On the way back from the Observation Point, 8 miles and 2,000 feet elevation wasn't enough to satisfy me, decided to go for hidden canyon hike. Starting point is the same as the observation point, instead of going left, go right at the sign and start going up the switch backs. It looks like a lot of switch backs from the top but compared to angels landing, not bad at all. Started this hike without any prior knowledge, I was surprised with lots of chains. I put my hiking poles away and put my gloves on. Trail is wide enough for two people to go by, some parts may be narrow that may require some wait for others to pass by. Once you finish the chain area, you go through some obstacles like small rock climbing or balancing on woods. Hidden canyon was cool, at the end of trail, you will find naturally made arch. It wasn't much to see but walking on canyons was pretty nice. read more

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I would classify this as a "baby" Angel's Landing. I'm not a super athletic or in shape person by any means, so it took me about 2.5 hours, give or take, to do it round trip. The hardest part for me, in terms of endurance, were the initial switchbacks where they just go up and up and up. Then the rest is mostly just convincing yourself that heights really aren't that bad as you use chains to aid your way across. 4 stars because the view at the end of it all was a littttlleee underwhelming, but, as Miley Cyrus says, "it's all about the climb." I've heard that Observation Point (you start on the same trail and then make a choice at some point in which one you want to continue with) was incredibly beautiful, but we unfortunately felt like we didn't have enough time before sundown. read more

Hidden Canyon - View from around 3/4th of the way up! - Hiking Near Me - Virgin, Utah

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Fun fact: This crack was found in 1927 when William Evans attempted to climb the Great White Throne, Zion's most famous landmark, and fell during the climb. While searching for Evans, rescuers discovered the hidden ravine that is now known as Hidden Canyon. Love stuff like this. Amazes me what climbers/hikers were able to do back in days before sophisticated equipment. The trailhead is located at the Weeping Rock parking lot, and shares the first part of the trail with Observation Point, there is a fork in the trail, towards the right for Hidden Canyon. This is a switchbacking, narrow paved trail with drop-offs and a narrow cliff-side trail with chains to use for support (used the chains a lot, as I'm afraid of heights). This trail is only 2.2 miles RT, but once you come to the arch, if you continue passed, there is a couple spots of class 2-3 scrambling and you can go back into a ravine that has permanent snow/ice. There is never sun back in the revine, so even in the middle of the summer, you will find perma-snow. It's a nice natural AC. This was a fun hike, has great views of Cable Mtn, and The Great White Throne. read more

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If you have not done a canyon before, try this one before going on a slut one. This hike is easy and in a short time you will be inside a narrow canyon, that is after you climbed for a bit and went through few chained passages. Please make sure not to attempt this if a thunderstorm is possible, the canyon can become a deadly trap very quickly. This one has its end on a drop, so you don't want to be carried by water. Don't stop at the first hurdle or boulder, just keep going as the scenary will keep changing constantly. I wouldn't bring small children (8 and under?) read more

Hidden Canyon - chain right before entering the hidden canyon - Hiking Near Me - Virgin, Utah

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Oh nice. I didn't know this was listed until I saw Angela T's review. My friends and I explored Hidden Canyon as an add-on to our Observation Point hike a few years ago. We took the fork on the way back down. The hike itself is decent. There are some possibly hair-raising spots where you are on thin ledges. Luckily, there are chains to hold onto. Once you get into the canyon itself, it seemed like a neverending trek as far back as you wanted to go. I'm not sure we hit the "end" of the hike. We just got to a point where we got tired of it and turned around. I wouldn't make a trip to hike this trail specifically, but it was a nice diversion coming back down from Observation Point. read more

