Zion National Park

July 7, 2018

East Entrance

Entering Zion Canyon is a journey into the distant past, surrounding visitors with multicolored formations of 240-million-year-old rock as they plunge 2,000 feet down to a claustrophobic riverbed just 20 feet wide in places.

Checkerboard Mesa Overlook

A small parking lot allows visitors the opportunity to view this impressive butte formation.

Formed by millions of years of glacial and weather erosion, this unique feature is one of the most recognizable of Zion National Park Landmarks. The mountain’s Navajo sandstone face is etched with a crisscrossing pattern of fissures and cracks that look like a checkerboard. The butte formation, which is actually an ancient, hardened sand dune, is visible from a number of vantage points throughout the park, but especially impressive from directly below.

Tunnel

This 1.1-mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel was blasted out of the native Zion sandstone over a three-year period ending in 1930. The tunnel is considered one of the park’s manmade wonders, but the road is narrow and curving, so RVs and other big vehicles require an escort to pass safely through the tunnel.

Great Arch

The Great Arch is not a freestanding arch, but rather an indentation in the canyon’s sandstone walls caused by jointing. It’s more of an alcove or recess than an arch — what’s technically called a blind arch. You can see the Great Arch as you negotiate the switchbacks on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway.

One of the most frequently viewed natural arches in Zion National Park, this thirteen-million-year-old geologic phenomenon also happens to be one of the most interesting features in the park. Formed like a blind arch, it appears as a huge indentation in the mountainside, hovering over the sloping canyon walls and the green riverbanks of the Virgin River. This kind of semi-blind arch is actually found elsewhere in the park, but only the Great Arch and Red Arch Mountain were considered worthy of names — a good indication of the Great Arch’s grandeur.

Zion Canyon Visitor Center

The Zion Canyon Visitor Center has two main parking lots. There is the primary parking lot which is closet to the visitor center, and an overflow lot which is on the left after passing over the Virgin River bridge. Parking is limited in the park and both lots are typically full between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Carved by the Virgin River, the canyon can be accessed by the 6.2-mile Zion Canyon Scenic Drive; visitors are shuttled from the park visitor center to eight stops, including trails to the popular Emerald Pools. At road’s end is the trailhead of the one-mile Riverside Walk, permitting visitors to follow the river through a narrow section of Zion Canyon. Beyond the paved path, hikers can walk or wade into the Zion Narrows.

Sentinel Slide

This massive landslide at the base of the Sentinel dammed the Virgin River in 1995, much as an ancient landslide led to the establishment of a 350-foot-deep lake in the Zion Valley. The 1995 slide also raised flooding concerns and caused Watchman Campground to be evacuated, but the river soon burst through the loose dam and continued on its natural course.

Riverside Walk

This two-mile paved trail runs from the Temple of Sinawava to the entrance to the Narrows section of Zion Canyon. It is an easy stroll though some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth, the downside being that it is therefore very popular and often very crowded.

The Narrows

The relaxing Riverside Walk leads to the more challenging trail into the Narrows, a strenuous 15.4-mile journey between tight canyon walls, usually wading or swimming in the waters of the Virgin River itself. You’re allowed to hike a few miles into the Narrows if you return to Riverside Walk, but you’ll need a permit to hike all the way down through the Narrows from Chamberlain’s Ranch to the Temple of Sinawava.

Temple of Sinawava

This natural amphitheater, with its 3,000-foot walls, is considered the beginning of Zion Canyon. The Temple is graced with seasonal waterfalls, and this beautiful area also served as the entrance to the Narrows section of the canyon. The popular Riverside Walk begins here, as well.

Weeping Rock

Water which fell as rain about 1,200 years ago perpetually seeps — or weeps — out between two rock layers in the wall of Zion Canyon. The moisture feeds hanging gardens that can be seen from the Weeping Rock alcove. The half-mile Weeping Rock Trail leads to the alcove.

Lower Emerald Pool Trail

The easiest of the three Emerald Pools trails, this shady, paved trail follows the North Fork of the Virgin River through arching cottonwoods, sandstone outcroppings, and moss-lined cliff walls.

Court of the Patriarchs

This short path leads to a scenic overlook of the Court of the Patriarchs, the sheer Navajo Sandstone cliffs on the west side of Zion Canyon. Composed of pure quartz sand, the cliffs erode evenly over the eons.

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