Zion National Park is known for its vast valleys, towering cliffs, and hikes along gorgeous trails that offer stunning views of the park. The unique ecosystem serves as a habitat for endless wildlife and a variety of micro-climates that make every visitor’s experience different. Here is a guide to some of the best hikes throughout the park that will make your visit unforgettable.
Grotto Trail
The Grotto Trail is a relatively easy hike that connects to two of the most strenuous hikes in the park. If you do either hike, you should also aim to get on the trail as early as possible in order to minimize time spent during the hottest part of the day. This is especially important if you choose to hike during the warmer months of the year.
The hike commences at the Grotto trailhead, followed by an uphill that passes through roughly a quarter mile of grass fields, before the dirt path becomes surrounded by an array of towering rock faces and boulders. You then walk through refrigerator canyon, a pathway that is shaded by the surrounding canyon, the cool temperature offering an oasis from the hot and sunny pathway. The nearby streams cool the surrounding air, serving as an excellent habitat for wildlife such as the Mexican Spotted Owl. These owls dwell in the canyons to evade predators, such as hawks or great horned owls, while staying cool in a shaded area. If you are lucky, these birds can be spotted nesting in fir trees and maples, although their brown and white spotted feather coat keeps them well-hidden amongst the nearby trees. These owls have been threatened for over thirty years due to habitat loss caused by forest fires. With this in mind, you should stay quiet until you have left the canyon, refraining from making any loud noises that may disrupt the owls’ sleep or hinder their process of hunting and communicating with each other.
Exiting the canyon will bring you to Walter’s Wiggles, a series of switchbacks that allow you to gain a tremendous amount of elevation, scaling up the hike in a fairly short period of time. Although at a first glance, it appears daunting, the switchbacks make it seem more steep than it truly is. You may begin to tire towards the end, but it is worth being able to look down at the zigzag path you just walked, with too many sharp turns to count. Soon after, you will reach Scouts Lookout, which marks a change in scenery, with a full view of the coral array of rocks beneath you, and multiple hikes to choose from, whether it is the strenuous and slightly terrifying climb of Angel’s Landing, or the long hike along the West Rim Trail. Both options offer a different approach to the park, the best one depending on your hiking capabilities and personal preference.
Angel’s Landing
From here, you will reach Zion’s most famous attraction–Angel’s Landing. Since it is one of the most popular attractions among tourists, a pass must be booked months in advance. This is one of the most difficult hikes in Zion, not in terms of the physical strain it puts on you, but the fear hikers experience on the very edge of a towering rock face. The extremely narrow pathway on the edge of a sheer drop begins with a gradual ascent along the rock faces, and visitors hike for almost a mile, and a metal chain is available for leverage. Despite the fear you may face while climbing, it is worth the 360° view of the park below.
West Rim Trail
If steep and thrilling hikes are not for you, The West Rim Trail is the perfect alternative. Unlike Angel’s Landing, this pathway is free and does not require a previously booked pass. After exiting Scout’s Lookout, you’ll walk along a short downhill, and the sand becomes softer and slightly harder to walk on and the ground levels out a bit. I personally found this to be the most challenging part of the hike, as it was less shaded, and we did this part in the middle of the day. Starting from this point, the crowds began to fade, and you may find yourself alone on the trail many times. After another half hour of hiking, you will notice a change in the colors of the landscape. The warm reds and browns of sand and stone are quickly replaced with the cool grays and greens of rock faces and evergreens. At this point in the hike, I came across a few patches of snow, which I would have never thought that I would see in mid April 2025 after complaining about the heat only ten minutes prior. As you walk by these, the trail steepens until it reaches the final viewpoint, where you can appreciate a view of the pathway beneath you and the countless rock faces and trails you traversed to get here.
The Narrows
The Narrows is a once in a lifetime experience that takes visitors along narrow passages in the rocks formed by erosion, or slot canyons, where they spend most of the hike walking through the Virgin River in mostly knee deep water. The hike is closed at many times of the year, due to runoff from heavy rainfall that may cause hazardous flooding, meaning there are limited opportunities to walk along the river throughout the year. When the trail is open during warm months with minimal rain, it is best to purchase a drysuit, an outfit with multiple layers of synthetic fabric that prevents your clothing from getting wet.
The trail begins at the parking lot for Temple of Sinawava, with a one mile long dirt pathway along the river. Aside from the view of the river nearby, the very beginning of the hike offers minimal views, and is rather crowded, so it is best to walk through briskly and devote more time to the rare experience of walking in the river offered by the Narrows itself. What this dirt path does offer is an excellent opportunity for wildlife viewing. It is common to come across unique animals such as rock squirrels, loons, and the occasional bighorn sheep, especially during earlier hours with fewer crowds.
At first, you may experience difficulty walking in the ice cold water, especially in the heavy layers of protective gear. I recommend bringing a walking stick with you to stabilize yourself, and using it to scope out rocks that stick out and could pose a danger to hikers. Since some of the deepest parts of the walk can be waist-deep, it is best to stay as close to the sand as possible. Here you will find the shallower parts that are closer to the slot canyons for a more enjoyable hike, especially for beginners. Once you get used to the sensation of walking in water, you’ll be able to fully appreciate the thrill of hiking through a river and the view of the cliffs that surround you. As the view remains mostly the same from here, you can decide how long the hike should be. While the entirety of the hike is sixteen miles long, most choose to shorten the walk, making it an out and back where you can turn around at any point.
Many Pools Trail
The Many Pools hike is one of Zion’s hidden gems, and unlike the previously mentioned trails, it is not one of the main hikes the shuttle bus trail takes you to. Because of this, you completely avoid crowds, only seeing a few people for the duration of the hike.
Instead of walking along a dirt path, hikers climb up a boulder to a viewpoint. However, the most memorable part of this hike is the dozens of pools you come across when walking. While some of the pools are dry and merely indents in the rocks, most of them are filled with water. Each pool is different, with some containing more algae and others containing other plant material that serves as an excellent habitat for small organisms such as tadpoles and water bugs. It is common to come across nearly a hundred tadpoles, or even a frog. The entire trail was once a river, and these pools were carved by indents from pebbles that dug into the bottom of the river, leaving gouges in the sheet of rocks that remained even when the river dried. A little over a mile into the hike, you will reach the viewpoint, where you can look down at each pool you walk by and the rocks and plant species the park has to offer.
With famous tourist attractions such as Angels Landing, and less-known hikes such as Many Pools, Zion National Park offers an excellent selection of trails that make each visitor’s experience unique and memorable. When you visit, make sure to do as many of these hikes as you can, as they are crucial in enjoying the striking views and remarkable ecosystem at its fullest extent and appreciating the park as a whole.
Zion National Park is known for its vast valleys, towering cliffs, and hikes along gorgeous trails that offer stunning views of the park. The unique ecosystem serves as a habitat for endless wildlife and a variety of micro-climates that make every visitor’s experience different. Here is a guide to some of the best hikes throughout the park that will make your visit unforgettable.