Imagine standing in a circular tube of smooth stone around 30 feet high with emerald green pools of water at your feet and golden, glowing light shining through the entrance of this natural wonder. This would be the destination of the Subway hike in Zion National Park. Especially during the fall color season of early November, the Subway hike should be on your short list. You’ll need to be prepared for a rugged, backcountry day hike that requires some route finding but the rewards are quite high, especially when you arrive at the surreal Subway itself.

The Subway Hike in Zion National Park offers a unique hiking experience and an almost surreal adventure.

A Third Hike to The Subway

Fall of 2015 would be our third hike to the Subway to take in the scenery and have a little bit of an adventure. My good friend and fellow photographer, Ken Koskela, originally talked me into the Subway hike back in 2011 and we were immediately hooked. We mainly just explored the canyon on that first trip but even then, managed some satisfying photographs. Although we were pretty tired after that first trip, we knew that this would be a place that we’d visit again and again. This year, we decided to invite ourselves on a trip that had been planned by another friend and photographer, Josh Merrill. Josh had never been out to the Southwest before so what better way to begin the experience than a hike out to the Subway?

The official name of the nontechnical route to the Subway is the Left Fork of North Creek which is hiking into the canyon from the “bottom up.” Hiking down from above the Subway is more of a technical canyoneering route so that route is not for everybody! Both routes do require permits though. After checking the forecast to make sure there would be no chance of precipitation prior to our hike since flash floods are possible, we started our adventure from the Left Fork Trailhead a little after 8:00 a.m. with temperatures around 30 degrees. So it was a cool, crisp morning but we were ready to go after a good night’s rest at our camp site just below the Watchman in Zion’s main canyon. The initial trail wanders through some low growing brush along the canyon rim for a half-mile and always seems to take longer than I expect to get to the section that switchbacks down the steep canyon wall. As we descended the canyon wall, the bright yellow cottonwoods and red maples could already be seen and our anticipation began to build on the way down. I like to take my time descending since some sections have loose rock and gravel and I've found it’s easy to slip.

After three hikes to the Subway, I've found footwear choice is fairly important. There is essentially no trail after arriving in the canyon so the hiking is along the creek bank and the creek will need to be crossed from time to time. Closer to the Subway I've found wet, slick rock and even being careful I've found that slipping on these rocks is quite possible. Some people choose to rent and wear special canyoneering shoes. We chose trail shoes and Josh and Ken wore neoprene socks. I wore regular hiking socks and brought an extra pair to change into for the hike back. After about 25 minutes of slowly descending, we made it to the canyon floor at the creek and it was time to hike north toward the Subway. The adventure had begun.

Although it’s hard to describe, the hike in the Left Fork of North Creek is a lot of scrambling around boulders and creek crossings since there is not a maintained trail. So there’s some route finding involved but I always get into a rhythm of where the route needs to go hiking up the creek. After hiking the Subway a few times, it seems that the hike will be easier to the left or west of the creek and crossing over to the right only when needed. Of course, the canyon and creek change constantly with every season. I've found that trying to keep my feet dry on this hike is a lot harder. I like to just prepare for creek crossings finding this method much more efficient and a lot less tiring.

We wanted to photograph on the way in while the light was soft and the direct sunlight had not yet made it above the canyon rim. But, we also wanted to make it to some of the best scenery in soft light too, which is close to the Subway. It’s a hard balance to strike sometimes so we stopped a fair bit but hiked a steady pace. There was a little more water in the creek than we had encountered in the past but most of the crossings were not above the knee. The water was definitely cold! We photographed some scenes while standing in the creek and I’ll admit to being glad to get moving again so my feet could thaw out. There are tons of cascades, maples, and cottonwoods to enjoy along the way but the Subway scenes kept pulling us forward.

