Probably the most famous hike at Zion, Angel’s Landing is known for its treacherous accent and breathtaking view of the entire valley.
Location:
Zion National Park, Utah
The Hike:
Starting at the Grotto drop-off, the trailhead is on the west side of the road. The trail starts off sandy and rather easy. As you hike up, the trail changes into paved switchbacks. When you reach the top of the rock formation, the trail snakes along the ridge out to Angel’s Landing. This is a narrow trail with a rock wall on one side, and a 1,000+ foot drop on the other. Most of the ridge trail has a metal chain attached to the rock face to hold. Note: the chain is NOT on the cliff side; you can still fall off! Round trip is about 4.5 miles, but there is about 1,450 feet of elevation gain to the top, and then the same on the decent.
Time of Year/Day:
We hiked Zion in June, temperatures during the day where in the high 80’s to low 90’s.
Starting at Grotto around 2:00pm, we hiked to the top and back arriving around 5:00-5:30pm.
Hiking late in the afternoon, the trail was very crowded and it made shimming along the narrow portions of the trail very difficult and more dangerous. Some people would just hike forward without caring if they were forcing you to the edge of the cliff. Early morning is probably the best time to hike, the temperature in the summer would be cooler and the trail would be much less crowded.
Tips:
Location:
Zion National Park, Utah
The Hike:
Starting at the Grotto drop-off, the trailhead is on the west side of the road. The trail starts off sandy and rather easy. As you hike up, the trail changes into paved switchbacks. When you reach the top of the rock formation, the trail snakes along the ridge out to Angel’s Landing. This is a narrow trail with a rock wall on one side, and a 1,000+ foot drop on the other. Most of the ridge trail has a metal chain attached to the rock face to hold. Note: the chain is NOT on the cliff side; you can still fall off! Round trip is about 4.5 miles, but there is about 1,450 feet of elevation gain to the top, and then the same on the decent.
Time of Year/Day:
We hiked Zion in June, temperatures during the day where in the high 80’s to low 90’s.
Starting at Grotto around 2:00pm, we hiked to the top and back arriving around 5:00-5:30pm.
Hiking late in the afternoon, the trail was very crowded and it made shimming along the narrow portions of the trail very difficult and more dangerous. Some people would just hike forward without caring if they were forcing you to the edge of the cliff. Early morning is probably the best time to hike, the temperature in the summer would be cooler and the trail would be much less crowded.
Tips:
- Use the bathroom at Grotto before you hike. There was an outhouse at about halfway, but when we hiked it was closed.
- Bring lots of water! It was very warm in June and there is quite a lot of sun exposure on the ridge trail.
- Due to the sun exposure, bring sunscreen or wear a long sleeve shirt
The Crew:
Nate and Mark