Slot Canyons In Zion Np

Posted : admin On 3/23/2022

Slot Canyons In Zion Np Rating: 5,9/10 89 reviews

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Slot Canyons

This is the place. Deep, spectacular canyons with lots of water make Zion the ONLY place for canyoneering at the height of summer. A few dramatic, technical routes challenge the veteran canyoneer, but most routes in Zion offer more beauty than challenge, with well-established anchors that make them a good place for folks to start their canyoneering careers. Zion National Park boasts perhaps the most famous of the slot canyons in Utah – the Zion Narrows. Though this slot canyon ranks as the easiest to traverse within Zion National Park, it is 16 miles long and requires 13 hours to traverse. It includes slippery rocks, river hiking, and some swimming. Top Zion National Park Canyons: See reviews and photos of canyons in Zion National Park, Utah on Tripadvisor. 'Fun trail into a cool sandstone slot canyon with.

Spectacular deep and dark slot canyon with extravagantly scultured walls, tinged with green moss in many places. The lower half is accessible by walking in from below; the full canyon needs ropes to explore, starting from the top

Length: 1.6 miles, to the last rappel point when descending from above
Difficulty: Moderate; dryfalls and pools
Management: NPS - within Zion National Park
Rocks: Navajo sandstone
Season: Summer, fall; the canyon contains snow during winter and spring
Trailhead:Weeping Rock - Zion Canyon shuttle stop 6
Rating (1-5):★★★★★

Echo Canyon is one of the best and most easily accessible slot canyons of Zion National Park, joining the Virgin River a few miles south of the end of the park road at the Temple of Sinawava, just before the start of the Zion Narrows. The lower part of the canyon drops very sharply towards the main valley in a series of steep steps, narrow channels and circular potholes carved in the rock, but the drainage becomes temporarily wider and more level upstream.

Slot Canyons In Zion Np Weather

After half a mile further up the canyon, the cliffs close in to form a dark and very deep slot just a few feet wide, with smooth red and grey rock walls rising high above a rocky, boulder-strewn floor usually containing many pools of murky water. The Observation Point Trail follows the main canyon far above the slot, but about half of the narrows can be explored fairly easily from below; to see the whole length requires rappelling, starting from the top.

Topographic Map of Echo Canyon

Location

Echo Canyon is reached from a junction off the well-used trail to Hidden Canyon and Observation Point, which starts from the Weeping Rock parking area 2 miles before the end of the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. For most of the year this is now only reachable by the free park shuttle.

Permit

Slot Canyons In Zion Npt

No permit is required to explore the lower part of the canyon, just a standard $30 Zion National Park entry fee (in 2020), but one is required if descending the whole length as this involves rappelling.

Photographs

18 views of Echo Canyon.

Route Description

From the parking area, the trail ascends steeply up the side of Zion Canyon for about one mile then divides; the left (north) branch to Observation Point joins Echo Canyon above the steep lower end, and follows it at water level for a short distance, before eventually climbing to the top of the cliffs and meeting other cross-country trails, while the other branch heads towards Hidden Canyon. The path runs alongside the canyon floor for about half a mile, through a section that is flattish and still relatively wide, but then the rocky walls around the watercourse close in abruptly. The route begins to ascend steadily, towards the higher section of the canyon which is wide and open, with trees and bushes although the narrow crack is still visible to one side, and looks rather dark and dangerous when viewed from directly above.

The slot can be entered close to where the trail parallels the streambed but just upstream are some deep potholes that contain murky water all year, several feet deep, so an easier start point is a bit further along, as the path starts to ascend, just before a bridge over a short, overgrown ravine. The main gorge is reached by scrambling down the side and wading across a shallow pool, from where the canyon turns south and enters a longish straight section between high, vertical cliffs, usually with a small stream flowing, across a floor of pebbles and boulders. The passage narrows a little, bends to the east and ends in a pool beneath a chokestone, followed by another pool with higher chokestone and a possible log jam, up to 10 feet high. Above here, the canyon enters the main narrows - about half a mile of deep, mostly dark passageways containing many other pools of cold water, generally up to 3 feet deep, and pouroffs up to 6 feet.

