Zion’s Hidden Canyon

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath

Hidden Canyon is a fantastic hike that lets you romp and scramble and explore a small side canyon that’s perched high above the Zion canyon floor.

Hidden Canyon lies in the slit on the right hand side of the photo above. If you look carefully, you can see people along the surface of the rock, on a trail that is carved out of the rock face.

It’s accessible by a steep, switchbacked trail that climbs until it can go no further as a regular trail. It first becomes steps, laid carefully into the rock… … then it becomes a narrow sandstone rock path that leads to the cliff edge…… and then it becomes ledges, cut into the sandstone, with chains to hold, that go around and across a massive, curving cliff face.

Here Bill walks along one of those ledges.

Where the drops are precipitous, there are chains to grab.

Unless you have a fear of heights, the trail is plenty wide, though the chains come in handy when passing people coming in the opposite direction.

You can see how soft the rock is… where the chains rub the wall, little piles of sand result, and the chain cuts further into the cliff face.

As you enter the canyon, you can see the Weeping Wall waterfall across the canyon.

A final series of steps, cut into the rock, take you into the canyon, a narrow slot between two massive cliff faces.

The chains are on the right, and the steps are on the left.

Exploring this terrain, you walk through the creek, you climb over boulders, you squeeze through tight areas, and you balance on logs. It’s super, super, SUPER fun!

One wall is moss-covered. The other wall is sculpted rock.

Clearly water has poured through here… and does, during flash floods.

The tight squeezes were my favourite parts!

In places it is wet, but the rock is not slippery.

This was the most challenging spot… an easy squeeze and slide down.

Likewise, when you get to this sign, don’t stop!

Close to the end of where you can go without climbing equipment, there’s a little arch … such an amazing feature.

This is the back of the arch, seen from above while standing on it.

See what it’s like to walk up on top of it… it’s like walking along the back of a giant worm in a horror movie!!

On the way out for us, the rain stopped and the sun came out, showing off the incredible colours of the rock!

Back to the cacti of the open sun areas….

Just imagine… wherever you see a waterfall in Zion, falling from high above the canyon floor, there is a smaller canyon like this one, hidden out of sight. I love that the park’s founders decided to make one of these high canyons accessible (by carving trails into the cliff face) to us all, revealing a little bit more of the magic of this wondrous place.

If You Go…

Bring gaitors for the water pools in the canyon. This way you will not have to scramble up high on crumbly dirt trails, and contribute to the erosion of the area. You can simply splash through the puddles on a rock hard surface, instead.
Bring food and drink with you as there is nothing to purchase in the park and getting to the trailhead using the mandatory shuttle system (in and out) takes quite a while.
DO NOT enter the canyon if the water is rushing, or if heavy rain is in the forecast. These canyons are sculpted by water… powerful water…. and are prone to flash floods. Check the weather forecast & park system warnings before heading out.

17 Comments on “Zion’s Hidden Canyon”

Explore with Kenneth
April 9, 2018

Amazing! Wish I had the chance to do this hike when I visited Zion last year. Thanks for sharing!

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- Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
  April 10, 2018
  
  Thanks for stopping by, Kenneth! I’d be curious to know your thoughts about whether the crowds were more crazy this year versus last, when you were there. Or whether it was simply our timing, being there around Easter. What time of year did you visit?
  
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  - Explore with Kenneth
    April 11, 2018
    
    Hey Sheri! I visited Zion around late May/early June last year. It wasn’t as packed as I thought it would be since the weather was perfect. I think it has to do with high water levels during that time of year and some hikes were inaccessible such as the Narrows!
    
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Mike Hohmann
April 9, 2018

Another good post, Sheri. Whoda thunk I’d learn so much about Zion National Park from a couple of Canadians on vacation. Thanks much! 😉

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- Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
  April 10, 2018
  
  Heh heh heh. 😜 The world is an amazing place and travel is one of the best ways to keep learning, long after the school days are behind us. Sometimes, I think, you can learn a lot from the perspective, experiences and insights of someone travelling … even when they’re tromping through your own backyard. 😉
  
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nexi
April 10, 2018

Stunning place – thanks for sharing such great photos!

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- Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
  April 10, 2018
  
  You’re welcome. Thanks for coming along.
  
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Diana
April 10, 2018

Wow, what a cool hike! Thanks for sharing. Definitely adding this one to the list for a return trip to Zion!

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- Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
  April 10, 2018
  
  And have you done Observation Point? I loved that one… it was my fave. We did it as an add on to the Hidden Canyon hike. I’ll be posting about it tomorrow.
  
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  - Diana
    April 10, 2018
    
    I haven’t. I remember reading someone else’s post about it a while ago and thinking it looked pretty cool too! I’ll look out for your post tomorrow. Seems it’s time for me to make a return trip to Zion!
    
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  - Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
    April 10, 2018
    
    You betcha! Crowds aside, it was worth it.
    
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Dave Ply
April 11, 2018

Looks like you managed to escape the worst of the crowds. I think I read once some ridiculously high percentage of tourists never get more than 1/4 mile away from their car. I did a little better than that at Zion, but not as well as you.

So how deep were those pools? Not over the boot tops?

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- Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
  April 11, 2018
  
  The ones in Hidden Canyon were, but we had gaitors on. The ones on the next hike (Observation Point) were shallow, with large stepping stones. Wait until you read the next post about Angel’s Landing… that’s where you’ll see the ridiculous crowds! Where did you go in Zion?
  
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  - Dave Ply
    April 11, 2018
    
    I’m not sure I understand gaitors. It seems like water would still be able to come up through the bottom. I can see how they’d help with snow or mud.
    
    It’s been 40 years since I was at Zion and don’t remember exactly what I saw, but I suspect Angels Landing was one destination. Guess I’ll have to break out the old slides, if they’re still any good, and see what’s on ’em. Being film, and being young and too broke for much processing back then I probably don’t have much.
    
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  - Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
    April 11, 2018
    
    40 years! Wow! It’s time to hear back, I think! Image what you could do now with your photography skills!
    
    As for gaitors… they work ok in water if you move fast! 😉 The trick is to have them fit snuggly on your boot where the top of your foot meets your ankle. That’s what the adjustable strap is for that goes under the arch of your boot. I’ve even worn them with my waterproof trail runners with a wee bit of success.
    
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WanderingCanadians
April 18, 2018

Looks like a slightly treacherous, but very adventurous hike. I have a running list of hikes for when we make our way down to Zion (and its neighbouring national parks in Utah) and I just added this one to that list. Thanks for this. Looks fun! And I’m totally going to get a pair of gaitors.

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- Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
  April 18, 2018
  
  (Bill teases me all the time… but I LOVE my gaitors!)
  
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