Canyoneering Route Description

Snotto Canyon - 4A III
Zion National Park, Utah.

Quick Facts

07-09-16, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 14 hours)

Time Required - 8 to 10
Distance - 6.2 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 8 Rappels, Longest Rappel 415 feet.
Elevation Range - 6860 - 4280 Feet
Shuttle Required - Yes 21.5 Miles Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 415 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  Wet suits not needed.

General Comments

Snotto Canyon is not a canyon I would recommend.  This route is listed only to offer information about the canyon to those who may be curious.

The long entry rap is exciting and offers incredible views but the canyon itself offers little. A better option for this area would be Grotto Canyon which has a little more to offer and shares the same final rappel as Grotto Canyon.

The first two rappels of the route are not in Snotto Canyon itself but instead take you down the side of the mesa to get to the head of the canyon over 400 feet below. On the hike in you will pass near the top of Not Grotto Canyon which in contrast does have a head that begins from the top of the mesa. Keeping this in mind will assist you in getting to the correct canyon. Not Grotto Canyon begins from the mesa top, is a short and very steep side canyon that drops down into the mid section of Grotto Canyon.  In contrast Snotto Canyon does not start from the mesa top since you need to rap over 400 feet down to the head of the canyon, is a long canyon paralleling Grotto and drops into Grotto near the end just before the final rap which both canyons share.

There are a couple of spots of poison ivy in the canyon but easily bypassable and may even go un-noticed.

A fun working name of Snotto was thrown out by Hank Moon before we made the trip. We all laughed at the name and took it to mean "It's Not Grotto". After descending the canyon we all agreed a better reason for the name was "It's Not Ok" to do it again because its not good.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

Note:
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 on the valley floor where there are shuttle busses.  However the approach route will be longer and have a significant increase in elevation gain.

The last part of the drive into Stave Springs Trailhead is dirt but is usually passable by passenger car.

From the East Gate of Zion National Park, travel 2.4 miles east on highway 9 to the turn for North Fork (wEngDP-01) and turn left (north) onto the North Fork Road.  Follow the paved North Fork Road for 5.3 miles to the turn for the Ponderosa Ranch (wEngDP-02) and turn left (west) to go into Ponderosa Ranch. 

As you enter the Ponderosa Ranch follow the paved road staying right at all tuAs you enter the Ponderosa Ranch follow the paved road staying right at all turns.  About 1000 feet after entering Ponderosa Ranch the paved road will end and a dirt road will begin (wEngDP-03). 

Follow the dirt road 0.3 miles to a junction with a sign for observation point (wEngDP-04), at this junction continue to the right / straight ahead to continue west following the sign toward Observation Point.  About 0.22 miles farther is a Tee in the road (wEngDP-05) where you will turn left (southish) and not follow the sign to Observation Point.  About 100 feet past the left turn is a fork in the road where you will take the right fork.  Drive about 0.6 miles to a triangular junction (wHiddnDP01) and turn left.  In about 200 feet you will Tee into Pine Street where you will turn right to travel west on Pine Street.  Drive west about 0.5 miles to the Stave Springs Trailhead (tStaveSpring).

Just before reaching the trailhead is a gate as you re-enter the Zion Park boundary.  You can drive past the gate, but be sure to close the gate behind you.  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.="ContentPlaceHolder9">

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.

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

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Click the links for maps of the route. Overview
Map of the drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the canyon.
Zoomed in map of canyon entry.
Zoomed in map of lower canyon.

Details

The Approach:

From the Stave Spring Trailhead (tStaveSpring), follow the trail west about 0.6From the Stave Spring Trailhead (tStaveSpring), follow the trail west about 0.6 miles to the junction with the East Rim Trail (jStaveEastRimTrl).  At the junction for the East Rim Trail, turn left and continue south on the East Rim Trail.

About 0.3 miles farther is another trail junction (jDeerTrpMntTrl).  At this junction turn right and walk south on the Deer trap Mountain Trail.

About 1.1 miles farther will be the junction for the Cable Mountain trail (jCableMntTrl).  Stay left / straight to continue southwest on the Deertrap Mountain Trail - passing the Cable Mountain junction.

