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Backpacking through The Narrows (Top-Down) in Zion National Park



One of the most iconic destinations in Zion National Park is The Narrows, sometimes called the Virgin River Narrows, which is a river that runs through Zion Canyon. Most park visitors are familiar with the Bottom-Up 9.4 mile roundtrip out-and-back route accessible as a day hike from Zion Canyon that starts at the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop. However, many backpacking-enthusiasts may be excited to learn that there's an option to spend a night away from the crowds along this awe-inspiring river.


Keep on reading to learn more about how to plan for an overnight stay in Zion National Park and what trail conditions to expect!

 

Contents

Adventure Stats

The Route

Top Tips to Make Your Trip in the Zion Narrows a Success

How to Plan a Backpacking Trip for The Zion Narrows

What to Wear and Pack for a Backpacking Trip in the Zion Narrows

Trip Report

Closing Thoughts - 8/10

 

Adventure Stats

Hiked in October 2022

Location: Zion National Park

Distance: 16mi

Elevation: +3376ft/-4780ft

Nights: 1

Group Size: 2

Rating: 8/10 (see my closing thoughts for more detail)

 

The Route

The route I discuss on this trip is appropriate for younger backpackers and big groups and does not deviate from the route advertised by the National Park. Save and download this route here.


The route is a 16-mile point-to-point trail starting from Chamberlain's Ranch Trailhead heading downstream, west then south, to the Temple of Sinawava. The full Zion Narrows must be hiked in this direction. Hiking in the opposite direction is only allowed up to Big Spring since there are some water features north of Big Spring that can be dangerous to traverse upstream.

A trail map of the West Rim of Zion National Park. A red line connects the Chamberlain's Ranch Trailhead and the Temple of Sinawava with numbered campsites and the Big Spring water source marked.
Caltopo map of the Top Down Zion Narrows hike. This route must be taken from north to south.

There are 12 total campsites along The Narrows, located on overland passes along the banks of the river. The first campsite is roughly 9 miles away from the trailhead and last campsite is roughly 11.5 miles away from the trailhead. The campsite you choose is really up to personal preference. We chose Campsite 12 because we wanted to be closer to the water source and knew from past experience that we would have no problem covering 11.5 miles in a single day.

Data and graphs showing trail profiles, elevation, slope, aspect, tree cover, and land cover.
The trail profile -- all downhill!

The entire route is downhill, as expected since you're following a river downstream. The trail profile in the image above shows a couple of abnormal uphill spikes, but these can be considered anomalies from the mapping software detecting the topography of the cliffs rather than the river.

 

Top Tips to Make Your Trip in the Zion Narrows a Success

1. Plan Ahead

2. Start Early in the Day

3. Go Later in the Season

4. Do Not Drink Water Directly from the River - A Note on Cyanotoxins

5. Keep an Eye Out for Campsite Signs

6. Save the Trip for Another Day if There's Any Risk of Rain

7. Pee Directly in the River


1. Plan Ahead

Unlike some other backpacking trips, this is not a backpacking trip you can accomplish without proper permitting, reservations, and gear preparation. See the How to Plan a Backpacking Trip for The Zion Narrows and What to Wear and Pack for a Backpacking Trip in the Zion Narrows for more details.


2. Start Early in the Day

You'll end up moving much slower than expected. I usually hike at a pace of 2.5-3mph on regular trails but found that I was going closer to 1.5-2mph in the water, due to water resistance and careful placement of steps since you can't see where your feet will land underwater.


If you're strapped on time, consider taking advantage of the overland passes on the river banks when the option is available. These routes tend to be a lot faster. You might be thinking, "Why would I take the overland pass through The Narrows? I thought the whole point of this hike was to be in the water the whole time." I was the same way for the first half of Day 1, but as the novelty of hiking in the river wore off, I came to appreciate the overland passes as faster, sometimes safer alternatives to hiking in the river. In some cases, which I'll discuss in the Trip Report section, the overland route is the only recommended way to cross certain sections of the river safely.


Whether you're taking overland passes or simply navigating through shallower sections of the river, you'll actually end up hiking more than the official straight-shot trail distance. On Day 1, my tracker recorded that I had hiked 2 extra miles than expected.


If your trip itinerary allows, consider picking up your permit the day before. You must pick up your permit in person at the Zion Visitor Center, which does not open until 8AM every day. If you'd like to hit the trail earlier, whether for cooler weather or more time in your day, the national park allows you to pick up your permit a day in advance.


3. Go Later in the Season

I did this backpacking trip in October when the river was flowing at 42 CFS. On average, the water was shin-deep, with a few sections going up as high as my waist. For reference, I'm 5'3". The water was cold, but with the proper gear, I never felt like I was at risk of hypothermia.


