Zion National Park - Hiking the Narrows

The Narrows in Zion National Park, (near Springdale, Utah) is a section of canyon on the North Fork of the Virgin River. The hike of The Narrows is one of the premier hikes on the Colorado Plateau. The term The Narrows refers to both the through-hike of The Narrows, and to The Narrows themselves, especially the 3.6 mile (6 km) long section of canyon between the end of the Riverside Walk Trail and Big Springs. The through-hike is accessed by driving east on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway out the east entrance of the park, then north on the mostly dirt "North Fork Road" to Chamberlain Ranch trailhead. The Narrows lies north of, and upstream of, the main Zion Canyon. Hiking the Narrows was rated # 5 in the National Geographic ranking of America's Best 100 Adventures.

The Virgin River runs south through upland aspen forest from near Navajo Lake at 9200 feet (2800 m) elevation, 11 miles (18 km) to Chamberlain Ranch, 5900 feet (1800 m), where the through-hike of The Narrows starts. The river turns west and a gorge starts to form within 2 miles (3 km). By the time the North Fork enters Zion National Park, 5 miles (8 km) from Chamberlain Ranch, the gorge is 500 feet (150 m) deep. Three and a half miles (6 km) further, at the confluence with Deep Creek, the gorge is 1300 feet (400 m) deep, and the combined river turns south. The gorge from here is continuous and has vertical sandstone walls from 40 to 100 feet (10 to 30 m) apart, with pockets of forest on both sides. From Deep Creek to Big Springs is 2.7 miles (4 km). At Big Springs, the canyon narrows again, and the true Narrows begin. For most of the next 3.6 mile (6 km) stretch to the Mouth of the Narrows, the river runs wall to wall, with vertical sandstone cliffs on both sides. A mile (2 km) south of the Mouth of the Narrows is the Temple of Sinawava, where the river enters main Zion Canyon, a flat-floored, quarter to half-mile (400 to 800 m) wide canyon with sandstone mountains on each side, their summits 2400 feet above. Eight miles (13 km) further south, where the canyon widens again, is the town of Springdale and the southern boundary of Zion National Park.

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