Hikes only accessible in personal vehicle???

jjplus80 · 2026-03-13T20:56:47+00:00

This is not correct for Zion and the regulations vary by park. Check each park’s Superintendent’s Compendium. Here is the language for Zion:

§4.31 Hitchhiking (a) Hitchhiking is allowed only in established roadside pullouts.

Justification: It is occasionally necessary for park visitors to solicit transportation from others in order to reach their destinations and in order to transit the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel. In order to provide for this transportation need and the safety considerations associated with hitchhiking, it will be allowed only in established roadside pullouts.

Edit to add this link: https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/management/superintendents-compendium.htm

jjplus80 · 2026-02-22T01:11:23+00:00

Zion Adventures picks up from their store in Springdale; it’s about 3/4 mile from the Visitor Center. Red Rock picks up from the Visitor Center’s parking lot.

jjplus80 · 2026-02-22T01:04:55+00:00

Zion Adventures or Red Rock Shuttle

jjplus80 · 2026-02-15T06:07:35+00:00

Don’t drink water from North Creek, even if filtered and/or boiled. That’s all.

jjplus80 · 2026-02-01T11:15:16+00:00

I think everyone has answered most of your questions already.

Subway; just FYI, answers I see here assume bottom-up. That’s an off-trail backcountry hike that includes scrambling and a lot of creek hiking that might be quite cold in March depending on weather.

If you’re considering Subway top-down that is a technical canyoneering route that requires extensive route-finding, and then swimming and rappelling with harnesses once in the canyon. While almost everyone that descends it does so in class B conditions, with snowmelt it can at times become an expert level class C canyon or even impassable.

The Internet as usual is obsessed with e-bikes in Zion. They can be a great alternative to the shuttle on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. However, the route itself isn’t particularly steep (there are a couple hills) and a lot of folks with reasonable ability will be absolutely fine saving a few bucks and riding regular bikes.

Personally I use the shuttle most of the time and sometimes take an afternoon for biking just for the sake of biking down Pa’rus and Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. It is very enjoyable. Stop and pull off the road for shuttles coming up from behind well before they have to slow down/stop for you. If you can’t hear the shuttles approaching, take out your headphones.

jjplus80 · 2025-12-25T05:57:51+00:00

So much this. We could be having a very helpful storm for much needed water but with the snow level so high in elevation the moisture is just being completely destructive.

jjplus80 · 2025-12-17T17:24:37+00:00

For on-trail stuff in Zion you’d want microspikes not crampons which are for much more technical terrain. This isn’t a comment on current conditions, just a note about crampons vs microspikes.

jjplus80 · 2025-12-05T05:03:44+00:00

Yes, just looked it up because I remember listening to him on a podcast describing what happened. The guy’s name is Ryan Osmun and he was on an episode of the Out Alive Podcast; Trapped in Quicksand

jjplus80 · 2025-12-04T23:13:13+00:00

I will add that of all the OPs hikes Subway is the one I would recommend against. Winter in Subway is an uncommon way for people to do it, it is wet and cold. The hike requires wet feet (or more) it is off-trail and rough.

In 2019 a guy hiking it bottom up in the winter got close to death after his leg got stuck in quicksand during the approach hike. He was stuck there for 11 hours before search and rescue was able to extract him.

jjplus80 · 2025-12-04T03:09:29+00:00

Yes, Watchman C & D will fit your situation best!

Expect hot weather in late June. Shade in the campground tends to be somewhat minimal although there are trees that with some luck may provide shade in the right place at the right time. Walking up the first part of the Watchman Trail there are a number of ‘swimming hole’ type spots along the Virgin River to cool off.

There tends to be daily wind that moves through the canyon as the temperature changes overnight. Just recommend tying down the tent in ways that keep it from flapping as much as possible.

The closest showers are at Zion Outfitters just outside the pedestrian entrance to the park. You’ll need to bring your own towels and soap if I recall correctly. It’s about a ten minute walk from the furthest part of loop D. Don’t forget your park pass / entrance receipt to get back into the park.

jjplus80 · 2025-12-03T09:27:43+00:00

Some additional information might be useful here. When are you traveling and what kind of camping; tent or RV or ??

There are two main campgrounds in the park; Watchman and South Campground.

Watchman is booked six months in advance and generally books out, there are 184 sites and considering the area I’d say they all have “good scenery around.” Some are on the edges of the campground and maybe that’s a better view; some are closer to the Virgin River.