Rangers and other hikers reported that the water can be much colder, faster flowing, and deeper earlier in the season due to recent snowmelt. Some had reported that sections of water went as high as their chest.


4. Do Not Drink Water Directly from the River - A Note on Cyanotoxins

In the last couple of years, park rangers have found cyanotoxins present in The Narrows. You'll find warnings about the cyanotoxins all over the national park website.


Just how dangerous are the cyanotoxins in The Narrows?


After initially learning about toxic cyanobacteria in The Narrows, we nearly considered skipping this backpacking trip altogether. However, you might miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you get too carried away by the over-sensationalized warnings.


Here's the deal. News articles like this one suggest that the the cyanobacteria was discovered after a puppy died from not only drinking from river water in The Narrows but also biting directly into algae bloom. Hundreds of people hike the southern section of The Narrows every single day. If you are in relatively good health (which you should be, if you're considering backpacking 16 miles) and have no large open wounds on your legs, you should not run into problems hiking in The Narrows.


However, I cannot stress this enough - do not drink water directly from the river. You have a filter? Recreational filters have not been known to be effective enough to rid the water of toxic cyanobacteria. Planning to boil the river water? Nope. Boiling has not been known to be effective at mitigating cyanotoxins either.


Do not take the risk. Do not drink water from the river in large amounts. If you aren't convinced yet, have I told you that you have to pack out all your human waste? Trust me, you do not want to get sick on this trail.


So then, how do you make sure you have enough water on the trail?


You can either pack in all your water, or you can filter your water at Big Spring which is just downstream of Site 12. In my Trip Report section, you'll find a picture of what the spring looks like so you don't miss it. When you pick up your permit at the Visitor Center, you may find information on whether the spring is flowing. If not, be sure to check with the park rangers.


5. Keep an Eye Out for Campsite Signs

The campsite signs are surprisingly easy to miss if you're not paying attention to them. You won't get GPS signal in the canyon, so you will not be able to use your GPS to tell if you've overshot your destination.


The 12 campsites are spread between Mile 9 and Mile 11.5. The campsites are located on larger, flatter river banks. Each of the campsites are marked with a numbered yellow post. However, some of these posts are not visible directly from the river and require you to hike the overland trails to find them. I wasn't able to spot all 12 sites on my trip. If you're camping at Site 12, the can't-miss sign that you've overshot your site is that you've reached the Big Spring waterfall that I mention on Day 2 of my Trip Report.


6. Save the Trip for Another Day if There's Any Risk of Rain

Weather in southwest Utah can be unpredictable and dramatic. Keep a close eye on the weather forecast as it can change from day-to-day. If there's any risk of rain during the two days you'll be backpacking this trail, you may need to cancel.


Because the backpacking trail is situated primarily in slot canyons, storms can lead to flash floods. This occurs when water fills up the slot canyons faster than water can flow out of these canyons.


7. Pee Directly in the River

I'll talk about wag bags in the What to Wear and Pack for a Backpacking Trip in the Zion Narrows because you're required to pack out all human waste, but what should you do in case you need to pee?


The park rangers surprisingly recommend that you pee directly in the river where possible. Your pee quickly gets diluted and carried downstream this way. Peeing on the overland passes or in the campsites is not recommended since can cause the campsite to stink for the next park visitor that stays at your site.

 

How to Plan a Backpacking Trip for The Zion Narrows

1. Reserve a Shuttle

2. Reserve a permit (or don't!)

1. Reserve a Shuttle

If you're like the 90% of us who don't have an awesome local friend or family member to drop us off at the trailhead, you're going to want to park at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center and have a shuttle drive you to the Chamberlain Ranch trailhead. The drive is roughly an hour and a half, and unfortunately Zion National Park does not offer any free services to take you to the trailhead. On your return trip, you will be able to take the Zion shuttle between the Temple of Sinawava and the Visitor Center.


A quick Google Search will lead you to a bunch of Zion shuttle service providers. The one we used was Zion Rock and Mountain Guides. We scheduled a spot on their shuttle by phone about a month in advance, shortly after we reserved a permit. They picked us up at our scheduled time (9:30am) at the visitor center parking lot. Our driver Stu was very conversational and had us mulling over deep topics in politics, philosophy, psychology, and health by the time he had dropped us off at the trailhead.


2. Reserve a permit (or don't!)

You can reserve a permit by following the instructions laid out on the Zion National park website. Permits can be reserved the month before your planned trip date but can be fully reserved the same day they become available.


Don't be discouraged if you can't reserve a permit - there's another way! Part of the reason that the reservation system is so competitive is that, as of the time of writing (October 2022), only half of the sites are reservable online. The other half are first-come first-serve and can be permitted at the visitor center the day before or the same day as the date you'd like to go on the trip. Similarly, if you didn't end up snagging the perfect campsite through the reservation system, you might be able to swap campsites when you pick up the permit.


