Hiking The Narrows (During COVID-19) – If I Could Do It Again

A few months ago, I felt inspired to make a list (maybe it was the quarantine talking). I wrote down all of the things I wanted to do in the next decade. Not surprisingly, many items of said list consisted of various bucket-list locations across the seven continents that I wanted to visit, experience, and see. Although within the states (and relatively, not too far away), one of the very first items I wanted to check off was hiking/visiting The Narrows at Zion National Park.

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Zion National Park in May. Unfortunately, the water levels were too high and too cold to traverse, and as such, hiking the Narrows wasn’t really an option. (Fortunately however, I was able to see the Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock Canyon, both of which were closed this year due to rockfall and construction.) Then this year, we were planning a family reunion in Utah – and I strongly suggested to my husband that we make one of the days of the family reunion a “Visit National Park Day” – of which I began my plans to make it to the Narrows.

Hiking the Narrows isn’t for the faint of heart (unless you’re only going to go an hour in and out). But it is completely doable when one is prepared for it. And it is truly one of the most breathtaking, worthwhile, and unique hikes I have ever done. It really is deserving of bucket-list status.

What you need to know:

There are now reservations for the shuttles that you can make in advance up to fourteen days or on a rolling basis starting at 9am the day before (i.e., if you’re trying to get into the park on July 22nd, shuttle tickets open up at 9am on July 21st).
- We weren’t able to get shuttle tickets in the two-weeks-before traunch, but we were able to get enough shuttle tickets for the whole family at 9am the day before. Maybe we lucked out because we had several family members waiting to refresh the website at 9am exactly or maybe people haven’t gotten the hang of the reservation system yet, but either way, it is definitely doable. If you can add a little flexibility to your schedule, all the better. You can find the reservation shuttle tickets on recreation.gov. Note, that you need this shuttle ticket in addition to a park pass. For more FAQs on the new system, check out: nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/zion-canyon-shuttle-tickets.htm.
- You will need to wear a mask. If you didn’t bring one, they’ll provide some free ones right before you get on.
I would highly recommend getting on the trail early in the morning.
- We got the 8-9am slot for our shuttle reservation. After the ride there and waiting in line and finding a parking spot, we started hiking around 9:30am and it was already crowded. If you don’t mind the crowds, then I’m sure it’ll be fine, but if you’re looking for pristine photo opportunities going earlier in the day is prime. Also, you don’t have to worry so much about getting pummeled on by the harsh midday sun or having to wear a mask when you’re practically bumping into other hikers.
The water levels are variable, but be prepared to “swim” through chest-high water (I’m 5’6’’ if that provides some perspective)
- I brought a waterproof bag and watertight ziplock bags
As of this post (7/13/2020), there is a cyanobacteria algae bloom. Animals should not be brought onto the hike and you shouldn’t drink water (even if filtered) from the virgin water at this time. Also, it isn’t recommended you submerge your head in any of the water, but especially water that looks mucky.

What you need to bring:

A walking stick or hiking poles. Without a doubt.
- Our lodging happened to have several hiking sticks on hand and boy were they lifesavers. Even with hiking sticks, each person in our group fell at least once. The rocks are slimy, and added to the rushing current, it is a recipe for disaster, especially for tired legs on the way back. There are vendors who will rent out neoprene socks, waterproof shoes, and hiking sticks for about $35 in Springsdale (but they are usually rented out by 9 AM).
Closed toe-shoes (preferably water shoes of some sort) and warm socks. The water is cold (we went in July).
- I wore wool socks and water shoes. They did well. But I also saw some people walking barefoot (brave souls). And by the end of the hike, my soles had come apart.
A hat
Snacks and water
Waterproof phone case (we got ours in Mexico from a vendor for $5 but there are plenty of cheap options on Amazon)
Sunscreen and lots of it
Water-tight Ziplock bags for valuables sensitive to getting wet (i.e. key fob, power block, wallet, extra set of clothes, map, food you don’t want to get soggy, etc)
- I ended up putting my DSLR camera into a Ziplock bag even though I had a waterproof bag just because I felt a little paranoid when I was crossing chest-high water.

If I could do it again?

I’d bring a wide-brimmed hat.
- I brought a baseball cap which did fine for me for most of the hike. However, between 1 PM and 3 PM, the sun came pouring down against the back of my neck and tanned it a couple of shades darker than the rest of my body (would’ve burned it had I not been careful about putting on sunscreen)
I would’ve planned to get there earlier in the day.
- There has never been a day I’ve regretted not getting more sleep but plenty of days I’ve regretted sleeping in. But, it was kind of difficult to convince my husband to get there earlier when we already had to get up at 6am to get there for our 8am spot. And honestly, I don’t think I would’ve gotten up either haha!
I wouldn’t have worn black
- I tend to be more paranoid about feeling cold rather than feeling hot. I wore a black long sleeve shirt. Rookie mistake, but I was burning up when the sun hit me. But at least I wasn’t cold in the shade, which depending on what time of day you hike, this could be typical for most of your hike.
Incorporate time to eat and time for breaks in your planned schedule
- I originally didn’t take into account time for pictures, posing, breaks and eating lunch into my original 6-hour schedule. This totally threw off my estimations for how long the hike would take (round-trip).
I would’ve been more careful with my Fitbit (or left it at home with my wedding rings)
- Unfortunately, my Fitbit got banged up a little with all the rock scrambling.
I would’ve forgone trying to make it to Big Springs and head into Orderville Canyon instead.
- The length between the end of Wall Street to Orderville Canyon isn’t the most spectacular part of the trip (I would’ve better used that time for what is described as the “real narrows”, or Orderville Canyon). If you’re short on time and want to get the most bang for your buck, don’t do what I did.
Wear Spandex
- This was an addition from my husband. I had shorts on underneath my fleece pants and I didn’t have this problem, but he had some bad chafing due to just wearing shorts alone and the added moisture.

