Hike the Narrows in Zion NP

The Narrows Hike in Zion National Park is easily one of my top three favorite hikes of all time. The Narrows is a very unique and incredibly beautiful hike. A majority of this hike is partially submerged in the Virgin River making it a super refreshing Summer activity. The hike is easy-intermediate level (because of the water) and requires some type of water shoe with good traction.

The colors of the river juxtaposed with the deep purples, reds, and greens in the walls makes for a breathtaking hike. There are waterfalls, natural springs, beaches, and shade throughout the entire hike. Although there is no formal destination, the limit of the bottom up hike is a room surrounded by natural springs called Big Springs (5 mi).

There are two ways to hike the Narrows: 1. From the top of the canyon down (16 miles, campsites, requires permit) 2. Bottom up and back (10 mile out and back to Big Springs, no permit required, higher concentration of neat features). We opted for the bottom up trip. Pretty much everything you'll want to see is in the bottom 5 miles of the canyon. Hiking bottom up also requires very little planning.

The trail is located at the Temple of Sinawava area of Zion National Park. The trail starts at the end of a paved 1 mile river walk. At the end of the paved trail is a beach where you just hop into the river and start walking up canyon!

There is a tram that runs through the park from April 1st until October 26th and during the weekends in November. When the tram is in use cars are not allowed to drive freely through the park. We visited the park in March and were able to drive wherever we liked. The downside of visiting in March is the frigid temperature of the water. We rented full dry suits (suit, neoprene socks, water shoes, and walking stick) from the Zion Adventure Co for about $85.

As we hiked we met a lot of people who had just rented fly fishing waders from the various outfitters in Springdale for just $45. The water that we hiked in never came up past our thighs so the waders seemed like a better deal. It seems like a Summer visit would be best because you wouldn't need to rent any extra gear and the cool water would be a welcome escape from the heat.

Any length of this hike will be awesome but some points of interest are: The Road to Orderville (this is an offshoot about 2.5 miles from the canyon mouth. It leads a small waterfall, travel is restricted past the waterfall)

Park Avenue/Narrows stretch (close after Orderville this 2 mile stretch is the most narrow tall and beautiful part of the hike. Beaches are sparse to none in this section)

A few things to keep in mind: There are some nice bathrooms at the river walk trail head, make good use because there are no place for solid waste on the trail. Lastly, always check the water level beforehand (70 CFS = knee deep at crossing points) if the water flow hits 150 CFS the canyon will close.

When you finish up head into Springdale (15 minutes drive from trailhead) You can catch a hot shower for $5 at Zion Outfitter (buy the token beforehand their showers are 24/7) or in the bike building behind the Pizza Co.

Grab a bite to eat and a beer at the Zion Pizza & Noodle Co. inside or on their deck, or catch a family sit down dinner at Wildcat Willies. Both places have excellent food