About 0.5 miles farther is an old junction in the trail that you will likely never notice and walk right on by (jDeerTrapOld1).  If you see this junction stay left to travel southwest.  If you do not see this junction keep on walking.g>
Sometime between 2008 and 2014 the trail system has changed.  It is unlikely you will see the old trail veering off to the right since the old trail has been covered and disguised to allow vegetation to regrow and cover the old trail. The old trail veers to the right (more west) while the new trail is clear and easy to follow veering left (more southwest).

About 1.4 miles farther is the top of a switchback (wDeerTrapRP05) where the trAbout 1.4 miles farther is the top of a switchback (wDeerTrapRP05) where the trail turns sharp then descends southwest down to a wide meadow area. It is easy to accidentally get off trail here because the sharp turn in the trail can be overlooked.

About 0.2 miles farther is where you would leave the trail IF you were going to do Grotto Canyon (jGrottoCyn).  This is at the western end of a wide open meadow like area  and where the trail begins to pass into taller bushes and also starts to gradually climb.  To continue to Snotto Canyon stay on the trail and continue west.

As you continue on the trail it will ascend up gradually getting steeper and you will find some logs placed across the trail to serve as stairs.

About 500 feet farther the trail gets steeper and there are more logs / stair across the trail that are now more closely spaced (wDeerTrapRP06).  Continue following the trail as it continues up steeply for about 500 feet then levels off for a short distance then descends down again toward a huge wide open flat mesa.

At the bottom of the steep part of the trail where you get to the wide open mesa (jSnottoCyn) you will leave the trail to go to Sotto Canyon.  Turn right (northwest) and leave the trail as soon as you get to the bottom of this hill and travel north west. Traveling northwest from here is a mix of wide open meadow sections and large bushes to navigate through or around. Navigate about 0.45 miles northwest (bearing 345 deg.) out to a point on the mesa where you can rap down to the head of Snotto.

Note:
You could just follow the East Rim trail out to its end which circles around and gets to the rap down point for Snotto but it is a longer route that way.

As you walk off trail northwest along the wide flat mesa you will need to route find your way through and around large sections of vegetation.  There is no one perfect route through this area but it is pretty easy to find your way around.  Make your way about 0.46 miles out to a point on the mesa (Snotto01).

Note / Navigation:
Depending on your route across the mesa top you may find your self going by the head of Not Grotto Canyon (yNotGrottoTp).  The head of Not Grotto canyon starts from the mesa top and is a short but very steep side canyon to Grotto Canyon. If you get here on the way to Snotto, continue northwest about 650 feet to the end of the point where you can rap off the side down to the head of Snotto.

When you get out to the end of the point (Snotto01) you can look over the side down over Snotto, Not Grotto and Grotto Canyons. Looking carefully just below you and to the right (southeast) you can see a dirt and rock ramp just a little below you. That ramp will be used as part of the descent down to the head of Snotto.

Note:
From the point look over the northeast side of the point for views of your route down into Snotto Canyon. From this spot you can see Grotto Canyon and Snotto Canyon running parallel to one another with a tall thin fin dividing them. You can also see portions of Not Grotto Canyon running down from the mesa down into Grotto Canyon. To get down to the head of Snotto you will be rappelling down the slightly sloped slabby wall you see below you to get to the upper end of the long fin dividing Snotto and Grotto.

Note / Navigation:
The actual head of Snotto Canyon over 400 feet below and can only be accessed by rappelling off the side of the mesa. In contrast the head of Not Grotto Canyon does begin from the mesa. Keeping this in mind will assist you in getting to the correct canyon.

To get to rap 1 off the mesa walk about 110 feet southeast (back toward the head of Not Grotto) and locate a tree to rap down to a dirt and rock ramp about 30 feet below.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section  
Note that the head of Snotto Canyon does not start from the mesa top.  You will need to rap over 400 feet down the side of the mesa to get down to the head of Snotto.

Rap 1 (dSnottoR1) is anchored from a tree about 30 feet back and drops about 20 feet down to a mostly level dirt area. The anchor used was not the large ponderosa right at the rim but a smaller tree about 30 feet back near a large dead tree.

From the bottom of rap 1 walk north along the ledge then begin going down the dirt and rock ramp. The last part of the ramp will be moderately steep where crab walking will be required. The small tree / large bush at the top of the crab walk is the anchor for rap 2. Anchor the rope for rap 2 from the tree before the last person comes down the crab walk section. At the bottom of the crab walk section is a small almost level dirt area where you will start rap 2.

