The Narrows, in giant Zion national park, is a slot canyon that is carved by the Virgin river. In recent years the hike is very popular due to its unique features and natural adventure. It has towering beauty and massive walls sculpted all over with water. Hikers can complete the trail in 2 different ways like the Bottom Up and Top Down. The beginning point of the Bottom Up hike is from the famous Temple of Sinawava while its final stopping point is the Zion Canyon Shuttle.
The beginning point of the Top Down hike is the Chamberlain’s Reach while its final destination is the Temple of Sinawava (which is the beginning point of Bottom Up hike). The Narrows, Top Down hike provides more thrill as you are going to have a camping experience along with adventurous hiking.
About the Narrows Hike:
As the name suggests, The Narrows is the narrowest part of the Zion Canyon, carved about 1 million years ago along the Virgin River. It is completely surrounded by sandstone walls towering about 1000 feet from all 4 sides. Due to the continuous erosion of the Virgin River, the rock was completely cut through and this small passage was created. This passage eventually became Zion narrows hike spot where thousands of visitors hike every year. This hike is not barely walking or climbing the trail but involves swimming, scrambling, and wading as well.
The narrows has 2 major sections or hiking alternatives such as, bottom up and top down. Among these 2 options, the most widely explored option is the Narrows bottom up which has the Temple of Sinawava as its starting point. No permit is required to hike on this trail side.
The starting point of the Narrows hike top down is Chamberlain Ranch. It is a long and a little strenuous hike and permits are required for overnight stays there mostly in the form of camping.
The Bottom Up Hike
The Zion Canyon has a shuttle system and the last point of this system is the Temple of Sinawava. The bottom up section of the zion narrows trail begins from the temple of Sinawava and starts unfolding itself with a trailhead that goes down towards the Virgin River. In the beginning, there exists a short section which is completely paved. Once you reach the edge of the river, this is where the actual trail hike begins.
The Narrows bottom up hike is divided into small parts. The initial part is relatively flat consisting of rocky river beds which makes it easy to simply walk on them. Moving ahead, the depth of the canyon venture keeps increasing and the water also keeps getting deeper. Towards the middle of the water, you may have to start wading and to some extent, even start swimming in the water till you reach the other end.
The Narrows top down hike has two significant landmarks like Big Springs Canyon and the Orderville Canyon.
Big Springs Canyon:
The Big Springs narrows is an area inside the canyon from where water flows from the canyon walls. The non-permit section of the bottom up trail ends here and hikers have to turn back. Some hikers who are professionals and have faced tough hikes before can get their permits and explore the further part of this trail and reach the other end. But, even after reaching the other end, they will have to return back to the trailhead (i.e., the temple Sinawava) itself.
Orderville canyon:
Orderville Canyon is a canyon that is completely off the track from The Narrows Canyon and needs a lot of time and energy from hikers to explore it in depth. Even hikers can explore a small portion of the Orderville Canyon to experience the beauty of nature at its best. It consists of beautifully carved narrow sections and hanging gardens all around it.
The Top Down Hike
The top down section of the Narrows hike zion starts from the Chamberlain Ranch point which is a private ranch that resides out of the Zion National Park. The road throughout the way is full of dirt. A wilderness permit from the Zion National Park is a must to explore and hike this trail of The Narrows. Getting these permits is very difficult because of their demand.
Bottom up trail takes only some hours to complete, but the top down trail takes about 1-2 days to complete. That is why overnight stay is preferred by most hikers, along with a permit.
Before the water section of the trail, the top down trail is quite easy and relatively dry. But once the river section of the trail starts, hikers are required to wade in it to cross the river. The water in this section of the narrows hike zion, the steepness of the canyon, and the depth of water increases much more as compared to the bottom up trail.
The Orderville Canyon trailhead is a connection of the Orderville Canyon to The Narrows. The junction point is one of the most crowded sections of both trails because this is the junction point of the hike from both sides.
Things required for The Narrows Hike:
- Take seasonal considerations into account and choose only the best time to visit the trail.
- Keep your essential gear in check, not only for overnight camping but throughout the trail.
- Take permits to hike and explore the top down trail beforehand as they are limited and get sold faster.
- Carry a weather-detecting tool along with you throughout the hike and keep yourself updated with the latest weather conditions of your location.
Alternative Hikes Near The Narrows
Alternate trails near the narrows include Orderville Canyon, Big Springs, The Subway, and so on.
Orderville Canyon:
Orderville Canyon is just like a “little or younger sister” to The Narrows of Zion National Park. It offers amazing wading and hiking experiences after crossing all the obstacles coming in the way, this canyon finally merges into The Narrows. This canyon is a part of the Top Down hike which ultimately ends at the Temple of Sinawava.
The opening or starting point of this canyon is completely wide and exposed to the sunlight. Whenever hikers keep passing ahead in the canyon, it starts shortening its width. Throughout the canyon, hikers may have to encounter and overpower various obstacles such as crossing pools of dirty or stagnant water, downclimbing, and walking safely on the slippery rocks. So hikers need to use certain gears like ropes and other technical gears in tough terrains.
Big Springs:
Those who find it difficult to cross the whole Bottom Up hike can simply reach the Big Springs point and turn around to come back to the temple. In other words, Big Springs is considered as the turnaround point of the Bottom Up hike. The path ahead of the Big Springs is very difficult and dangerous. That is why reaching Big Springs is considered as a great achievement and also a kind of completion of the Bottom Up hike.
For those who want to explore beyond the Big Springs point have to get access to the wilderness permit, which is only available once in a while. For usual visitors, the final destination of the Bottom Up hike is Big Springs itself, after which they need to turn back and reach their starting point again.
The Subway:
The Subway is one of the toughest and most complex hikes that requires physical fitness and logistical preparations. This hike is an important part of the Left Fork of North Creek and is a very well-sculpted slot canyon. On this slot canyon, the whole hike is the North Creek itself and visitors hiking it encounter numerous obstacles such as unknown water depths, extreme waterfalls, stagnant water pools at numerous spots, and slippery slickrocks.
The Subway can be hiked by both the Top Down and Bottom Up hike paths. From the Top Down approach, a lot of canyoneering and rappelling needs to be done to complete the hike. From the Bottom Up approach, hikers get a very strenuous and sweaty hiking experience. In both cases, having a hiking permit is crucial to hike The Subway. This is because irrespective of the photogenic aspect of the landscape of The Subway, it is very dangerous and sometimes life-threatening to hike through it.
Safety Tips to Hike The Narrows
- Analyze the whole place properly through detailed maps before entering the trail for hiking.
- Stay as far away as possible from flash floods because they are the most dangerous parts of the trail.
- Know your exit points properly so that you don’t get misled throughout the trail.
- Understand the water currents properly to go with their flow and not get interrupted by them.
