The Best Hikes of Zion National Park

Zion National Park is one of the ten “National Parks of the Grand Circle” – and one my favourite national parks in the US, offering a wide range of hikes and some awe-inspiring vistas. It is Utah’s first National Park, with a portion of land first set aside as Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909 before being enlarged and renamed Zion National Monument in 1918, and established as a national park in 1919. Zion Canyon is the park’s main feature, which was named by the Mormons who discovered it in 1858 and settled there in the early 1860s.

Zion National Park drives

All of the roads through Zion National Park make for some great drives, even before you reach the trailhead…

Mt. Carmel Highway Scenic Drive – 12.4mi / 20km

If you’re entering Zion National Park from the east, you’ll travel along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, an incredibly scenic drive with many overlooks and places where you can stop to take in the views. After traversing two tunnels dug through the stone (including the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel), the road descends via number of switchbacks into the Zion Canyon. It’s 12.4 miles from the Zion National Park East Entrance to Springfield, or 25 miles from the Mt Carmel Junction (the start of the highway off Route 89). The road is open year-round, and only closed for short periods due to rockfalls or heavy snow.

Kolob Terrace – 25.2mi / 40.6km

Stretching from the town of Virgin up to Kolob Reservoir, the Kolob Terrace Road passes Lava Point, a vantage point offering sweeping views over Zion National Park and the starting point for a number of hikes. This less-travelled road road alternates between farmland, forest and classic Zion canyon scenery. The road is sealed the entire way, but not plowed in winter beyond Maloney Hill (which is one mile north of the Hop Valley Trailhead),

Kolob Canyons – 5mi / 8km

This short drive offers some of the most spectacular vistas over a short distance, providing some impressive views of the “great narrow parallel box canyons cut into the western edge of the Colorado Plateau, forming majestic peaks and 2,000 foot cliff walls”. There are a few hikes along the trail, as well as multiple overlooks with interpretative signage. Kolob Canyons Road may be closed during the winter months due to snow or ice.

Hiking in Zion National Park

Although a handful of iconic Zion hikes attract the most number of people, there is a huge choice of trails across four areas of the park – and some of the best viewpoints are outside the busy Zion Canyon.

Zion Canyon

The most popular and well-known trails (including Angels Landing and The Narrows) are in Zion Canyon. Almost of the trailheads must be accessed by the free shuttle bus in the most popular months, with no private vehicles permitted along Zion Canyon Road past the south entrance (unless you’re staying at Zion Lodge).

Hike	Length	Grade	Description	AllTrails Map
Archeology Trail	0.4mi / 0.6km	Easy	Short but steep limbs to top of a small hill, with trailside exhibits	Map
Weeping Rock Trail	0.4mi / 0.6km	Easy	Short, steep paved trail to rock alcove with dripping springs	Map
Grotto Trail	1mi / 1.6km	Easy	Zion Lodge to the Grotto; good to view wildlife
Upper Emerald Pool	1mi / 1.6km	Easy	Sandy & rocky trail to uppermost pool
Lower Emerald Pool Trail	1.2mi / 1.9km	Easy	Paved trail pool & waterfall – connects to longer trails	Map
Kayenta Trail	2.0mi / 3.2km	Easy	Unpaved climb to the Emerald Pools (moderate drop-offs)	Map
Riverside Walk	2.2mi / 3.5km	Easy	Paved trail along Virgin River to start of The Narrows	Map
Middle Emerald Pools	2.2mi / 3.5km	Easy	Unpaved climb to a sandstone ledge and pool
Hidden Canyon Trail	2.5mi / 4km	Easy/Moderate	Steep climb up to narrow canyon.	Map
Watchman Trail	3.3mi / 5.3km	Easy	Trail up to viewpoint can get muddy after rain	Map
Pa’rus Trail	3.5mi / 5.6km	Easy	Multi-use paved trail along Virgin River (pets allowed)	Map
Angels Landing	5.4mi / 8.7km	Moderate/Hard	Steep climb to spectacular viewpoint. Permit required.	Map
Sandbench Trail	7.6mi / 12.2km	Easy	Scenic trail but avoid Mar-Oct when used by horses	Map
Observation Point	8.0mi / 12.9km	Moderate	Long climb up East Rim trail to viewpoint. Arguably the best views.	Map
The Narrows (bottom-up)	9.4mi / 15.1km	Moderate/Hard	Out-and-back hike wading up Virgin River through canyon	Map
The Narrows (top-down)	15.4mi / 24.9km	Hard	Long one-way day-hike or overnight trip down river	Map

Kolob Canyons trails

There are several hiking trails in Kolob Canyons, which is in the northwest corner of Zion National Park. There are some great trails here, which avoid the crowds of the the main Zion Canyon hikes.

Hike	Length	Grade	Description	AllTrails Map
Timber Creek Overlook	1mi / 1.6km	Easy	Short trail along ridge to viewpoint	Map
Taylor Creek (South Fork)	2.7mi / 4.3km	Easy/Moderate	Unofficial, mostly shaded trail along river, below canyon wall	Map
Taylor Creek (Middle Fork)	5mi / 8km	Easy	Scenic hike via narrow box canyon to Double Arch Alcove	Map
Kolob Arch	14.0mi / 22.5km	Moderate	Long hike from Lees Pass to Kolob Arch overlook	Map
La Verkin Creek Trail	19mi / 30km	Moderate/Hard	Same trail as Kolob arch, but continues to Willis Creek	Map

Kolob Terrace trails

This wilderness section of the park has generally longer trails suitable for day hikes and overnight trips, which start at high elevations (so they may not be accessible in winter).

