A November trip to Southwest Utah was an excellent getaway from shoulder season in Canada. Although our trip was focused on mountain biking, Zion National Park made a perfect day trip from our basecamp in Hurricane and gave us a change of pace from big days in the saddle. We only had one day to explore the park so we decided to ignore the conventional advice of one hike per day and tackled the two most popular hikes in the park, Angel's Landing and the Narrows, in one tiring push. If we had more time, we would have loved to check out the West Rim Trail and some of the canyoning routes but those will have to wait for next visit.
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Happy hikers
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It was a bit confusing to plan our day in the park. Due to minimal parking along the "scenic drive," private vehicles are not allowed to access most of the popular hiking trailheads except for a few weeks in the off-season. There is parking at the visitor centre but you need to arrive early to get a spot. Overflow parking exists in Springdale just south of the park entrance where you need to walk or shuttle up to the park gate. From the visitor centre, free shuttles loop through the park continuously and are hop-on, hop-off from 7am to 5:45pm (
check the times as they vary based on the season). Midweek in November it was not busy, so we never waited more than 5mins for the next shuttle to arrive but during peak season there can be long line-ups to get on the shuttle.
Angel's Landing
Distance: 8.7km
Elevation: 450m
Time: ~3hrs
Daily Park Fee: $35/vehicle or $20/person (Nov 2021)
Parking: Zion Visitor Centre (South side of park)
Shuttle Access: Grotto Shuttle Stop (#6)
We arrived at the visitor centre just after 7am to catch a shuttle into the park to start the Angel's Landing Hike. We didn't have to line up for a shuttle and walked right on. It was a chilly ride as the deep canyon was still in shade that early in the morning. Starting from the Grotto Shuttle stop, we crossed the road and Virgin River, following the West Rim Trail. Looking up, we could see the top of the Angel's Landing trail, a towering monolith of rock above us. The trail starts to switchback almost immediately and we were soon dropping layers.
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| Early start up the Angel's Landing trail, we can see our destination already |
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| Gaining elevation quickly |
Once up the first steep section, we entered the Refrigerator Canyon, a narrow slot between the cliffs with a more mellow grade. The break from climbing didn't last long and we started up the paved "Walters Wiggles," 21 switchbacks that took us to Scouts Lookout and the beginning of the Angel's Landing section of trail.
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| Walters Wiggles |
Scouts Lookout is junction between the West Rim Trail and Angel's Landing. Lots of people stop here as the trail gets very narrow and exposed. From here, there is still lots of climbing to do, with chains to protect the narrow and steep sections. When it gets busy, people end up waiting in line to climb to the summit and then get back down. There isn't much room to pass on the trail so the earlier you can start the better.
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The first crux after leaving Scouts Lookout. Lots of people turn back here!
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| Up the ridge |
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| Following the well worn path and chains |
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| Steep and exposed! |
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| High above Scouts Lookout and the valley bottom below |
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| New views around every corner |
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| Almost there |
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| Angel's Landing Summit |
We topped out after an hour and a half of climbing. The sun was just starting to hit the canyon walls and the colours were spectacular. We marveled at the 360 degree views and soaked it all in. A crowd started to form at the top as other hikers finished the slog. Everyone was so happy to have made it. I am sure there were a few tears shed and mental battles fought to get there. We started down slowly, stopping to take photos as the views changed around every corner.
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| That's a long way down! |
Going down wasn't too bad, but it was getting much busier on the trail with uphill hikers. Time to get out of there!
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| So stoked |
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| Heading back down to the valley |
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Waiting for uphill hikers to pass
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| Hang on tight |
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Look mom! No hands!
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Once we got back down to Scouts Lookout, we made quick work of the decent back to the valley. We grabbed a coffee and snack at Zion Lodge and considered our options for the rest of our day. Initially we had planned to hike Angel's Landing, then drive the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway through the east side of the park. There are lots of short hikes and canyons to explore along the route, but it was still very early, only 10:30! On a recommendation from a ranger we decided to hike the Narrows, a slot canyon route deep in the park where we would get a completely different perspective than we had from Angel's Landing. This is another one of the most popular routes in the park. I had read that you needed to rent waders for the cold water especially in November, but that would have required leaving the park to pick some up in Springdale and seemed like a waste of time and money at $50 USD per person. Kyle and I agreed that we would give it a try without and only go as far as we could without getting our underwear wet.