As you get closer to the Subway proper, you’ll approach a waterfall known as Arch Angel Falls. Here, the soft water cascades over red rock ledges in the creek and you have golden foliage in the background along with glowing reflected light shining at the entrance to the Subway. There’s another nice waterfall above Arch Angel Falls to check out and photograph, and then there’s the famous scene at the “Crack.” The Crack is a 6 inch to 8 inch wide slot in the creek bed where the water rushes through in a straight line for about 50 feet or so. Just an amazing scene! It’s fun to photograph too since the long narrow chute of water leads the eye to the fall color and canyon wall in the background. Somehow, none of us slipped on this trip, maybe because a round of cheeseburgers had to be bought by the first person to slip on this section. Not sure how we managed, since it is slick as ice! Previous trips to photograph the Crack did not result in all photographers remaining upright.

From there, it’s just a short walk into the other world of the Subway. As you enter the Subway, you find yourself in a circular tube of stone that may be 30 feet high as the creek cascades below your feet. As you get deeper into the Subway you’ll see the emerald green pools of water that are one of the signature features of the scene to photograph. Eventually there is a six foot incline over a large pool. I've found the short walk up to the ledge is not so easy to navigate since it too is super slick.

From this viewpoint though you can see down the Subway and enjoy the glowing light shining up the tube which is just a remarkable scene. There really is no other place like the Subway when you combine the circular tube, emerald pools, and glowing reflected light. A must to see and photograph! We stayed on the ledge overlooking the pools for a bit and made some long exposures which are necessary since there is no direct light shining on the scene. It’s really a difficult place to leave and even though we enjoyed making some photographs, we stuck around to just watch the light show.

Winding Back Out

Eventually though we had to head back up the trail with the hope of catching a sunset back in the main canyon at the Watchman. We didn’t photograph on the way back and hiked without taking too many breaks. We managed to get to the junction which takes you back up the canyon wall in about two hours from the Subway. The hike up the canyon wall to the trailhead takes around 30 minutes but that’s going pretty hard. I've found it's better to take your time, especially with all my hiking gear on my back, and enjoy the views while catching your breath. I've found a GPS helpful here.

Although there is a small sign pointing to the exit trail, it is easy to miss, especially if it’s your first visit. After the three of us arrived at the trailhead there was some of the usual soreness and an eagerness to change into dry socks and boots, but there was a strong sense of satisfaction and wonder at what we had just experienced. Although, no cheeseburgers were won or lost, we were already looking forward to a nice meal before heading back out to chase the sunset light above the golden cottonwoods along the Virgin River. Will there be a return trip to the Subway? There really is so much to explore in Zion and I’m looking forward to hiking and photographing those areas, but I also can’t imagine coming back and not visiting the Subway. See you there!

Need to Know

Information

The hike is 9 miles round trip from the trailhead at Kolob Terrace Road known as the Left Fork Trailhead or “bottom up” to the Subway and back, and typically takes me 5-7 hours depending on breaks and how much photographing takes place. Permits are required for either direction of travel. The Subway is day use only. Commercial guiding is not allowed in the Subway. 80 people per day is the total use allowed and group size is limited to 12. 60 advance permits are available and 20 last minute permits are offered. More information can be found on the NPS Website.

Best Time to Go

Fall color is the most scenic but will feature cold weather and cold water. Color is unpredictable but the first or second week of November is the typical window to target.

Getting There

The Left Fork Trailhead is located in Zion National Park on Kolob Terrace Road which is about 8 miles north of the town of Virgin off of Highway 9. It’s about 35 minutes drive time from the Watchman Campground in the main canyon at Zion at the town of Springdale to get to the Left Fork Trailhead.

Books

Hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks as well as Photographing the Southwest Volume 1 (A Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Southern Utah) by Laurent Martres.

Maps

Trails Illustrated - Zion National Park covers the area. For other (not including The Subway) hiking ideas in Zion, see the Zion National Park Day Hikes Map.

Editor's Note: This article by contributor Dusty Doddridge originally appeared in Issue 28 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.