The Narrows is one of the most famous hike on the continent.   For day-hikers, it starts at the end of the road.   The Zion Canyon bus stops at the Temple of the Sinawava.   A trail continues on in the narrowing canyon.   At the end of the paved trail, any further progress is in the Virgin River.   About 2/3 of the route is actually  in the river itself, mostly in water between calf and thigh depth, although there are deeper pools and we went over out waist a couple of times.   The footing is usually pretty good, but there are slippery rocks.    Many of the trekkers wore Canyoneering shoes, especially designed for scrambling and wet conditions.

We used our hiking boots and trekking poles for stability.   The water wasn’t cold, but the going was slow.   As the canyon narrowed, it became darker.

There were lots of explorers, but most turned back after a couple of miles. We continued to Orderville Canyon, then followed it up as far as we could go. This side canyon is a true slot canyon, narrow, but with less water.

We were able to easily hike for about a mile, then the obstacles started. We got past two, then faced a slick waterfall above a pool.

I managed to get over this obstacle, then continued up the canyon past two more obstacles. Next was a long deep pool, with a wet, slippery waterfall to climb up. As I stood looking ahead, 3 canyoneers came down, jumping off the waterfall into the pool below.  I talked to them about how far I could go without equipment. They had come down from the top, a 4 hour scramble. They thought I could make my way up farther, but added that going alone wasn’t advisable. My wife was waiting at the pool below the waterfall downstream, so I reluctantly turned back. Coming to the edge of the waterfall drop-off, I could see that downclimbing wasn’t feasible so I jumped off the edge into the pool below, trying to keep my pack above water. It was deeper than I guessed and I went well under, camera, gps, pack, and all. No more pictures this day….

We hiked all the way out, wet, but happy to have hiked The Narrows. We know we want to return to hike The Narrows of Zion Canyon all the way, from the start at Chamberlain Ranch, a 25 km route in the river, camping overnight in the canyon upstream from Big Springs. We will bring dry bags and wear canyoneering shoes. Link to information on Zion Narrows.   We thought we had completed one from our Bucket List, but we ended up adding two more….

Note – There are newer articles on this hike, including the long route from the top down on this website.