The Narrows (bottom up)
Out and back hike
Distance: 13km round trip to end of Wall Street
Elevation: 100m
Daily Park Fee: $35/vehicle or $20/person (Nov 2021)
Parking: Zion Visitor Centre (South side of park)
Shuttle Access: Temple of Sinawava Shuttle Stop (#9)
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| Hiking in the canyons can be risky if its raining |
The Narrows can be hiked as a top down route (usually as an overnight trip) that requires a permit, or from the bottom up as a day trip, which currently does not need any permits. The farthest you can go from the bottom up is to Big Springs, 8km up the canyon. The route starts with a paved trail along the Riverside Walk. Where the trail ends, the fun begins and you have to walk through the river upstream through the canyon. After the initial shock of the cold water filling our shoes, it really wasn't so bad and felt pleased with our decision to forego the overkill dry suits and hip waders. The water temperatures and depths fluctuate depending on the season, and the hike was in the shade all day so be prepared for a cold, wet day if you do happen to fall in.
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| Route description and highlights |
Most of the river was knee deep or less. It was crystal clear and we were able to see the slippery stones, but sometimes it can get very silty from all the traffic of other hikers. A hiking pole would have been helpful, especially in the areas where the current was strong.
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| Taking advantage of dry ground |
We followed the river deep into the canyon which narrowed as we went. At the start, we were able to walk along the shore in many places, but as we went further you had no option but to walk through the river. Other hikers ranged from amused to horrified by our lack of waterproof gear but when we explained that were were from Canada most seemed to accept that as a good enough reason for our choices.
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| Hike #2 |
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| Colourful walls |
The canyon was stunning and peaceful with ever-changing light as we navigated the twists and turns. The highlight was walking through "Wall Street," the narrowest section of the canyon and the most picturesque.
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| Deep in the canyon |
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Fording a deeper pool
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Walls above closing in
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Deep in the Narrows
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| Wall Street |
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| Floating Rock |
There are not many obvious landmarks in the canyon and we weren't quite sure what the "end" of the hike was. When the canyon started to widen after Wall Street, we encountered a deep pool that required a swim or a waist deep traverse along an underwater ledge. We decided to turn around here to preserve the dry underwear situation. It was likely that we were quite close to Big Springs, the mandatory turn around point for bottom-up hikers, but it was hard to tell. It had taken about 1.5hrs to get to this point and we had plenty of time to make it back to the shuttle bus before the last pick up at 5:45. Walking back downstream was surprisingly fast compared to upstream and the views were completely different. Still feeling energetic, we decided to explore a branch off the main river which we later learned was Orderville Canyon.
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| Starting up Orderville Canyon |
Orderville Canyon was much narrower than the Virgin River and was almost more beautiful. It also had some interesting obstacles to tackle, including some bouldering and a waterfall (Veiled Falls) with subtle slippery steps chipped into the rock wall beside it (moki steps).
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| Staying dry by making some bouldering moves instead |
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Approaching Veiled Falls
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A horseshoe bend in the Orderville Canyon
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Feeling silly after hours of exploring
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Eventually we reached some impassable sections. We turned back here and returned to the Narrows, carefully retracing our steps down the slippery rocks which are much harder to descent than to climb. You need a permit to travel above the falls, and the route is classically done from the top-down with two rappel sections as a beginner canyoneering route.
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| Downclimbing back out of the canyon |
Back on the shuttle, we tried to stay awake after a long day of outdoor adventures. After a big snack at the car, we took a sunset drive out to the Checkerboard Mesa, through the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel before heading back to Hurricane. Walking for hours in the river had been exhausting and all the stabilizer muscles in my ankles and hips were letting me know of their existence. It was a big day but a great way to see Zion National Park and absolutely do-able to tick off Angel's Landing and The Narrows in a day.
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| Moonrise over Zion National Park |
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The desert mobile
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