Recently ADT and I headed up to Zion to meet some friends and do a little canyoneering! Trips to Zion have been the high point in my summer for the last four years and this trip was no exception. This year we did Behunin (interesting entrance to the canyon and great final rappel) and Englestead (unforgettable start, walking thru the woods in a small stream and then walking out of the woods onto the huge first rappel!). Here are a few links and a little info if you are tempted to visit -
We usually stay in the Watchman Campground (reservations) – there are plenty of other options but the easy access to Springdale and the Backcountry Desk are a big plus. I think it has been windy just about every night that we have camped in the summer – well worth staking down your tent…
The hiking in Zion is fantastic and hassle free for day hikes – if you want to canyoneer inside the park there is a good chance you will need a permit. Opinions vary on this system, but for now you will likely want to visit the Zion National Park – Backcountry Reservation System – walk-in permits are available also.
If you are looking for some general canyoneering information you might start from the American Canyoneering Association website.
For detailed information about canyoneering in Zion try:
CanyoneeringUSA has the very useful Tom’s Utah Canyoneering Guide (including, of course, Zion) and many other interesting links. Tom Jones has also recently published a book Zion: Canyoneering.
Anther source for Zion Canyoneering information is Climb-Utah.com. Some of the canyons in the Zion section are only available to members of the site ($25 a year) and all contain useful information including GPS waypoints.
You can not have too much information so you might also check out Zion National Park Canyoneering – there were some details in these descriptions that helped us out on this trip.
Visit Zion!
CM
Filed under: Canyoneering, zion canyoneering