The Narrows was closed when we visited due to seriously high water, so Hidden Canyon seemed like the next best choice, and a good way to mix some canyoning with some impressive scenic vistas. The trail starts out fairly easily, but gets seriously vertiginous through about the last third. The worst part was the scramble over several large, slippery boulders to get into the mouth of the canyon (I kept thinking how humiliating it would be to fall into the pool in front of the gaggle of hikers gathered to relax...that this seemed worse than a several thousand foot plunge to certain death probably doesn't say such fantastic things about my character.) We went about a mile back into the canyon, and very much enjoyed it once the whooping frat boys turned around and headed out. I'll hope for lower water at The Narrows for my next visit, but it was still a very worthwhile hike. read more

Strenuous 3 mile round-trip hike. It climbs up really quickly initially so be prepared. Its beautiful and exciting. Some rock scrambling to do as well. The arch at the end of the trail is a bummer, though the canyons you hit before reaching there are nice! Worth a try if you want roundtrip 2-2.5 hr hike! Tip: Let your summer hiking wear not include a jeans ;) read more

Awesome trail, very tricky but rewarding. Lots of scrambling over rocks and boulders - definitely a must try. The actual trail is a path but it will pan out after an hour or so, then comes the fun part. Definitely come here early in the day so you can have enough daylight to explore the canyon. There are wet spots here, so make sure to take note. read more

This was my favorite part of the trip. I hiked one summer for a job when I was in the 8th grade. I'm in college now, and so I would still consider myself a novice or beginning hiker. I would ignore naysayer and just know that if you have strong will power YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. I believe this is the hike that is split with Observation Point. I really like this hike, because... yes it had switchbacks, and yes it had those damn terrifying chains! Some people want to be bad asses and don't use the chains. Ok, it's your life. SERIOUSLY. There are points where you look down and it is like... WOAH.... you are so high up it is terrifying. You can seriously fall off! But you see the mountains you see the sun and you see the trees and even though I was scared sometimes, all I could do is look out and think.... GOD'S BEAUTY... despite everything on my trip I knew this was a once in a life time opportunity, and I am so glad I came to Utah, especially that I did this trail. It got tiring, and I think it is because the trail is very steep and it elevates quickly... I might be wrong but I believe you elevate 800 feet in 1 mile.... that's a lot! When you get to the end, yay! Take a picture with the sign, you made it to the end!!! Keep going, Keep going! There's more ... it really becomes a canyon, darker, and so cool. It felt delicious after that hike! And that;s what I love the most! The end! And staying up there and eating your food and sitting on the ground or a rock or a log or whatever. It feels so great up there... natural AC haha. I didn't want to go back! The funniest thing for me was seeing an African American couple and hearing them say "Well, there goes that theory." I kind of just smirked at that. The best part was that on this switchback park there was a lot of "ice" or "snow" and I freaked out because I had never seen snow before... a lot of fun on this trail. read more

In a lot of ways this hike was almost the equal of Angel's Landing but less difficult. Good alternative if you want some difficult passes (narrow trails in a rock face with chains for stability) and some (almost) equally great views. At the top you can continue past the end of the official trail into a narrow canyon. Requires some scrambling but definitely worth it. Wear layers on this one, it's hot on the way up but much cooler in the shady canyon. read more

Amazing hike. First third -- tough switchbacks, 2nd third -- scary cliff edges using a chain for security, Final third -- Hidden Canyon itself -- totally enclosed, little traffic, lots of obstacles (logs, big boulders), lots of scrambling required -- but beautiful, serene, and amazing. We did this after Observation Point and unfortunately ran out of daylight and could not go all the way to the end point of Hidden Canyon. So I would recommend doing Hidden Canyon first before doing the rest of Observation Point Trail. read more

This was a pretty difficult hike with some scary spots if you don't like heights. However, there are chains and only one side of the trail is an exposed cliff so it's manageable. I just focused on not looking down. Views from the top were nice. Once you get to the sign, continue into the canyon to see the arch. This required some scrambling which was fun. We went around 8am during the week in early May and we passed only one couple on our way up and a few when going back down. According to my Fitbit, we hiked about 3.84 miles from the bottom to the arch and back in about 2 hours. The hike was worth the effort and I would recommend doing it if you have some extra time at the park. read more