Trip 6
Zion Lodge to Grotto Picnic Area
Distance: 1.2 miles, round trip
Low/High elevations: 4280’/4320’
Suited for: Walk
Difficulty: Very easy
Best season: All year
Map/Trailhead: 3/5
Hazards: Negligible.
Introduction: This pleasant stroll offers an alternative route from Zion Lodge to the Grotto Picnic Area for visitors who would rather walk than drive or ride the shuttle bus. It features shady, canyon-bottom vegetation, grassy openings, and close-up views of towering canyon walls. The trail is used primarily by guests of the lodge.
Description: The trail begins behind the northeast end of the lodge parking area (0.0; 4280), where a sign indicates GROTTO PICNIC AREA. The trail, nearly level throughout, parallels the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, passing through grassy openings and groves of Gambel oak, Fremont cottonwood, and boxelder, beneath the abrupt cliffs of Red Arch and Deertrap mountains. Views extend westward into the cliffbound amphitheater below Heaps Canyon, in which the Emerald Pools rest. Approaching the tree-shaded flat of the Grotto, the trail passes a ranger’s cabin, then quickly reaches the loop road in the picnic area (0.6; 4290). Opposite the picnic area, trails lead to Emerald Pools, Angels Landing, and the West Rim Trail.
Trip 7
Kayenta Trail: Grotto Picnic Area to Emerald Pools
Distance: 1.6 miles, round trip
Low/High elevations: 4290’/4480’
Suited for: Walk
Difficulty: Easy
Best season: All year
Map/Trailhead: 3/6
Hazards: Avoid when ice- or snow-covered.
Introduction: This trail offers an alternate, less used means of access to the Emerald Pools trail system (see Trip 5), and it can be combined with Trip 6 to form a pleasant, scenic half-day loop. The trail ascends an open, rocky slope from which views of central Zion Canyon are superb.
Description: From the Grotto trailhead parking area (0.0; 4290), cross North Fork Virgin River via a sturdy bridge and immediately turn left onto the Kayenta Trail, parting company with hikers beginning Trip 8 and those finishing Trip 20. Our trail climbs easily up the rocky slope above the noisy river, passing beneath the broken, red east face of The Spearhead. Soon the trail rises moderately along the boulder-littered slope, passing vegetation typical of the dry lower slopes of the canyon, including singleleaf pinyon, Utah juniper, and shrub live oak. Enroute we enjoy fine views across the canyon to Observation Point, The Great White Throne, and Angels Landing.
Eventually, the trail curves west, continuing the traverse into the Emerald Pools amphitheater. Where the trail forks (0.7; 4420), we have the option of turning left and descending 70 feet in 0.1 mile to the lower Emerald Pool or staying to the right and traversing 0.1 mile to the middle pool. To complete the hike to Emerald Pools, see Trip 5.
Trip 8
West Rim Trail: Grotto Picnic Area to Scout Lookout and Angels Landing
Distance: 3.8 miles, round trip, to Scout Lookout; 4.8 miles round trip to Angels Landing
Low/High elevations: 4290’/5350’; 5790’ at Angels Landing
Suited for: Dayhike
Difficulty: Moderate to Scout Lookout; moderately strenuous to Angels Landing.
Best season: March through November
Map/Trailhead: 3/6
Hazards: Steep dropoffs; avoid when snow- or ice-covered and when a thunderstorm is threatening.
Introduction: The highly scenic trail to Scout Lookout, built in 1926, was among the first to be constructed in Zion. One section of the trail, a series of switchbacks called Walter’s Wiggles, is an engineering marvel, spanning an otherwise impassable cliff to allow access to a memorable viewpoint 1000 feet above the floor of Zion Canyon.
The route to Angels Landing is rigorous and exposed, in places requiring the use of both hands and feet. Faint-hearted hikers and small children should not attempt this steep trail. It’s a dangerous route even during fair weather, and only the foolhardy will attempt it when it is snow- or ice-covered, or when a thunderstorm is threatening. Both trails receive moderate use, and backpackers hiking the West Rim Trail should remember that camping is permitted only in designated campsites (see Trip 20).
Sheer face of the Great White Throne
Description: From the Grotto trailhead parking area (0.0; 4290) we immediately cross the river via a bridge and part company with hikers taking Trip 7. A pleasant riverside stroll ensues, leading to a moderate ascent upon brushy slopes, amid a jumble of boulders from a Cathedral Mountain rockslide.
Paved switchbacks carved into the Navajo Sandstone elevate us into the shady, narrow hanging gorge of Refrigerator Canyon. A pleasant stroll along the floor of the cliff-framed chasm, a delightful spot to rest on a hot day, leads us to more switchbacks. Ascending the 250’ wall above the canyon, we negotiate Walter’s Wiggles, above which we step out onto the canyon rim amid scattered ponderosa pines.
Nearby, a sign identifies Scout Lookout (1.9; 5350). Many dayhikers terminate their journey here, satisfied with the superb views into Zion Canyon directly below, and east into the gaping alcove at the mouth of precipitous Echo Canyon, flanked on either side by majestic, soaring cliffs.
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Angels Landing
The sentinel monolith of Angels Landing juts outward into Zion Canyon, forcing the south-flowing river to make a great bend around it and its lower satellite rock, The Organ. Hikers with a fear of heights should be content with the exceptional views from Scout Lookout and avoid this trail.
From the signed junction immediately below Scout Lookout the trail follows the pine-clad rim generally south, climbing over a minor rise before attacking the north ridge of the Landing. The route, cut into solid rock very steeply ascends a knife-edged sandstone rib, from which cliffs plunge 500 feet or more on either side. Sloping steps cut into the rock make footing precarious. Short segments of chain bolted intermittently to the rock offer occasional handholds, but many exposed stretches offer no such protection. The route is steepest and most exposed just below the top, but once we surmount the crest we simply follow the narrow ridge among scattered ponderosa pines to the high point on the canyon rim (0.5; 5790) where an incredible, aerial-like view unfolds.
Seemingly a stone’s throw away across the gaping maw of Zion Canyon is the Park’s most famous landmark, The Great White Throne. Rivaling some of the world’s greatest stone monoliths in size, form, and relief, its sheer cliffs rear abruptly 2200 feet from the canyon to the broad mesa above. Also capturing our attention is the 1000’ red-stained wall of Cable Mountain. The wooden frame of the Draw Works, constructed by ingenious pioneers to transport lumber from the plateau to the canyon bottom, is visible along the edge of that mountain. The trail leading to that mountain and Observation Point can be traced along the canyon wall as it climbs above the verdant growth engulfing Weeping Rock. Fine cliff-framed views extend southward down Zion Canyon, and North Fork Virgin River is not only seen but heard.
Retrace your steps with caution back to the Grotto trailhead.