I can't guarantee that you'll be able to snag a walk-up reservation, but when I went on a weekday in October 2022, only half the sites were occupied.

 

What to Wear and Pack for a Backpacking Trip in the Zion Narrows

Check out my 2-Person Ultralight Backpacking Pack Guide for Fall & Spring for a comprehensive packing list.


In this section I'll focus on key pieces of gear specific for this trip:

  1. Neoprene Socks: You will be shin-deep in water for a majority of this hike You can buy these ahead of time or rent these locally. The ones I bought for the trip were these women's neoprene socks and these men's neoprene socks. Both thicknesses and styles were appropriate for the trip. My women's socks unfortunately developed holes by the end of the trip. During my backpacking trip, I noticed that some groups wore special river shoes, that I assume can be rented locally. I did not find these necessary. Everett and I wore our favorite pair of sneakers over our neoprene socks and those worked just fine. I wouldn't recommend wearing hiking boots over the neoprene socks because hiking boots can get waterlogged and heavy.

  2. Trekking Poles: If you're usually a free-hand hiker, you may want to reconsider for this hike. I found that it was especially useful to have 3-4 points of contact at all times to keep me balanced while traversing fast flowing rapids.

  3. Dry Bags: This is especially necessary for any gear that you keep toward the bottom of your bag or if you're hiking during early season when water can reportedly get chest deep.

  4. WAG Bags: You are required to pack out all human waste on this hike. Leave your trowel at home.

  5. Phone Holders: I popped my phone into a quart-sized Ziploc baggy to keep it waterproof but accessible for pictures for the duration of this backpacking trip.

  6. Sunscreen/Sun Protection (OPTIONAL): This came as a surprise to me, but you may be able to leave your sunscreen at home. A majority of the hike does not see much sun-exposure since the tall sheer cliffs on either side of the river provide shade most times of day. There is about a mile or two on each end of the hike where you end up more exposed to the sun.

  7. Dry Socks and Camp Shoes (OPTIONAL): Usually, I'm not a big proponent of camp shoes because they tend to be extremely bulky and unnecessary. However, spending a night in camp with damp socks and shoes sounds miserable. I didn't end up bringing camp shoes, but I did walk around camp with just my pair of dry socks on.

  8. Hammock Shelter (OPTIONAL): Something that Everett and I did this trip was swap out our regular tent for a hammock-camping setup. The campsites along this trail have trees strong enough to support hammocking. For the adventurous gear-addicts, the hammock tent ended up being surprisingly comfortable for side sleepers and can reduce backpack volume - more on this in a future post!

 

Trip Report

Day 1 - Chamberlain Ranch to Campsite #12

We started our day by driving into the Zion Visitor Center at 7am. By 7am, the visitor center parking lot was already starting to fill up, and yes, . Because the Visitor Center did not open until 8am, we spent the morning having breakfast and packing our backpacks. At 8am, we were the first to show up at Visitor Center's permitting desk, where the park rangers issued our permits. We continued to pack our backpacks, and at 9:30am, we met our shuttle driver in front of the flag pole at the Visitor Center. If you have any business you need to take care of online, the Visitor Center is one of the few spots on this trip where you can expect to find signal. For example, if you're trying to snag an Angel's Landing permit for tomorrow, be sure to do that while you're at the Visitor Center.


The drive from the Visitor Center to the Chamberlain Ranch Trailhead was about 1.5 hours long, with little reception. Our shuttle driver dropped us off at the trailhead. The only hiccup with the trip that we didn't find out about until the end of the day was that one of our 1.5 liter Nalgene water bottles had fallen out during the shuttle ride. Luckily, we had packed extra water. Be sure to check that all your external gear survived the shuttle ride before you take off on your adventure!


The first mile of the Chamberlain Ranch trail is entirely on land. Please be respectful of this area as it is technically private property that the owners allow permitted hikers to use. You may see a small herd of cows watching you curiously as you hike this section. The trail gradually leads you toward the river.

A river with yellow, orange, and green trees and plants on the river banks. The sky in the background is blue with some fluffy clouds.
Entering the river at Chamberlain Ranch, beautiful fall colors are starting to pop!

The first few miles of the hike through The Narrows is not through its famous slot canyon. For several miles, one or both banks are exposed. The water was initially pretty cold, but I got acclimated really quick. The water is not particularly clear, so you don't necessarily know where you're stepping. I used my trekking poles to assess the depth of the water as I hiked. If the water gets too uncomfortable for you at any point, the trail offers lots of opportunities to hike along the river bank.

A river flowing into a narrow slot canyon. The canyon walls are streaked black and tan. There are a few green and yellowing trees on the river bank.
The river finally starts to feel narrow here!

After a few miles, we finally got to the part of the trail surrounded on all sides by tall sheer cliffs. The slot canyon never felt too narrow or tight at any time, and Everett and I never felt like we needed to walk single-file to fit through the canyon.