Rap 2 (dSnottoR2) is anchored from a large bush / small tree at the top of the steep slabby portion of a ramp and drops about 415 feet. The first 360 feet of rap 2 is down a sloped slabby wall with lots of ledges along the way then the last 40 feet goes vertical down to a landing where you can then scramble down to a large ledge below.  There are a lot of small shrubs along the wall which can potentially catch a rope. A retrievable anchor like the Smooth Operator may get hung up on the bushes making a traditional pull a better choice here.

Rap 2 drops about 415 feet down this sloped wall.  Aim for the tree shown in the image where you will then have a vertical drop of about 35 feet down to a ledge to complete the rappel.  From the ledge you can scramble about 65 feet down to the next shelf.

From the bottom of rap 2 (Snotto02) scramble about 60 feet down a steeply sloped outcropping of rock down to a large open ledge. Once on the ledge there are two options to get to the actual head of Snotto Canyon.

Option 1:
Walk / scramble along the ledge going northwest in the down canyon direction for about 250 feet to where you can easily walk down to the next lower ledge. Then turn and route find your way along the next lower major ledge over to the head of Snotto. Note that there are a couple of spots on the traverse that are narrow and feel a little sketchy.

To follow option 2 follow the ledge northwest down canyon a little over 200 feet (Snotto03 ). Then scramble down one ledge lower and begin to walk southeast back up canyon now on the lower ledge. Route find your way a little over 200 feet to where you can walk / scramble down to the head of Snotto. Some route fining may be needed as you find your way along narrow dirt ledges. There are only a couple spots that are narrow and a little sketchy with most of the route being pretty straight forward.

Option 2:
Start immediately dropping down the minor ledges below to a large ponderosa tree below and do an optional 60 foot rappel down to the head of Snotto. The optional rappel avoids walking a couple narrow spots on the ledge system below.

The head of Snotto Canyon (ySnottoTp) is where the head of Snotto forms and you can travel down canyon walking and scrambling down steeply sloped dirt and rock. Almost 200 feet down canyon will be a huge boulder in the middle of the canyon and is where rap 3 starts.

Rap 3 (dSnottoR3) is anchored from one of many large rocks to the left of a huge boulder in the ravine and drops about 170 feet to a large flat rock platform where rap 4 will be still well above the canyon floor. The large rock platform at the bottom of rap 3 is not directly in line with the fall line of the rope. The first person down will need to carefully traverse RDC (rapellers left) while rappelling to get to the platform. Once there they can anchor the rope to the tree there and help guide others to the platform.

Rap 4 (dSnottoR4) is anchored from a small tree on a large flat rock platform at the bottom of rap 3 and drops about 160 feet to the canyon floor. Continue down canyon with a mix of walking and scrambling over short drops for about 700 feet to where the canyon levels off a little and becomes more vegetated.

Canyon starts to level off a little (Snotto04) and be easier walking and becomes more vegetated. Over the next 0.25 miles is a mix of wash walking and scrambling over short drops. There are also a couple larger drops that are bypassed by scrambling over and along ledges on the LDC side. Then another drop to bypass by scrambling over and along a ledge on the RDC side.

Rap 5 (dSnottoR5-6) is anchored from a tree way over on the RDC side and drops about 15 feet.

Rap 6 near the bottom of rap 5 is anchored from one bolted hanger and one bolt with no hanger and drops a total of about 20 feet. Only the first 10 feet need to be rappelled and the remainder can be downclimbed as a stem style downclimb. We guessed that the anchors for rap 6 are part of a climbers decent for climbs in the area.

Shortly after is an easy downclimb to a spot that holds water and may be over waist deep if full. The pool can be carefully bypassed on the RDC side but its slippery.  The walk down canyon about 400 feet to rap 7.

Rap 7 (dSnottoR7) is anchored from a large ponderosa and drops about 100 feet down to narrow slot where you then join the Grotto Canyon route. From the bottom of the rap walk about 60 feet over to a ledge over looking the final rappel.

Note:
The narrow slot you rappel down into is a small ravine and not a major canyon. The Grotto Canyon route drops to this same spot by coming down the RDC wall here.