What we did:

The Hike: Down-Top Hike (if you’re looking for information on the Top-Down hike, you’re more hardcore than the adventurist tourist like me and you’ll have to find another article. Here’s a good one here: https://www.earthtrekkers.com/hike-zion-narrows-top-down-route-one-day/)

Miles: Total 10 miles round trip (we hiked about 8 roundtrip)

Water Conditions: 54 cubic ft per second/64 degrees Fahrenheit (according to the link on the national park website, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/uv/?site_no=09405500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060,00010,00095,72020– however, it definitely felt closer to ice-water for me)

Planned Time:6 hours*

Actual Time: 9 hours round trip (including lunch break, and shuttle rides to and back from the visitor center to Temple of Sinawava)

*Note on time: You will read on many different articles (believe me, I did) that mention different time estimations for how long it takes to hike from one spot to another. Based on what I had read, it would take 6 hours from the beginning of the hike (the river trail) to get to Wall Street. I kept a stopwatch going on my Fitbit to keep track of how long it would take to get from one marker to the next and it seemed like for most of the way, we were going twice as fast as suggested and it really didn’t feel like we were pushing our pace. So the time really depends on fitness, water levels, and endurance. Here’s a pretty good map for basic reference (http://ontheworldmap.com/usa/national-park/zion/zion-river-narrows-map.html).

Should I bring the kids? At least halfway through Wall Street, bringing children along would be doable. We saw several kids ranging between the ages of 5 to 12 who made it that far. However, there are some very deep parts that small children might find alarming. Of course, it also depends on the temperament of your children and whether they are up for some strenuous hiking.

Mile 1 – the River Trail – Wheel-chair accessible, this is the easiest part of the hike. It has some lovely views of the river, however, since you’re going to get into the said river, I wouldn’t spend too much time taking pictures here. There’s lots more to see ahead.

Mile 2 – As there aren’t any signs, it can be easy to lose your bearings and not know how far you’ve gone or how much further you can go. Between mile 1 (the gateway to the narrows) and mile 2, you will come across Mystery Canyon Falls and House Rock. On the map provided, there was mention of a 200 foot waterfall (but at the time we went, this unfortunately, wasn’t visible). House Rock can be kind of confusing. Its described as forcing the river to only 10 feet across – however, there were several boulders that looked like houses that seemed to compress the river, so this marker was somewhat hard to keep track of.

The water was rather chill for us (or me at least), so we tried to stay on the rocky river banks as much as possible as it was easier to maneuver and with a drop-in temperature due to the shade, slightly more comfortable. However, the chilly water was easier to get used to the more time you spent in it. But, what might be cold for me, might not be cold for some. I saw some people wearing jackets while others favored wearing speedos. So to each their own.

Mile 2.5ish – The turn-off to Orderville Canyon isn’t hard to miss. The river path diverges to the right and the temperature is slightly warmer and the sides of the cliff walls are narrower. This is where I would’ve gone in and explored had I the chance to do it again. It takes about thirty minutes to get to Veiled Falls within Orderville Canyon (1 hour round-trip) – which is the same amount of time we spent trying to get to Big Springs.

Between Mile 2.5 and Mile 4 – Wall Street is amazing. The striations and formations of stone kissed by the moving river over thousands of years and the rusty and grey glow of the walls illuminated by the angled sun is only something you can experience. The towering cliff walls make one feel small. The sheer grandiosity of it all can only be appreciated in person. Each corner, each turn, brought something more spectacular. You’ll come across small springs pumping water seemingly from nowhere, as well as gurgling noises and whispers with no apparent origin and small waterfalls and springs. There are some river banks that have turned into small oases covered with ferns and thick mud that will swallow your shoes (speaking from experience)

We got to a point where we thought we had made it to Big Springs. The spring above looked similar to the picture of Big Springs on the map, but wasn’t really as impressive as I thought it would be. We realized quickly that it wasn’t actually Big Springs when someone who had already hiked the route told us that Big Springs was still up ahead. Right past the Fake Big Springs landmark is a particularly deep part in the river split by large boulders. On one side, it is so deep a tall man would have to swim it to make it to the other side. The right side of the boulder is still deep, but for a 5’6” woman, all I had to do was hold my pack over your head (it was waterproof, but I took an extra precaution considering my camera was in there).

After that deep part of the river, things got very strenuous very quickly. Also, there were very few people on the trail (the crowds dissipating not too far before this point). The current in some places grew stronger, the water felt colder, and there was definitely more scrambling over rocks and higher riverbanks. Our progress was pretty slow and we realized that we needed to start heading back if we wanted to try to make it home for dinner (FYI, we got back to our lodging around 7:30pm). The way back although not against the current, almost felt more strenuous then going upstream – but I think this was mostly because we were tired and hurting. On our way back, there was virtually no one besides us – I think because the morning rush had already turned back long before us and those who had planned to stick it out until the end were still moving forward while we had turned around. While rough on the legs, it was nice to have the canyon mostly to ourselves.

Don’t be fooled that it will be twice as fast getting back than going up the river. There was this point where we were about an hour away from our starting point where I was waist-deep in water and my legs just felt like Jell-O and I just needed to stop a minute because my whole body was screaming at me to rest. By the end of it all, I was sick to death of walking in water. But no pain, no gain, am I right?

Overall, this hike was amazing. A tremendous workout that left me sore, battered and bruised but totally worth it for the spectacular once-in-a-life-time views and experiences. #IfICouldDoItAgain, I would definitely do it again.