Backpacking in Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park – Utah (Pt 2 of 4)

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Hike Map]

Since our first campsite was closed due to “controlled burning” near Zion’s East Rim Trail on Day 1, we stayed at one of the “walk-in” campsites at the Coal Pits Wash. Conveniently, our campsite was only a few minutes from where we parked, so we didn’t have to carry our gear too far.

Backpacking in

The next morning, we packed our gear for a short, 6-mile (12-roundtrip) backpacking trip in Kolob Canyon. In the canyon were a couple day hikes (Zion’s famous Kolob Arch and Beartrap Canyon), which would take up the majority of our time there.

The trail was wide and mildly graded as we descended into the canyon, but we did drop in elevation quite as we approached the canyon floor.

Though some of the scenery was obscured, there were several opportune moments where the view could be appreciated.

We arrived at La Verkin Creek fairly quickly and to our campsite, maybe in ~ 2 hours. After getting our tent set up and food tied up in a nearby tree, we set further into the canyon to explore.

Along the way we ran into several critters, for instance a mole cricket and this grey tree frog. Not to downplay future events, but I thought this frog was awesome and was the best thing of our overnighter in the canyon. haha.

Beartrap Canyon

Beartrap was a small canyon at the end of the canyon trail, maybe 20-30 minutes from campsite 13 (last designated campsite when we went there… apparently they’ve changed from some older write-ups I saw online… your maps totally messed us up Joe, lol).

A little creek flowed through the narrow slot canyon,

…but was nothing like “The Narrows” we saw the day prior.

At the end of the canyon was this little 20 foot waterfall, which was kind of cool… but probably not worth the 10 mile round trip we made from our campsite to see it. Especially Luke who only brings 1/2 liter of water, because anything more would be too heavy. lol. There was also a rope on the left, of which what adventures laid above the waterfall I was not to find out on that day.

Kolob Arch

Before heading back to our campsite, we decided to hike to the Kolob Arch, which is supposed to be one of the largest natural land arches in the nation.

The trail was not difficult, but after backpacking 6 miles into Kolob Canyon and hiking to/from Beartrap, we were pretty spent. We had almost walked 16 miles by this point.

Walking on sand was almost painful.. although the cooler evening temperatures made the pain more tolerable. haha.

I found it odd that the “maintained trail” ends here, where you can only get an obscured view of the land arch through the pine trees.

Discontent with the view, we followed a faint trail to get a better perspective.

Though my camera didn’t pick it up too well, light beams were glimmering under the massive arch, as the sun set behind it.

..and as the dropped behind the ridge, the sky was “less” overexposed… but I think morning would be way better to shoot here. I had no idea about lighting and camera angles before hiking into the canyon, but definitely have a better perspective of the area now.

Anyhow, we made it back to camp just before dark, and just in time for the moonrise.

Although a little cooler than I had expected while camping here, (for us, maybe 50 degrees at night in May) having a beer in the moonlight with this view was worth staying out in the cold… too bad they don’t allow campfires here.

Although Kolob Canyon is a beautiful place, I wouldn’t recommend it to people who only have a short time while staying in Zion… Everything else is much more accessible and can more easily fit into day full of adventures. But if you want a remote campsite away from others (which many of us do), have seen the main attractions in the park already, and have a little extra time on your hands, Kolob Canyon may be your next destination at Zion. 😉 Question? Just ask!!!

Aloha and mahalo nui for visiting… Come back again soon!