Rap 8 (dGrottoR9) (same as rap 9 for Grotto Canyon) is anchored from 2 bolted hangers and drops about 260 feet over an alcove / hanging garden area with the majority of the rappel being free hanging. It is possible to get off rope about 15 feet higher on the sloped side wall of the alcove to make the rap a little shorter.

From the bottom of rap 9 of Grotto Canyon walk down the sloped slickrock and over a short ledge.

The Exit:
To exit Grotto Canyon follow northwest along one of many use trails webbing around on the LDC (west) side of the drainage. The better trails appear to be quite a ways up out of the water course. About 0.26 miles farther is a dirt road / trail running west a short distance over to the Grotto Bus Stop (wBusStpGrotto).  Ride the bus back to the visitor center to your exit vehicle.

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

Snotto Canyon (1) - Drive to Trailhead

wEngDP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.23934   W -112.83230        Elev: 5,869 Feet Turn to the North Fork off Highway 9. wEngDP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27285   W -112.87304        Elev: NaN Feet Turn left, to the Ponderosa Ranch. wEngDP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27303   W -112.87625        Elev: NaN Feet Pavement Ends. wEngDP-04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27489   W -112.88006        Elev: NaN Feet Continue straight. Sign saying Observation Point. wEngDP-05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27583   W -112.88405        Elev: NaN Feet Turn right at Tee in the road. Toward Observation Point. wHiddnDP01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.26880   W -112.89025        Elev: NaN Feet On the way into Stave Springs Trail Head turn left at this triangular junction and drive about 200 feet to Pine Street. Turn right onto Pine street to travel west to Stave Springs Trailhead. tStaveSpring          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.26759   W -112.89948        Elev: 6,450 Feet Some rangers refer to this as the Stave Springs Trailhead. Have not found official name for it.

