---

Canyoneering Route Description

Hidden Canyon - 3A III
Zion National Park, Utah

Pictures 10-11-08

Quick Facts

10-11-08, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 8.5 hours)

Distance - 6 miles Total, 1.7 miles Technical
Rappels - 7 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet.

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the technical mileage or the gear used list is determined.

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, a 200 foot rope, 40 foot rope for hand line, 50 foot of 9/16” webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Hidden Canyon is a fun and scenic canyon with little to no water.  Good choice for cooler weather as the season comes to a close (at least for those that do not like cold weather). 

This canyon does not have the typical sandstone slot that a lot of the Zion canyons have.  Don’t let that discourage you from doing this canyon thinking it isn’t as scenic as others in Zion.  This canyon has a charm all its own. Other than the 7 rappels, you will spend a lot of time down climbing as you descend the canyon.  There are also a couple nice arches along the route.

Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking

To get to the Trailhead

These directions are for the Stave Springs Trailhead entry.  Other possible starting points would be the East Rim trailhead or the Weeping Rock trailhead.  If Weeping Rock is used there is no need for a shuttle since you start and finish in the same place.

• From the East Gate of Zion National Park
  • Travel 2.4 miles east on highway 9 to the turn for North Fork.
  • Turn Left (north) toward North Fork.
• From the turn to North Fork
  • Travel 5.3 miles on a paved road to the turn for the Ponderosa Ranch.
  • Turn Left into Ponderosa Ranch.
• From the turn into Ponderosa Ranch
  • Set your trip meter or note your mileage.
  • Mileages given in the rest of these directions will be referenced from this point.
• A little over 400 feet the pavement will end.
  • This road was ok for passenger cars at the time of this writing.
• At mile 0.5
  • Continue straight on the road you were on. (toward Observation Point)
  • There is a track of some sort to the right and a road to the left.
• At mile 0.7
  • You will come to a Tee in the road.
  • Turn Left. (Not toward Observation Point)
• A little over a hundred feet past the left turn
  • Take the right fork.
  • Follow the well groomed gravel road southwest.
  • The left fork of the road is labeled Pine Street and is not the road you want.
• At mile 1.4
  • The gravel road will make a sharp right turn.
  • On some maps this is where your route is on Pine Street again.
  • Follow the gravel road west.
• At mile 1.9
  • You will find a large dirt parking area which is the Stave Spring Trailhead.
  • Just before reaching the trailhead is a gate as you re-enter the Zion Park boundary.
  • If there is rain fall the last section of road from the gate to the trail head may be difficult for some vehicles. If that is the case find a convenient place to park near the gate and walk to the trailhead. Keep in mind this is private property and try to be thoughtful when choosing a parking spot.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

The exit vehicle can be parked at the visitor center.  Once the route is complete, take the Zion shuttle to the visitor center to the exit vehicle.

Maps

Map showing the drive from East Gate of Zion to the Stave Spring trailhead.
The yellow line is the forest road route to the trailhead. 

Click for High-Res version.
Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.

Zoomed out map showing entire route.

Click for High-Res version.
Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.

Zoomed in map showing the technical section.

Click for High-Res version.
Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.

GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
From the Stave Spring Trailhead, follow the trail west toward the junction with the East Rim Trail.  At 0.5 miles is the junction for the East Rim Trail, turn left and continue to the Deer trap Mountain Trail.  Turn left onto the Deer trap Mountain Trail at mile 0.8 and continue past the Cable Mountain Trail at mile 1.9. 

To find the entry point stay on the Deer trap Trail to where it crosses the top of Hidden Canyon on the map.  As the trail crosses Hidden Canyon you will come to a section on the trail that turns north for a short distance as it climbs up steeply.  Along this steep part there are a series of steps made in the trail.  At the top of the steps the trail turns sharp left (to the west) and continues climbing but less steep.  The top of the steps is where you will leave the trail.  Rather than turn left (west), you will leave the trail and continue north along the hill side.

From the spot you leave the trail, travel northeast working your way down the dirt hillside.  While working your way down you will begin to see Hidden Canyon open up to the north.  The slope will level off a little about 350 feet from the trail.  From here continue down another steep dirt hill to the northwest.  As you start down this second portion of steep dirt, you will find an open area of rock.  From this rock area, travel about 200 feet to the northwest down the dirt slope to the obvious mouth of the canyon.  This is where you will find the 100 foot fist rappel.