Hike	Length	Grade	Description	AllTrails Map
Northgate Peaks Trail	4.2mi / 6.8km	Easy/Moderate	Marked trail to viewpoint; unofficial trails to top of peaks	Map
Connector Trail	5.1mi / 8.2km	Easy	Hop Valley Trail to Wildcat & Northgate Peaks Trails (one-way)	Map
Wildcat Canyon Trail	5.8mi / 9.3km	Easy	Trail mostly through pine forest (one-way).	Map
Hop Valley Trail	13mi / 21km	Easy	Sandy trail down into Hop Valley; connects to Kolob Arch	Map
West Rim Trail via Lava Point	14mi / 23km	Moderate	Descends from Lava Point to Zion Canyon (one-way)	Map

East Rim trails

Located east of Zion Canyon and at a much higher elevation, these hikes are generally much less busy than other areas. All of the viewpoints can be reached from the East Entrance parking lot via the East Rim Trail, which is off the Zion-Mt Carmel Highway. Some of the other trailheads (East Mesa and Stave Spring) require a high-clearance 4WD, or you can get a shuttle from the Zion Ponderosa Ranch.

Hike	Length	Grade	Description	AllTrails Map
Canyon Overlook Trail	1mi / 1.6km	Easy	Rocky and uneven trail to viewpoint with great views	Map
Observation Point from East Mesa	7mi / 11.3km	Easy	Spectacular views. 4WD only to trailhead (or take shuttle)	Map
Cable Mountain from Stave Spring	7.7mi / 12.4km	Easy/Moderate	Great views at the end. Trail can get muddy.	Map
East Rim Trail	9.9mi / 15.9km	East/Moderate	East entrance to Zion Canyon (one-way)	Map
Deertrap Mountain from Stave Spring	10.6mi / 17.1km	Easy/Moderate	Great views at the end. Can combine with Cable Mountain.	Map
Observation Point from East Entrance	21mi / 33km	Hard	Challenging day or overnight hike. Great views.	Map

Some of the best (and often iconic) hikes in Zion National Park are…

Overnight Zion Hiking

There no trails in Zion that require an overnight hike – but many that you can do over one or more days for a backcountry experience. All overnight hikes require a permit, which can be booked on-line about a month in advance – but need to be picked up in person the day before or on the day of the trip from the Wildernes Desk during regular Hours of Operation. About half the campsites require a reservation while the other half are on a First-Come, First-Serve, Walk-In Basis.

• Zion Narrows (top down) – 12 campsites.
• West Rim – 9 campsites, mostly near the middle of the trail.
• La Verkin Creek Trail – 13 campsites spread along the trail
• Kolob Canyons to Zion Canyon – combine the La Verkin Creek Trail, Hop Valley Trail, Connector Trail and Wildcat Trail for a 3-4 day traverse of Zion National Park.

Camping in Zion National Park

There are a number of campgrounds within Zion National Park, all of which need to be booked in advance:

• Watchman Campground (Zion Canyon) – open year-round
• South Campground (Zion Canyon) – closed in winter
• Lava Point Campground (Kolob Terrace) – closed in winter
• Kolob Canyons – camping is permitted in designated campsites, but not in pullouts or parking lots.

Accommodation near Zion National Park

The Zion National Park Lodge is the only accommodation inside the national park, and is the most convenient place to stay if you’re planning on doing any of the Zion Canyon hikes – you’ll need to book well in advance for most months of the year. If you’re doing any of the hikes in other sections of the park (like the West Rim Trail or the top-down Narrows hike), the shuttle will leave from the town of Springdale which is just outside the park. So for many of the more challenging or overnight Zion hikes, staying in Springdale is much more convenient.

Springdale has a range of options from camping to upmarket hotels, and a free Springdale Shuttle stops at nine locations in town and picks up and drops off visitors at the park’s pedestrian/bike entrance.

Booking.com

Getting around Zion National Park

During the busiest periods (every day from March to November and from late December to the end of January, and weekends in February and March) the only access to Zion Canyon is via a free shuttle bus. You can only enter the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive with a private car if staying at Zion Lodge.

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There are also a number of shuttle services (reservations and pre-payment required for most) that drop-off and/or pick-up from the Kolob Terrace, East Rim and Chamberlain Ranch (The Narrows “top-down”) trailheads. These allow many of the longer trails to be undertaken as one-way hikes.

• East Zion Adventures – Observation Point and East Mesa (from Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort). Drop-off/pick-up every half an hour.
• Red Rock Shuttle – shuttle service from Zion Visitors Center to Less Pass, West Rim and Chamberlain Ranch
• Wild Utah Tours – drop off services to all major Zion National Park trailheads
• Zion Guru – private shuttle service operating on a per-request basis throughout Zion National Park and the surrounding area
• Red Rock Shuttle (Zion Backcountry Shuttle) – The Narrows Top-Down (Chamberlains Ranch) drop-off. 435-635-9104

More information

• National Park Service (NPS) – Zion National Park
• National Park Service (NPS) – Campgrounds in Zion National Park
• National Park Service (NPS) – Backpacking Reservations
• National Park Service (NPS) – Zion Wilderness Map [PDF] and Zion Wilderness Guide [PDF]