Other Hikes in Zion National Park

ZION NATIONAL PARK, UT

The good news about Zion National Park is that it has some pretty epic hikes, including Angels Landing, The Narrows, and Observation Point. The bad news is that all the other hikes in the park pale in comparison.

Here's an overview of the other recommended hikes, a few photos, and my (highly biased) commentary.

Canyon Overlook

This trailhead is in Zion Park, off the scenic drive, right before the east entrance of the tunnel. If you see an open spot in the tiny parking lot, take it and do this hike!

Canyon Overlook is a quick 1 mile hike with a 160' elevation gain. This was easily my fourth favorite hike after The Big Three and is a must-do.

Some pretty scenery along the way:

The trail ends with a view of Pine Creek Canyon. If you look closely below, you'll see a road zig-zagging back and forth through the canyon. That's the scenic drive through the park and I took that road to get here.

From this point at the end of the trail, if you peer all the way to the left, you can see a little window to the 1.1 mile tunnel through the rock:

That 1.1 mile tunnel is called the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, completed in 1930. The scenic drive I mentioned earlier goes through that tunnel. It was created to provide direct access to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon from Zion National Park.

Vehicles over a certain size must pay a $15 tunnel permit fee and must wait for the tunnel to clear before passing. This is because large vehicles cannot negotiate the curves of the tunnel without crossing the center line. Once rangers figured out what was causing all the accidents in the tunnel, they implemented traffic control at each entrance.

Along the tunnel, there are six large windows (that's one of them in the picture above) that provide light and also glimpses of beautiful scenery as visitors drive through the tunnel.

Kolob Canyons

Kolob Canyon is on the west side of the park, about an hour drive from where I was staying in Springdale. There are three hikes in Kolob Canyon.

Taylor Creek Trail (in Kolob Canyons)

Once again, Angels Landing has cancelled all other hikes! This was a nice little trail through a canyon with a couple log cabins built in the 1930's. I wonder what made people choose to live in this location? And besides hunting (and maybe fishing in the stream?), I wonder what they would eat because the canyon is too shaded to grow anything. I am always fascinated at how people lived in other eras ...

Here is a beautiful view along the trail:

Total distance = 4.27 miles (the last mile of the hike was closed due to falling rocks, that's not how I want to die...). Elevation gain = 604'

Timber Creek Overlook Trail (in Kolob Canyons)

This is another quick trail, just 1.27 miles total, out-and-back, with a 112' elevation gain. These photos were taken just after 10:00 am as the sun was coming up over the peaks. The sides of the mountains facing me were still shadowed, but started to get a little light just in the time I was there.

Even though the lighting wasn't great, the clouds showed up to impress that day and the pictures turned out pretty cool.

I like this one below where you can see the light spilling through the valley onto the mountains on the left, while the ones on the right are still shadowed.

Kolob Arch via La Verkin Creek Trail (in Kolob Canyons)

This is a 14 mile out-and-back trail with a 1,037' elevation gain. The reviews on this hike were mixed - basically, you follow a canyon for several miles and the payoff is a view through trees of an arch in the distance. Meh. I ended up skipping it because I had done 13 miles the day before and I wanted fresh legs for the 14.5 miles I planned to do the next day in Bryce. I think I made the right choice. :)

Watchman Trail

This hike starts from the Visitor Center, right in the middle of Zion National Park. It is an easy hike at 3.2 miles with a 605' elevation gain up to a scenic overlook of the canyon. The view isn't nearly as high or pretty as it is from Angels Landing, but is a nice quick hike with a decent pay-off. I would call this my fifth favorite hike in the park.

This is a good "if you have extra time" hike, but definitely don't prioritize this over Angels Landing, The Narrows, Observation Point, or Canyon Overlook.

The Three Emerald Pool Trails

The Zion Information Guide calls out three trails - Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pool - but really, it's just one big loop, connecting back to the starting point via Kayenta Trail. It shares a starting point with Angels Landing at The Grotto.

You could call them pools. You could not call them emerald.

I did this 3.14 mile loop on my first day in the park, after hiking Angels Landing. It was a nice way to add some miles that day, but I definitely wouldn't prioritize these trails over the others. I mean, if this trail was in my backyard in Virginia (oh wait ... I don't have a house anymore ...) I would be thrilled. But after hiking Angels Landing, it seemed pretty boring. I'd say it's a great trail if you have done all the other epic hikes, have extra time, and want an easy hike.

The Other Trails

The Zion Information Guide lists several other trails:

• Pa'rus Trail

• The Grotto Trail

• Riverside Walk

• Sand Bench Trail

• Kayenta Trail

Don't be fooled. These aren't real hikes. They are just paths along the river at the bottom of the canyon, generally connecting shuttle stops to trailheads or lodges or other shuttle stops. Don't prioritize any of these.