The Canyon / Technical Section:
Rap 1 is anchored from one of several pine trees and drops about 100 feet down a rock face.  The ledge at the bottom of the Rap 1 has a bolt and anchor.  The anchor is not needed but can be used to tie in if you intend to be on the ledge for a while.  From this ledge is an easy down climb about 10 feet to the canyon floor.

Starting form just below rap 1 to the end of the canyon are many down climbs.  There are very few sections in the canyon with any significant distance of easy walking. 

Rap 2 is a little over 500 feet from rap 1.  After down climbing a boulder you will find a 40 foot drop with no apparent anchor to rappel from.  When you find this turn around and look back under the boulder you just down climbed.  There will be a single bolt and hanger for Rap 2 RDC on the wall.  Rap 2 is anchored from this hanger and drops about 35 feet on the up canyon side of the boulder you are standing on.  After finishing Rap 2 walk under the boulder you rapped from to continue down canyon.

Rap 3 is a little over 1000 feet down canyon from rap 2.  Rap 3 is anchored from a small boulder and drops about 35 feet.  Rap 3 is like rap 2 in that it drops on the up canyon side of a boulder then you walk under it down canyon to continue the route.

Rap 4 is about 30 feet from the bottom of rap 3.  Rap 4 is anchored from a boulder a few feet over the edge and is a 2 stage rap.  It would be easy to get to the bottom of the first stage and think the rap is over.  Remember to look down canyon when you finish a rap to see if you still need the ropes.  The first stage of Rap 4 drops about 20 feet.  There is about 50 horizontal feet from the bottom of stage 1 to the top of stage 2.  Stage 2 then drops another 15 feet or so.  The total rope distance for Rap 4 is about 85 feet.

Rap 5 is about 500 feet past rap 4.  Rap 5 drops 30 feet and is anchored from a tree about 10 feet up canyon.

After rap 5, travel LDC on a faint path leading up the left wall to avoid a couple down climbs.  This path will soon have a steep drop on the right to the canyon floor.  Soon you will find webbing on a tree at the edge of the drop.  This will be the anchor for Rap 6.

Rap 6 is about 200 feet from rap 5 and drops about 60 feet to the canyon floor.  The start for Rap 6 is a bit awkward.  Despite the awkward start I found this to be the most enjoyable rap in the canyon.  It has a good view up and down canyon and just feels good (once actually on rappel).  The tree looks like it still has a good root system but does have some sections dying off.  An alternate anchor might be a good idea sometime in the future.

Shortly after rap 6 is a drop with a large choke stone wedged between the walls overhead and just down canyon from the drop.  Just before getting to this drop follow another faint path LDC up the left wall of the canyon.  A few feet beyond the choke stone is a large pine tree.  This is the anchor for rap 7.

The path continues beyond this tree and ends at the top of a natural arch.  There are options to rap from either side of the arch but the tree near the choke stone is a bit safer.  Another plus to using this anchor as opposed to rapping off the arch is staying off the arch.  Maybe it will last longer if we stay off it.

Rap 7 is anchored from the tree just down canyon from the choke stone mentioned above and drops about 60 feet to the canyon floor below.  This is the last rappel for the canyon.

Beyond rap 7 the canyon is still full of down climbs.  About 0.4 miles down canyon from rap 7 is a path RDC going up along the right wall.  This path leads up then back down and drops back to the canyon floor a few hundred feet down canyon.  Taking this path is a great way to bypass some down climbs.

Shortly after the path that climbs up and over, the canyon starts to open up in a few spots and travel becomes easier.  There are still lots of down climbs though.  About 0.25 miles beyond the climb around is a natural arch LDC on the canyon floor.  It is large enough to walk under and is tucked away on the side around some small trees.  It feels leprechaun like.

The Exit:
About 0.25 miles from the arch the canyon opens up a little more and a clear defined trail emerges.  This well maintained trail leads to the East Rim Trail.  Along the way are chains and steps cut in the cliff as you work to the East Rim Trail.

Once on the East Rim Trail follow it a little more than a half mile down to the Weeping Rock trailhead where the route ends.

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

---

Content on BluuGnome.com is protected by copyright and may not be distributed without permission from BluuGnome.com.