Zion National Park, Utah -

Zion National Park in southwestern Utah is about three hour's drive from Las Vegas. Your author's favorite park, Zion is a land of great heights and amazing canyons. The most amazing is the narrows of the Virgin River, often called the Zion Narrows. While the heart of the Narrows is the domain of the sturdy hiker (see feature below), there is a paved trail in its lowest mile leading from the main parking lot. Known as the "Gateway to the Narrows" the trail is the park's most visited attraction.
 
The park is exceptionally versatile. While there are many beautiful features adjacent to the park's main road, there are also many amazing backcountry attractions awaiting hikers, backpackers, and rock climbers of all skill levels.

Hiking the Zion Narrows

The term, "narrows", describes a canyon section where the walls of the canyon crowd in very tightly against the riverbed. In the southwest, rivers, streams, and even intermittent washes often cut sharply into soft, pliable, regions of sandstone creating narrow, sheer-walled canyons of extraordinary beauty.

The narrows of the Virgin River, popularly called the "Zion Narrows", is one of the world's most dramatic and beautiful narrow canyons. In some areas perpendicular sandstone walls rise almost two thousand feet and are separated by only a few feet of riverbed. Much of the canyon is lush with springs and greenery. Beautiful stands of trees are found in the more open sections. The canyon is comfortable even in midsummer.

Hiking the Narrows is a challenging and rewarding experience for anyone. Most people employ a shuttle to the head of the canyon, then hike one-way downstream. Hiking upstream is too strenuous for most. There is no trail. One must spend much of the hike actually wading in the river on very slippery rocks. There are frequently obstacles to be bypassed (sometimes strenuous, generally not dangerous) such as rockfalls, rapids, deep pools, and even one beautiful waterfall.

There is a touch of danger here. Sudden rain storms upstream can cause flash floods resulting in a wall of water rushing downstream. Hikers must be alert especially during thunderstorm season (July-August) and be prepared to seek high ground. Also, cooler weather brings the real threat of hypothermia due to being wet all the time. The best, and safest, time to go is June or September. However it is an unforgetable experience for any outdoor-loving person.

The start of the hike at the Virgin River headwaters gives no clue to what is coming. The area is open and meadowlike. Above, an abandoned rancher's cabin sits by the trail.		The canyon starts to close in with low lying ridges which become progressively higher as the river digs into the sandstone. The river's sharp gradient greatly enhances the effect.
An example of the challenge. The hiker (me) is scrambling around the ten foot waterfall which is blocking the channel.		A very narrow section. One can almost, but not quite, stand in the middle and touch both walls at the same time.
A group of hikers heads into the "heart" of the Narrows. This is the narrowest and steepest part of the canyon: nothing but river between two walls.		Some of the more open areas feature beautifully wooded embankments (known as "benches"). They provide ideal campsites. (Camping here is very closely regulated by the Park Service.)