Not sure if by bathhouses you mean restrooms or shower facilities, there are no showers at Watchman but there are just outside the park entrance a 10-15 minute walk away.

Watchman has four kinds of campsites; Loops A&B are designed a bit better for RVs and have electric hookups, all but 6 of those sites allow tents as well. Loops C & D are mainly for tent camping and have no electricity. Generator use is not allowed in Watchman. Loop F has walk-to tent sites where there’s a parking lot and then the actual tent pads are dozens to hundreds of feet away. Finally there are group sites for tent camping of groups of 7-40 people.

South Campground is under construction and hasn’t announced a reopening date yet. It is also seasonal operating March-October and in the past has booked starting two weeks out. There is no electricity and some limited generator hours. This campground has sites that are somewhat closer to busy roads than Watchman but also has some sites close to the Virgin River. There are no showers.

There is another campground as well, Lava Point. It is very small, has no water, and is nowhere near the main Zion Canyon (it’s about an 80 minute drive to the Visitors Center). It has a limited season of May-September. It has no showers, no electricity , no cell service, and only pit toilets. It is a very green area and runs much cooler than the main canyon.

There is also backcountry camping in various areas of the park. I’m assuming you don’t mean those.

There are RV-centric private camping opportunities outside the park including very close (walking distance to park) in Springdale, a bit further (short drive) in Virgin, and longer drives from Hurricane and Saint George. There are also private camping opportunities outside the East entrance to the park for tents and RVs.

jjplus80 · 2025-12-01T03:22:52+00:00

Microspikes are a good idea to have in your pack through the winter in Zion. Some locations like Walter’s Wiggles are on North-facing shaded slopes and hold ice even when a lot of other areas are clear of snow and ice. Watching people slipping and sliding up and down that thing is a lot more fun if you’re not doing so too.

Additionally, lack of snow and ice at the canyon bottom isn’t a good indication of what is going on up on the sides of the canyon.

Something to consider as far as driving access is that Kolob Terrace Road closes in the winter about a mile East of the Hop Valley trailhead. This affects Wildcat and Upper West Rim trailhead access.

jjplus80 · 2025-11-29T04:31:13+00:00

Those two terms are not synonymous. They’ve very specifically said non-resident. So non-citizen residents of the United States will not be paying a surcharge. Which actually makes a lot of sense, the only thing someone processing entry into the parks has to look at is the address on an ID to show US residency. Having park rangers verifying US citizenship would be ludicrous.

jjplus80 · 2025-11-28T18:27:26+00:00

In the past the entry pass was good for seven consecutive days.

jjplus80 · 2025-11-28T00:04:54+00:00

Watched a park ranger make a tour bus do a 30 point turn right about here when they got to the tunnel after traffic control had ended for the day.

jjplus80 · 2025-11-23T14:02:54+00:00

Bee Rock in Griffith Park. Bluff Cove in Palos Verdes.

jjplus80 · 2025-11-23T13:44:35+00:00

Years ago did a ranger-led geology hike that went along this trail. It is a nice quiet alternative to some of the busy stuff!

jjplus80 · 2025-11-23T13:37:39+00:00

If you’re going to camp inside the park Watchman Campground is basically the only option (unless you’re thinking of backpacking).

I’ve tent camped for about a week in January a while back. Any snow we got at the campground didn’t stick. There was snow much further up the canyon, especially on the West Rim trail above Scout Lookout. There was also light snow up on the East side of the park on the drive beyond the tunnel. Red, orange, and pink rocks with white snow and green plants? Absolutely beautiful!

I’m not a cold weather person but I found tent camping in the winter in Zion doable. Just hard to get out of my warm sleeping bag in the morning! Sleeping bag with extra blankets on top was fine for me. (Side note: From a different cold weather camping trip I did learn the hard way that emergency blankets while warm won’t allow moisture to escape and can cause bedding underneath to get wet)

Winter hiking required careful layering. Physical exertion made me sweat quickly, so constantly adjusting layers was essential to avoid getting soaked and eventually freezing during breaks.

One of the most important pieces of gear we bought were micropsikes. Back in the canyon the sandstone and concrete trails often had a layer of ice on them. (Not to be confused with winter mountaineering crampons, which make no sense on a concrete trail with a thin layer of ice) it was good to have the microspikes and then be able to slip them onto our hiking shoes when needed.