For most of the canyon, the cliffs overhang above creating a damp, dark environment, made more oppressive by the dark red/grey walls, tinged with green moss in the few places where sunlight can penetrate, so the canyon is not pretty as such but very impressive, and just a little intimidating owing to the tallness of the cliffs, the sombre conditions and the frequent signs of the huge floods that occasionally pour through - logs wedged above, broken boulders, deep mud patches. The walls are smooth near stream level but jagged and angular higher up, where they look quite old and weathered.

The canyon has one short, open section with large boulders where the sun shines, followed by more darkness. The easy part ends with a circular pool around 4 feet deep beneath a quite narrow pour-off - the last of the places that may need rappelling if descending from the top end. A full exploration involves hiking up the trail for another mile and a half, to a point where the walls relent sufficiently to allow entry, then proceeding downstream by means of up to 10 rappels over dryfalls, and swimming through deep potholes. The trip is only possible starting quite late in the season owing to large amounts of snow that fall into the narrows from the sheer slopes of Cable Mountain; some patches persist until midsummer.

Clear Creek
Hidden Canyon
Kanarra Creek
Keyhole Canyon
Kolob Creek
Mineral Gulch
Misery Canyon
North Creek, Left Fork
Orderville Canyon
Parunuweap Canyon
Pine Creek
Poverty Wash
Red Canyon (Peek-a-Boo Canyon)
Red Hollow & Spring Hollow
Sand Wash (Red Cave)
Spring Creek
Taylor Creek, Middle Fork
Zion Canyon Narrows

Keyhole Canyon
Zion National Park, Utah
★★★★★

Red Canyon
Utah
★★★★★

Upper Chute Canyon
Baptist Draw, Utah
★★★★★

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Oak Creek
South Fork
'Eye of the Needle'

Zion National Park
Technical Canyoneering

Oak Creek is a unique and charming wet technical slot canyon. The canyon is located just outside the boundaries of Zion National Park, which eliminates the bureaucratic hassles associated with neighboring canyons. This canyon is spring fed and provides a special treat to Colorado Plateau canyoneers in the form of flowing water. The stream flow is usually mild and provides a good introduction into wet canyons.

Oak Creek is a sparkling and thrilling slot canyon that is certainly worth the effort to visit. This canyon offers several route options that allows the canyon to be experienced in a single day or extended into a phenomenal two day adventure.

Limited Access:
There are currently private property access issues associated with descending Oak Creek. If you attempt this route you are on your own. My only statement is that it concerns me when a private landowner can essentially lock up thousands of acres of public land by limiting access. So for the time being consider all my information on this route to be for historical reference only.
So here is the down low on the route.... Oak Creek requires that you cross approximately 1/3 mile of private property to access the actual slot canyon. The slot itself is on public land. The private property is owned by the Logandale Stake of the LDS church and is known as Camp Kolob. The church group that owns the property is not happy about canyoneers crossing their property, particularly when they are hosting a young women's group. I assume the problem stems from all the raping and pillaging canyoneers are noted for. In all honesty it was the problems caused by a few ignorant canyoneers that resulted in the canyon being closed.

Professional Guide:
Eye of the Needle is currently being guided by Zion Adventures. This is currently the only legal method of visiting the slot canyon. One advantage to using the guide service is they exit the slot canyon using a Via Feratta, which make the trip both more fun and more interesting.

Circle of Friends:
Eye of the Needle is part of the 'Circle of Friends' program. Members of the 'Circle of Friends' have access to more specific information, explicit route information, GPS waypoints, trailhead location and detailed maps. If you would like more information on joining the 'Circle of Friends' visit the sign up page.

'Circle of Friends'

General Information:
Eye of the Needle is a spectacular canyoneering adventure requiring complete technical gear. A GPS is useful. Good map reading skills are essential. Navigation for this route is moderate. Eye of the Needle is rated 3C IV using the Canyon Rating System. A Zion Backcountry permit is not required for this route.

Trailhead Information:
Any vehicle can easily reach the trailhead in dry conditions.

Slot Canyons In Zion Np State Park

Video:
Enjoy a short video of a trip through Eye of the Needle.

Slot Canyons In Zion Nps

Optional Route Information:
Options for a scenic two day technical backpacking route are available to members of the Circle of Friends. The optional route is an excellent exit and I highly recommend using it at least once in your lifetime. If using the Optional Exit a Zion backcountry permit must be obtained.

Related Link:
Kolob Canyon Disaster - The complete story of the local boy scout trooped trapped in Kolob Canyon during high water.