Canyon Overlook Trail

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Features Birding · Fall Colors · Views · Wildlife

This short trail is among the most popular in Zion National Park. Though not as spectacular or well-known as Angels Landing, Canyon Overlook can give you a unique perspective of the area with much less work and fewer heebie-jeebies. The destination is an overlook of Pine Creek Canyon looking westward toward the larger Zion Canyon. In a mere 1-mile round-trip hike you can briefly experience the slickrock hiking for which Zion is famous and enjoy a classic view of part of the national park. - Overview by Jesse Weber, Outdoor Project

The Canyon Overlook Trail offers breathtaking views of Zion Canyon. Located in the East Canyon portion of the park, the trail is actually one of the few official trails in the area. This unfortunately means that the shuttle does not stop at this trailhead. To do this hike, you must enter the park in a private vehicle.

The trailhead is a collection of stone steps that ascend the ridge directly across the road from the first parking area. The trail passes through shaded alcoves with ferns and trees, across a planked boardwalk and through a moist grotto, and over bare slick rock, wandering its way to the edge of an impressive cliff overlook. There are sheer drop-offs alongside, but most of these are protected by a metal railing.

You can see the expanse of Zion Canyon from the overlook, with its monumental formations visible on either side. You can see the road as it switchbacks below the west end of the Mount Carmel Tunnel. The West Temple, Towers of the Virgins, Streaked Wall, and Beehives all make up part of this tremendous view. The East Temple rises directly above the overlook, towering more than 2,200 ft above the canyon floor. The Great Arch lies recessed into the cliff-face below the overlook.