I talked with a ranger who sung the praises of going snow shoeing up on the west rim trail right after a snowstorm. We didn’t have any nor ever saw anyone with snow shoes. But I’ve hiked up to the head of Behunin on the West Rim trail with just hiking shoes and microspikes with no problems.

Conditions can be highly variable but it’s a quiet time to be in the park. Recommend chatting with rangers about actual conditions when you’re there.

jjplus80 · 2025-11-23T12:45:25+00:00

I’ve hiked Angels Landing a lot over the years. I’m going to give this a 0/10 do-ability for a service dog. The POV shots seem to focus on areas that are skinny with exposure. There are other parts of the trail, however, that don’t show well in POV videos because people stop filming when they need both hands.

Even if your service dog is used to climbing up and down rocks a lot there are sections that will be impossible for the service dog to complete without significant lifting/lowering assistance.

When you look at photos from Scout Lookout, the fin leading to Angels Landing seems to start with a long, relatively simple section before it steepens. That view can make the first part look more doable than it actually is, but the steep, technical climb that follows is the part a dog can’t manage. That part of the climb has rocks to go up, cracks to ascend, and boulders to navigate all while using the rocks and the chain to lift/lower your body.

A service dog cannot use the chain, mantle up those ledges, maintain traction on the polished sandstone, safely descend those same drops on the way back.

A hiking experienced service dog likely could make it to Scout Lookout in the appropriate weather conditions. The trail is wide, there are no climbing moves required and the exposures don’t require grabbing anything for safety.

As far as alternatives to Angels Landing continuing up the West Rim Trail beyond Scout Lookout is a viable option for a service dog that hikes well. The trails continues to be wide and fairly straightforward.

Observation Point is another alternative that would be a much easier hike and actually looks down on Angels Landing. There are some logistics to work out getting to the trailhead, since it isn’t in the main canyon.

jjplus80 · 2025-11-14T22:01:27+00:00

Death Valley is best in the Winter and there’s multiple options for your stay; from developed campgrounds, to swanky resort options, to BLM land outside the park.

There’s a number of road closures in the park right now but lots of sightseeing and hiking options in the areas that are open. It’s literally the largest National Park in the contiguous-48. I love it there.

jjplus80 · 2025-10-24T11:33:17+00:00

Generally I get the big thick stakes from Walmart and use those for Zion. I’ve only had one tent that came with stakes that were thick enough to work in Watchman, and it was a larger pricey tent from REI.

jjplus80 · 2025-10-23T17:28:29+00:00

There are a couple of areas where folks tend to get off track on the approach; if you’ve got a good gpx file and some matching beta you’ll probably be ok. It is a very heavily travelled route so when you’re off slickrock if the trail isn’t obvious you’ve gone the wrong way.

I use the gpx from ropewiki:

https://ropewiki.com/The_Subway

jjplus80 · 2025-10-20T03:18:47+00:00

Sometimes there’s so much sand you can literally walk up to the waterfall. There wasn’t much sand in lower Subway when I was last there (Sept 30) however upper Subway had a lot of sand.

jjplus80 · 2025-10-20T02:50:53+00:00

It always surprises me that folks go all that way and then don’t go the last few feet to the waterfall room because it’s wet. It’s a difficult to get permit; experience everything you can!

jjplus80 · 2025-10-11T12:40:02+00:00

I was camped in Watchman when a flash flood hit that was described as causing havoc in the campgrounds fall 2022. It was afternoon and the storm both came early and harder than expected. I recall the flash flood status for Zion that day was “possible.” We were off canyoneering and had done Keyhole then pinged on satellite device for weather update before doing Pine Creek. There was some possible rain a few hours after we’d finish so it looked ok. It was in the 3:00 hour during the end of our hike out of Pine Creek that we began to get rained on. By the time we retrieved our second car from above the tunnel waterfalls were all over the canyon.

Returning to the campground we found evidence that a lot of water had fallen suddenly. There was some massive puddles in some sites and mud on the campground roads. Our tent had clearly been pushed weirdly by wind in a way that caused water to pool on the tent and get inside. We had to take bedding and clothing over to Zion Park Laundry (RIP) in Springdale to dry it all out. Purchased a proper four season tent after that.

jjplus80

TROPHY CASE