Snotto Canyon (2) - Approach to Rap 1

tStaveSpring          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.26759   W -112.89948        Elev: 6,450 Feet Some rangers refer to this as the Stave Springs Trailhead. Have not found official name for it. jStaveEastRimTrl          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.26605   W -112.90779        Elev: 6,390 Feet Junction to the Stave Springs Trail off of the East Rim Trail. jDeerTrpMntTrl          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.26206   W -112.90624        Elev: 6,460 Feet Junction for the Deertrap Mountain Trail. jCableMntTrl          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25266   W -112.91699        Elev: 6,880 Feet Trail Junction for the Cable Mountain Trail. jDeerTrapOld1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24888   W -112.92336        Elev: NaN Feet Sometime between 2008 when I first visited Hidden Canyon and 2014 the trail system has changed. This point is where the old and new trails diverge. It is unlikely you will see both trials since the old trail has been covered and disguised to allow vegetation to regrow and cover the old trail. The old trail veers to the right (more west) while the new trail is clear and easy to follow veering left (more southwest). Continue southwest along the new well defined trail. jHiddenCyn          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24486   W -112.92891        Elev: 6,800 Feet Leave the trail approximately here to route find your way over to the top of Hidden Canyon. Hidden canyon is about 0.2 miles to the west of this point. There are no helpful landmarks for this point so a GPS is helpful but not manditory. Leave the trail here and travel west a little over 100 feet to the top of the cliff band. If you left the trail in the correct spot you will find a slope gentle enough to allow you to walk / scramble down to the bottom of the cliff band. If you left in the wrong spot you may be cliffed out and need to wander along the top of the cliff band to find the way down. wDeerTrapRP05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24216   W -112.93503        Elev: 6,830 Feet Top of a switchback where the trail turns sharp then descends southwest down to a wide meadow area. It is easy to accidentally get off trail here because the sharp turn in the trail can be overlooked. jGrottoCyn          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24155   W -112.93749        Elev: 6,760 Feet Here at the western end of a wide open meadow like area the trail begins to pass into taller bushes and also starts to gradually climb. To go to Grotto Canyon, walk to where the trail begins to have bushes on both sides, then veer right and leave the trail and travel northwest about 400 feet to Grotto Canyon. As you walk over to Grotto there will be some vegetation to wander through to get to where you can scramble down into the canyon. Depending on your route over to the canyon you may scramble in right at the head of the canyon or scramble down in on the RDC side as we did. Note: Just past this spot are some logs placed across the trail to serve as stairs. If you are going to Grotto Canyon, leave the trail just before getting to the first log / stair. If you are continuing to Snotto, stay on the trail which will begin to get more steep and have more closely spaced logs / stairs across the trail. wDeerTrapRP06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24085   W -112.93876        Elev: 6,820 Feet Trail gets steeper and there are more logs / stair across the trail that are now more closely spaced jSnottoCyn          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24201   W -112.94149        Elev: 6,810 Feet Bottom of a steep section of trail where it drops down to a large flat mesa. To go to Sotto Canyon turn right and leave the trail as soon as you get to the bottom of this hill and travel north west. Traveling northwest from here is a mix of wide open meadow sections and large bushes to navigate through or around. Navigate about 0.45 miles northwest (bearing 345 deg.) out to a point on the mesa where you can rap down to the head of Snotto. Note: You could just follow the East Rim trail out to its end which circles around and gets to the rap down point for Snotto but it is a longer route that way. Snotto01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24810   W -112.94500        Elev: 6,660 Feet Out at the end of the point on the mesa where you can look over the side down over Snotto, Not Grotto and Grotto Canyons. Looking carefully just below you and to the right (southeast) you can see a dirt and rock ramp just a little below you. That ramp will be used as part of the descent down to the head of Snotto. To get to the first rap off the mesa walk about 110 feet southeast (back toward the head of Not Grotto) and locate a tree to rap down to a dirt and rock ramp about 30 feet below. Note: Look over the northeast side of the point for views of your route down into Snotto Canyon. From this spot you can see Grotto Canyon and Snotto Canyon running parallel to one another with a tall thin fin dividing them. You can also see portions of Not Grotto Canyon running down from the mesa down into Grotto Canyon. To get down to the head of Snotto you will be rappelling down the slightly sloped slabby wall you see below you to get to the upper end of the long fin dividing Snotto and Grotto. Note / Navigation: The actual head of Snotto Canyon over 400 feet below and can only be accessed by rappelling off the side of the mesa. In contrast the head of Not Grotto Canyon does begin from the mesa. Keeping this in mind will assist you in getting to the correct canyon. dSnottoR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24785   W -112.94470        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Snotto Canyon. Anchored from a tree about 30 feet back and drops about 20 feet down to a mostly level dirt area. The anchor used was not the large ponderosa right at the rim but a smaller tree about 30 feet back near a large dead tree. From the bottom of rap 1 walk north along the ledge then begin going down the dirt and rock ramp. The last part of the ramp will be moderately steep where crab walking will be required. The small tree / large bush at the top of the crab walk is the anchor for rap 2. Anchor the rope for rap 2 from the tree before the last person comes down the crab walk section. At the bottom of the crab walk section is a small almost level dirt area where you will start rap 2.

