The Narrows Bottom-Up Hike (Zion) Hiking Guide
The Narrows is Zion Canyon at its tightest: the Virgin River fills the floor between walls about 1,000 feet high, and the trail is the river itself. From the Temple of Sinawava you can wade upstream for twenty minutes or most of a day without a permit. What decides your day is the river: its flow, its temperature and the weather upstream.
Permit: Wading upstream from the Temple of Sinawava as far as Big Spring needs no permit; only the 16-mile top-down trip from Chamberlain's Ranch requires a Wilderness Permit. You still need a park entrance pass: $35 per car for up to 7 days, $30 per motorcycle, $20 per walker or cyclist 16 and up, or an annual or America the Beautiful pass, plus $100 per non-US resident 16 and over unless an annual pass covers them.
How Far You Can Go
The park's bottom-up page sets the limit at Big Spring, up to 4.7 miles one way or 9.4 miles out and back with about 334 feet of elevation change, and estimates anywhere from one to eight hours; elsewhere it rounds the full trip to ten miles. AllTrails' Big Spring listing comes out much longer, at 14.3 miles, so treat any single number loosely. Most people turn around well short of that. AllTrails' popular Floating Rock turnaround is about 7 miles round trip, and Orderville Canyon, a side canyon roughly two miles up, is another common goal. You may explore only the first quarter mile of Orderville from the bottom.
Flow Rates and Closures
The park closes The Narrows to all travel when the Virgin River runs above 150 cubic feet per second, and whenever the National Weather Service issues a Flash Flood Warning; it stays closed for at least two hours after a warning is lifted. Below 70 cfs the park describes knee-deep crossings with pools up to the waist. Between 70 and 150, walking against the current gets hard, with thigh-deep crossings and chest-deep pools. Check the USGS gauge and the NWS flash-flood potential before you go; possible, probable or expected ratings are reasons to pick another hike.
Cold Water and the Right Gear
Even in summer the river averages 56 to 68 degrees, falling to the 40s in spring and fall and the high 30s in winter, and the shaded canyon is cooler than anywhere else in Zion Canyon. The park compares the riverbed to walking on wet bowling balls: wear closed-toe shoes, not sandals or bare feet, and carry a sturdy stick. In the shoulder seasons many hikers wear drysuits or neoprene, which private outfitters in the area rent; the park itself doesn't sell or rent gear. Pack quick-drying layers and something warm in a dry bag.
Water Quality
Toxic cyanobacteria have been found in the Virgin River, and the park's standing instruction is not to submerge your head in or drink the water in Zion's rivers and streams. Carry all the drinking water you'll need from the Temple of Sinawava filling station. There are no restrooms once you leave the paved trail, so use the ones at the trailhead and bring a waste bag.
Shuttle and Start
The hike begins at the Temple of Sinawava, the last stop on the Zion Canyon shuttle. The ride from the visitor center takes about 45 minutes, and during shuttle season you can't drive the Scenic Drive yourself, even before the first bus. From the stop, walk the paved Riverside Walk about a mile to where the pavement ends and step into the river. Watch the time of the last shuttle out; missing it leaves you with a walk of roughly eight miles back to the visitor center.
Hiking tips for The Narrows Bottom-Up Hike (Zion)
- Check the river flow and flash-flood potential the morning of your hike, not the night before.
- Rent a walking stick or bring trekking poles; the cobbles are slick and the current pushes.
- Put your phone, snacks and a warm layer in a dry bag; you will wade above the knees on most days.
- Watch the water as you go: the park says a change in clarity or a rise in flow can signal a flash flood, so head for high ground if you see either.
- Set a firm turnaround time so the return trip, which feels just as long, doesn't push you past the last shuttle.
Nearby trails to explore
- Riverside Walk (Zion)
- Emerald Pools Trail (Zion)
- Angels Landing Trail
Hike this trail with TrailMates
The Narrows is safer and more fun with someone watching the water with you. Use TrailMates to find Zion hikers wading up from the Temple of Sinawava. Download the TrailMates app to connect.