HIDDEN CANYON

Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern corner of Utah near the Town of Springdale. The main feature of the 229-square-mile park is Zion Canyon, which is a 15 mile long and half a mile deep canyon that is the launch point for many trails in the park.  The Floor Of The Valley Road follows the Virgin River through Zion Canyon, and the Hidden Canyon Trail starts at the Weeping Rock parking area on the east side of the river.

The climb to Hidden Canyon is listed as a 2.4 mile round trip hike, but that only gets you to the mouth of the canyon and back.  If you explore deeper in to the canyon you can easily add a mile or more to this hike.  There is 850′ of elevation change as you leave the parking area on the East Rim Trail and climb steeply to intersect with the Hidden Canyon Trail.  A portion of this hike is a long a steep cliff that is very dangerous – especially in wet or icy conditions.  So hold on to the chain and don’t look down.  If you make it to the mouth of the canyon (which is marked by a sign), it’s only a short distance to a cool mini-arch on the right side of the canyon wall.