Snotto Canyon (3) - Canyon and Exit

dSnottoR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24785   W -112.94470        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Snotto Canyon. Anchored from a tree about 30 feet back and drops about 20 feet down to a mostly level dirt area. The anchor used was not the large ponderosa right at the rim but a smaller tree about 30 feet back near a large dead tree. From the bottom of rap 1 walk north along the ledge then begin going down the dirt and rock ramp. The last part of the ramp will be moderately steep where crab walking will be required. The small tree / large bush at the top of the crab walk is the anchor for rap 2. Anchor the rope for rap 2 from the tree before the last person comes down the crab walk section. At the bottom of the crab walk section is a small almost level dirt area where you will start rap 2. dSnottoR2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24817   W -112.94472        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 2 - Snotto Canyon. Anchored from a large bush / small tree at the top of the steep slabby portion of a ramp and drops about 415 feet. The first 360 feet of rap 2 is down a sloped slabby wall with lots of ledges along the way then the last 40 feet goes vertical down to a landing where you can then scramble down to a large ledge below. There are a lot of small shrubs along the wall which can potentially catch a rope. A retrievable anchor like the Smooth Operator may get hung up on the bushes making a traditional pull a better choice here. Snotto02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24859   W -112.94414        Elev: 6,280 Feet Bottom of rap 2. From the bottom of rap 2 scramble about 60 feet down a steeply sloped outcropping of rock down to a large open ledge. Once on the ledge there are two options. Option 1 is to walk / scramble along the ledge going northwest in the down canyon direction for about 250 feet to where you can easily walk down to the next lower ledge. Then turn and route find your way along the next lower major ledge over to the head of Snotto. Note that there are a couple of spots on the traverse that are narrow and feel a little sketchy. Option 2 is to start immediately dropping down the minor ledges below to a large ponderosa tree below and do an optional 60 foot rappel down to the head of Snotto. The optional rappel avoids walking a couple narrow spots on the ledge system below. Snotto03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24921   W -112.94442        Elev: NaN Feet After completing rap 2 follow the ledge northwest down canyon to here. Then scramble down one ledge lower and begin to walk southeast back up canyon now on the lower ledge. Route find your way a little over 200 feet to where you can walk / scramble down to the head of Snotto. Some route fining may be needed as you find your way along narrow dirt ledges. There are only a couple spots that are narrow and a little sketchy with most of the route being pretty straight forward. ySnottoTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24888   W -112.94390        Elev: 6,120 Feet Top of Snotto Canyon. This is where the head of Snotto forms and you can travel down canyon walking and scrambling down steeply sloped dirt and rock. Almost 200 feet down canyon will be a huge boulder in the middle of the canyon and is where rap 3 starts. dSnottoR3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24927   W -112.94420        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 3 - Snotto Canyon. Anchored from one of many large rocks to the left of a huge boulder in the ravine and drops about 170 feet to a large flat rock platform where rap 4 will be still well above the canyon floor. The large rock platform at the bottom of rap 3 is not directly in line with the fall line of the rope. The first person down will need to carefully traverse RDC (rapellers left) while rappelling to get to the platform. Once there they can anchor the rope to the tree there and help guide others to the platform. dSnottoR4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24942   W -112.94439        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 4 - Snotto Canyon. Anchored from a small tree on a large flat rock platform at the bottom of rap 3 and drops about 160 feet to the canyon floor. Continue down canyon with a mix of walking and scrambling over short drops for about 700 feet to where the canyon levels off a little and becomes more vegetated. Snotto04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25121   W -112.94512        Elev: NaN Feet Canyon starts to level off a little and be easier walking and becomes more vegetated. Over the next 0.25 miles is a mix of wash walking and scrambling over short drops. There are also a couple larger drops that are bypassed by scrambling over and along ledges on the LDC side. Then another drop to bypass by scrambling over and along a ledge on the RDC side. dSnottoR5-6          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25491   W -112.94636        Elev: NaN Feet Raps 5 and 6 - Snotto Canyon. Rap 5 anchored from a tree way over on the RDC side and drops about 15 feet. Rap 6 near the bottom of rap 5 is anchored from one bolted hanger and one bolt with no hanger and drops a total of about 20 feet. Only the first 10 feet need to be rappelled and the remainder can be downclimbed as a stem style downclimb. We guessed that the anchors for rap 6 are part of a climbers decent for climbs in the area. Shortly after is an easy downclimb to a spot that holds water and may be over waist deep if full. The pool can be carefully bypassed on the RDC side but its slippery. dSnottoR7          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25604   W -112.94645        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 7 - Snotto Canyon. Anchored from a large ponderosa and drops about 100 feet down to narrow slot where you then join the Grotto Canyon route. From the bottom of the rap alk about 60 feet over to a ledge over looking the final rappel. The narrow slot you rappel down into is a small ravine and not a major canyon. The Grotto Canyon route drops to this same spot by coming down the RDC wall here. dGrottoR9          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25624   W -112.94638        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 9 - Grotto Canyon. Anchored from 2 bolted hangers and drops about 260 feet over an alcove / hanging garden area with the majority of the rappel being free hanging. It is possible to get off rope about 15 feet higher on the sloped side wall of the alcove to make the rap a little shorter. yGrottoBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25654   W -112.94629        Elev: 4,620 Feet Bottom of Grotto Canyon just below the final rappel. Follow northwest along one of many use trails webbing around on the LDC (west) side of the drainage. The better trails appear to be quite a ways up out of the water course. About 0.26 miles farther is a dirt road / trail running west a short distance over to the Grotto Bus Stop. wBusStpGrotto          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25908   W -112.95121        Elev: 4,280 Feet The Grotto shuttle stop on the Zion - Floor of the Valley road.