point. And the sweeping views from Observation Point are spectacular – just don’t expect any solitutude here. While I’ve encountered just a handful of people on my five hour hike along the East Rim Trail, the East Mesa Trail provides easy access to this viewpoint.
Observation Point provides a birds-eye view over Zion Canyon: almost directly below is the narrow spine of rock that is Angels Landing, to the left is the almost vertical face of Cable Mountain and in the middle is the Virgin River.
I don’t linger too long, as the crowd of people is a bit off-putting after the relative solitude of the hike up – and I’ve got another 10 miles and five hours of hiking back to the car. It’s an uneventful hike back, with numerous breaks as I climb back out of Echo Canyon in the afternoon sun, followed by an easy descent to the trailhead. Although there are some spectacular views towards the end of the hike, you won’t miss much starting at Stave Spring – and I’d recommend the West Rim Trail over the East Rim if you have to pick one of them.
Getting to the East Rim Trail and Observation Point
The East Rim Trail starts just next to the Zion National Park East Entrance; you can park on Zion Park Boulevard (the main road through the park) or drive a short distance up to the East Rim Trailhead. It’s about 13.5 miles (20min drive) from Carmel Junction or 12.5 miles (30min drive) from Springdale.
There are shorter and easier ways to get to Observation Point…
- The East Mesa Trail (from the East Mesa Trailhead; 4WD essential) avoids most of the elevation gain, and is about 7 miles (11.5km) return. There are regular shuttles you can pre-book from Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort, even if you are not staying at the resort.
- From Stave Spring Trailhead (4WD recommended, with a 2WD vehicle you may need to park half a mile from the trailhead) it’s about a 9 mile (15km return) hike, with a fair bit of elevation gain. You’re still taking the East Rim Trail most of the way. There are regular shuttles you can pre-book from Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort.
- From Zion Canyon it’s a very steep climb up, and a 8 mile (12.5km) return hike on a paved path – this route has been closed since 2019 due to landslides, with no re-opening date.
Alternatively, using a shuttle service enables a few other options, including hiking the entire East Rim Trail:
- The Observation Point Shuttle from Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort takes you to either the East Mesa or Stave Springs Trailhead – you need to book the outbound shuttle, with return pick-ups from both trailheads every 30min. This allows you to start at Stave Springs, taking the East Rim Trail to Observation Point and then returning via the East Mesa Trail (8.7 miles / 14km one-way)
- If you want to hike the entire Zion East Rim Trail, Zion Adventures has a shuttle that takes you from the East Rim Trailhead to Stave Springs – this reduces the distance a little (to 16 miles / 26km), but it’s still a long day-hike.
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