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After a morning of canyoneering, we were tired, but wanted to see more of the park. We asked our canyoneering guide, Chad, to suggest a good afternoon activity in the park that wasn’t too crowded. He suggested we hike the Hidden Canyon Trail.
This hike starts at the Weeping Rock trail-head, which is also the start of the more ambitious Observation Point hike. The two trails share the same uphill path but then we took the turnoff to the right for Hidden Canyon.
With a 940 ft elevation gain, it is fairly strenuous going up. We took the switchbacks slowly, pausing to take pictures frequently. The view of the main canyon was spectacular as we ascended.
Then the path turned away from the main canyon and into a shaded valley. Here there were chains bolted into the wall for hikers to hold onto.
My daughter and I opted not take this part of the trail, so we sat on a ledge and rested while we waited for my husband to continue.
He said this section is not as daunting as it seems because the walk is banked in towards the cliff wall and the chains.
Other Zion Posts:
- Kolob Canyons Section
- Zion National Park
- Kolob Canyon 5-mile Drive
- Timber Creek Overlook Trail
- Emerald Pools
- Canyoneering
- Hidden Canyon
- Scout Lookout (Coming Soon)
- Angel’s Landing (Coming Soon)
- Pa’Rus Trail (Coming Soon)
Location: Springdale, UT
Designation: National Park
Date designated/established: 11/19/1919
Date of my visit: April 10, 2017
Beautiful vista’s.
Thanks 🙏🏻😊
Good post! I love Zion!!
Thanks 🙏🏻We loved our visit 😊
Thanks for showing me these. 🙂 We had to cancel our trip to Zionand Bryce because my wife had a bum knee and could only hobble a few steps. Otherwise it was a wheelchair.
Oh I’m sorry to hear that! Hopefully she recovers well and you reschedule your trip for another time 😞
We hope so, too.
Amazing views!!
Thanks 🙏🏻😊
Such a cool park! 🙂 I haven’t done that trail there yet. Next time!
So much to do there!
Zion National Park is pretty high up on my travel bucket list. The landscape is just so unreal. How did you find the weather / temperature in April?
I am personally always hot, I found the temperature very pleasant in April. We dressed in layers each morning and by midday, I was down to my tee shirt. In the Kolob section, it’s a higher elevation so it was more chilly. Again, layers are key
That looks absolutely amazing! I’m hoping to take my 7 year old daughter to Zion within the next few weeks, do you have a short, child kid friendly hike to recommend? Or somewhere I “need” to take her while we are in Zion?
The Pa’Rus trail begins at the visitor center and follows the Virgin River. From what I remember, it’s mostly paved and flat. The Lower Emerald Pool Trail is also easy and leads to a waterfall, but is much more crowded than Pa’Rus.
Thank you, I’ll look into both.
Zion is an amazing park. Your photos bring back nice memories. Thank you!
Thanks for reading and commenting! 🙂
Zion is so great! Your pictures turned out fantastic. It makes me want to go back there ASAP. I have one of my Zion hikes on my Utah Blog that you might want to checkout on the Narrows.
Thanks! I’ll check it out. The Narrows was closed when we were there…water too fast and high
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