Words fail and even photographs fall short of doing justice to the incredible Narrows hike in Zion National Park, especially in the fall. The Southwest US is a treasure trove of world-class locations to hike and photograph, but the Narrows has to be at or near the top of that list. It’s hard to imagine a blue-green river lined with golden cottonwood trees and soaring canyon walls glowing fiery red all around you. Surreal and otherworldly are about the only words that come close to describing the experience.

Beautiful Fall Colors in Zion National Park's Narrows

Planning a Trip to the Zion Narrows

If you’re a first-time Narrows hiker and interested in making some photographs of a lifetime, then strongly consider hiking the Narrows as a “bottom-up day hike” in early November. Fall color is, of course, impossible to predict, but your best bet for the cottonwood trees to be on full display is sometime during this time. There are quite a few logistics to have prepared for a Narrows hike in the fall, so let’s start our adventure with some key points on top of your normal day hike preparation.

The first thing to realize is that the vast majority of the hike is actually in the river! The hiking distance to the end of the Wall Street section of the Narrows, the suggested turnaround point for your day hike, is around 3.75 miles from the trailhead at the Temple of Sinawava. And, after an easy stroll on a sidewalk for a mile, you drop into the Virgin River and hike in the river from there.

The going is slow and steady, but not too challenging. Before my trip to the Narrows, I consulted the park service, as they provide a weather report and a flow rate for the river. I always have a plan B and prepare to go somewhere else in Zion if heavy rain or flash floods are possible.

Gear for a Hike in the Narrows

There are also some considerations for hiking gear and photographic equipment choices when hiking the Narrows. During the month of November, the water temperature is around 45F-55F, so that’s the first element that might impact hiking gear choices. A good place to start is with one of the local outfitters in Springdale, Utah, near the main entrance to the park. Gear can be rented, such as dry pants, canyoneering shoes, and neoprene socks.

I like photographing and hiking “hands-free”, so I don’t usually bring a walking stick or trekking poles, but others may find them useful. The dry pants are especially nice to have along with the neoprene socks. Keep in mind too that the temperatures in the canyon can be cooler than you think, so I make sure to wear layers. Many sections of the canyon are in deep shadow for most of the day, and you’ll also likely have a persistent wind on top of the damp conditions in the river.

As far as photographic equipment is concerned, less is definitely more! I usually bring no more than 2 lenses and one camera body to lighten the load. The lenses I prefer are the wide angle 16-35mm and a mid-range focal length lens, the 24mm-70mm. Most of the photographs are wide angle scenes to capture the wild colors of the grand scenes that you’ll encounter. You’ll also want to take a tripod to stabilize your camera (in the flowing river) for long exposures and bring a polarizer to help reduce glare from reflected light on the rocks and water. Finally, give some thought to taking waterproof dry bags to protect your electronic equipment in case you decide to take an unexpected dip into the river.

More Considerations

Patience would be the name of the game before I was able to take my first hike into the Narrows and photograph fall color. Two years in a row, we had a small window to make the hike, and in both cases we were shut out completely with heavy rain! No permit is required (yet) to day hike the Narrows from the “bottom up”. This may very well change in the future though with increasing numbers of people making the hike.

The park service has also extended the season for requiring the use of the park shuttle buses through mid-November in the main canyon in order to reach the trailhead. This will impact one of your first choices, when to start your hike. You can catch the shuttle bus at the visitor center as early as 7am for the short ride up the canyon. As always, check the park service web site for updates. You might choose to be in the river ahead of most hikers and other photographers, but the canyon glow won’t start to reach most places until 9am or so (in the fall) when more people will be arriving. We’ve enjoyed hiking in early (7am shuttle bus) and primarily photographing on our way out.

The Hike through the Narrows

Enjoy your easy walking up the sidewalk as you leave the trailhead at the Temple of Sinawava. It will be tempting to stop and take a few photos along the way, but save this section to photograph on your return trip. As you leave the sidewalk after one mile and enter the Virgin River, the adventure begins. At first, take your time and get used to walking into the current, and get a feel for walking over the sometimes slick and round boulders below the surface of the water. I find canyoneering shoes or trail shoes with a nice grip helpful here.

