The Narrows, Utah, United States

5Paul S 5:00 PM Jul 15, 2022

One of the Greatest Day Hike Trails in the USA
The bottom-up hike of the narrows is an out and back hike. Take the Zion shuttle from the visitor center to the last stop which is the Temple of Sinawava. The first mile is paved from the Temple of Sinawava to the Gateway to the Narrows. At this point, the Virgin River becomes the trail. The scenery is fantastic. The walls are 1000 feet high and at places only 30 feet apart. The challenge is keeping your footing on the submerged and slippery rocks. We started at 7 AM. Had a lunch break near the end of “Wall Street”. The hike up the river is world class in every aspect. The back or return part of the hike was marred by the crowds. The crowds got worse as one approaches the trailhead. Many folks unprepared for such a hike (improper footwear, no hiking stick for stability, no drinking water …). I’ll need to try this hike again when it is less crowed and off season to enjoy the spectacular beauty of this trail both up and back.

5Kimbabites 5:00 PM Apr 17, 2022

Beautiful but Challenging in Spring
The high water flow shut down the Narrows a couple of days the week before we went, so I was worried, but we got lucky and the day we went the flow was in the 90s (above 150 and they close the whole thing). Since it was spring and the water is cold, we rented the dry bibs, neoprene socks and shoes at Zion Outfitters just outside the park entrance. We had paid for the NPS annual pass of $80 for our family of 4, so we got up early and drove into the park around 7:00am. We parked at the visitor center on the side closer to river so we could walk across the bridge and the Outfitters are just on the other side. We rented the gear ($55 per person) and put on the gear there. We then walked back to our car to leave our regular shoes and socks, then walked to the shuttle stop. That early in the morning in spring (LAUSD was on spring break) it wasn't super crowded and we didn't even have to line up for the shuttle. We rode the shuttle to the last stop (Temple of Sinawava) which took maybe 15-20 minutes. After you get off, it's about a mile walk on a paved path to the point where you start walking in the river. With the gear your feet are still supposed to get wet, but it didn't bother most of us, but my teenage son has poor circulation and he was pretty uncomfortable having wet feet and his hands got cold too. There is a rubbery gasket at the bottom of the dry bibs around the ankles but our inner clothing eventually got a bit wet up to about mid-calf. Otherwise, it kept the rest of our legs and upper body dry. Almost everyone doing the Narrows was wearing the dry gear, though there were 2-3 people we saw wearing regular clothes. There were several times when crossing from one bank to another where the water got a bit deep and fast but never much higher than the waist (my daughter and I are short, just around 5 feet). The wooden stick they give you as part of the gear was essential for helping with balance on the slippery rocks. I think more flimsy trekking poles would have broken. We saw some families with small children, which I think would be difficult. If you don't mind having cold, wet feet and taking a chance on spring melt shutting it down, I think it's worth it to avoid the crowds that you would probably have in summer. In total, we probably walked around 5 hours (maybe 3 hours up and 2 hours back). It was faster coming back because we weren't fighting the current.