A river bank with lots of green, yellow, and red autumn-colored trees. In the background is a large looming tan rock mountain with sparse trees and shrubs growing on it.
Another great reason to catch this hike during off-season - gorgeous fall colors!

During the hike, we saw a rock fall from the high cliffs into the water right in front of us. Later on, we heard a long low deep rumble some distance behind us, which was almost certainly rock fall. Both instances were pretty scary, but ultimately these are risks that you assume when you go on an adventure like this.


The ranger had warned us that there was a large waterfall at around the 5-mile mark on the trail. It snuck up suddenly on me - one moment I was hiking down the river and the next moment I was staring down at a sudden drop. A downed tree prevents you from walking straight off. When you reach this point, be sure to take the overland route around the waterfall. The ranger had told us that people jumping down this waterfall was the source of more than one helicopter rescue mission this year.

Large boulders and driftwood in the foreground. In the background is a slot canyon with a waterfall in the center. On the right is an exposed path cut through the rock walls.
Shot from downstream: (center) waterfall that you absolutely do not want to climb down, (right) alternate overland pass

There is a second, less treacherous waterfall a couple miles downstream. Be sure again to take the overland pass!

A small waterfall surrounded by tan colored canyons.
Another small waterfall to hike around. It's so much scarier than it looks.

We knew we were 9 miles in once we spotted the first campsite. We made a game of looking for these campsites, but soon realized that some of the campsite signs were obstructed from view at the river. Once we saw the Site 10 sign, we started taking every single overland route we could just to be sure that we wouldn't miss Site 12. This slowed us down a lot.


At long last we found our campsite. We set up our hammock tent, peeled off our wet footwear, and settled down for the evening!

A green top and red bottom hammock tent in the woods. Underneath the hammock tent are two blue backpacks and a pair of trekking poles. The forest floor is brown with yellow leaves. The trees in the forest are thin.
Yes, you can hammock-camp in The Narrows!

Day 2 - Campsite #12 to the Temple of Sinawava

Day 2 was a slow start. I didn't set an alarm the previous night and frankly wasn't particularly motivated to get back into the water at the break of dawn. We had a slow morning at camp as we ate breakfast and slowly packed up.


Warning: Because Campsite 12 is just a short distance upstream of Big Spring, some lost day hikers may end up hiking past your campsite. The trees are sparse, and there isn't a ton of privacy. If you need to potty, try and do it early.


Shortly after starting up for the day, but not as shortly as it seems on the map, we reached Big Spring, which is this beautiful waterfall surrounded by hanging gardens that flows fresh water into the river. Luckily, we didn't need to replenish water while at camp the previous night or in the morning, because it was a good amount further than "just around the bend". If you choose to walk toward Big Spring to filter water, the water quickly gets really deep as you approach the spring.


Big Spring also marks the turnaround point for day-hikers, and as we continued to hike past Big Spring, we began seeing day-hikers in droves!

A small, wide waterfall that flows into a river. The waterfall is covered by leaves and ferns that grow on the surrounding rock walls
Big Spring - The only safe source of drinking water along the Narrows!

The trail is another 3.5 miles through the rivers with the slot canyon opening up in the last mile that you're in the river. You know you've made your last river ford, when you reach a paved pathway and all the people around you look exceptionally dry. The last little bit of the trail is a paved uphill section that takes you the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop.


The shuttle ride between the Temple of Sinawava and the Visitor Center is about 30min long.

 

Closing Thoughts - 8/10

Having never day-hiked The Narrows in Zion before, I thought that the backpacking trip was an incredibly unique experience. That being said, I don't plan on returning anytime soon. The last 4.5 miles of the trail, accessible to day-hikers and those without permits, were honestly just as amazing as the first 11.5 miles with very similar scenery. By Day 2, the novelty of hiking through a river had lost its novelty, and I was dreading putting on my still-damp neoprene socks that morning. While The Narrows, as its name suggests, advertises a hike through a narrow slot canyon, I found that the river remained a very similar width throughout its entire 16 mile stretch. For those looking for a truly exhilarating slot-canyon experience in southern Utah, check out the slot canyon from the Joint Trail that I mention in my Canyonlands backpacking post.


On the flip-side, as soon as The Narrows opened up to day-hikers, the trail got packed and I mean packed packed. On Day 1, I had run into less than 10 other people, but on Day 2 I passed by several hundred people, which significantly detracted from my experience. If you're looking for a private experience of The Narrows, I highly recommend the full top-down hike.


Check out actual footage of the backpacking trip on my Instagram:


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Hi There!

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I'm Sarah, and I'm a backpacker based out of Washington State.

 

I started this blog in 2022 to share the best hiker-oriented destinations for others to enjoy one weekend at a time.

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