Progressing along the hike, between the waterfalls, cottonwoods, and if it’s not too cloudy the canyon walls you walk past will be glowing. This will be just a taste of things to come! A couple miles in, you’ll come to a place where the river makes a hard turn to your right with a stand of cottonwoods situated below a carved sandstone wall, and just around the next bend you’ll find another stand of cottonwoods as the river curves left. The dilemma you’ll face if photography is a priority for you, is how much time to take photographing on the way in versus on the way out. Decisions, decisions…

One thing to remember about photographing slot canyons in the Southwest, and the Narrows is no different, is that the reflected light is what creates the magic. This means that you want to find places where the light is bouncing off an opposing canyon wall and reflecting off a wall that frames the scene with a glowing red or orange light. There is no other light quite like it. Especially when you consider that the canyon walls in the Narrows are hundreds of feet high, the intense glowing light that reaches the lower portions of the canyon walls is really impressive.

Wall Street in Zion National Park's Narrows

The entrance to the Wall Street section of the Narrows starts at the junction with Orderville Canyon that enters from the right as you’re hiking up river. This is around 2.5 miles into the hike and the most dramatic section of the canyon with high sandstone walls that close in to about 30 feet wide or less in some places. The next mile and a quarter are just stunning, my favorite section to photograph.

One thing to keep in mind as you photograph the glowing canyon walls is lens flare. Standing in the middle of the river in deep shade, you wouldn’t normally be concerned about lens flare but the light from above can create colorful circles in your images that can be tricky and time consuming to remove later. The solution is to remember to shade your lens with your hand or hat from above and look closely at your viewfinder or LCD to make sure that lens flare is not occurring. You might also be wondering about where to place your camera bag or backpack while you’re photographing in the river. Most often, there are rocks or a small sand bar where you can rest your bag while photographing. Nice to have a backpack cover, so the bag doesn’t get wet or sandy.

One of my favorite locations in Wall Street is a place called Imlay Rock. Hike slightly past the giant boulder and photograph it from the canyon wall to the right (as you travel upriver) to catch the canyon glow behind it. Just an extraordinary scene. Hike a little farther upriver to your turnaround point, around 3.75 miles in, and photograph the dramatic and narrow canyon walls above the blue-green river. This is my usual turnaround point as the canyon opens up beyond the Wall Street section. Day hikers are allowed to hike as far as Big Springs, around 5 miles in before turning around. You can also hike “top-down” from Chamberlain Ranch, but this hike requires a permit, a shuttle, and about 12 hours of hiking in one long day or two moderate days of hiking.

Tree above Imlay Rock in the Narrows

If photographing is a priority, turn around and head back to the trailhead when you reach the end of Wall Street to catch the glowing walls on the way out. There will be more hikers and photographers than you would have encountered earlier in the day, so you’ll need some extra patience while waiting on others to hike through or photograph the scenes they’ve been dreaming about. As always, a little courtesy goes a long way. As you pass Imlay Rock on your left, going downriver now, look up! You might find a small tree high above the river, growing in a pocket of the sandstone canyon wall. This is easy to miss on the way in, so be sure and look up, just past Imlay Rock on your way out.

As you return to the trailhead downstream, keep an eye out for the afternoon canyon colors and a few of those spots you passed by on the way in, especially those accessed from the sidewalk after you exit the river. You’ll be tired by the time you reach the trailhead but odds are pretty high, you’ll already be planning your next hike to the Narrows.

Need to Know

Information

This hike usually takes me 6-7 hours round trip for breaks and photographs. Zion Adventure Company can be utilized as an outfitter if needed and additional information can be found on the NPS website.

Getting There

The town of Springdale, Utah, borders Zion National Park, and it is a little over 2.5 hours to drive from Las Vegas to the park. There is a shuttle bus (most times of year) to the trailhead at the Temple of Sinawava.

Best Time to Go

I recommend early November for fall color.

Maps and Books

See the Zion National Park Map from National Geographic Trails Illustrated, and Hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks (Falcon Guides) to plan your Narrows trip. Zion National Park Day Hikes from National Geographic Trails Illustrated is another resource to help plan day hikes in Zion.

Editor’s Note: This article by contributor Dusty Doddridge originally appeared in Issue 36 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.