Canyon Overlook Trail
The Canyon Overlook Trail offers stunning panoramic views of Zion Canyon and is a popular option for visitors looking to experience the park's beauty.
We were fortunate to have old (and new!) friends visiting us recently, and got to enjoy this moderate trail with them. It’s located on the east side of Zion National Park, just outside the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, where parking is limited so go early.
Here’s the overlook, as seen from one of the hairpin turns below in Pine Creek Canyon …
The trailhead is just yards from the east entrance to the tunnel, and the trail climbs quickly up and away from the road …
There are plenty of steep drop-offs as the trail hugs the rock walls of a small canyon …
A 40-foot span of catwalk (also known to Adirondack hikers as “Hitch-up, Matildas”) takes us around one vertical rock wall section …
… where the trail then passes under a massive and impressive rock overhang …
Stunning views abound from the overlook! Here you can see the six hairpin turns in the road as it climbs from the canyon floor up to the west entrance of the tunnel. It’s especially beautiful when hiked in the morning hours, so that the sun is behind you and fully illuminating the Zion Canyon walls to the west. …
West Temple looms behind us. (We’re not really that close to the edge, haha) …
A white sandstone mesa to the north is dotted with pines. And our family may recognize this as the viewpoint on the infamous Overlook Overlook Trail …
These are the other prominent features of the lower Zion Canyon’s west wall. This is the obviously-named Alter of Sacrifice …
… and The Streaked Wall …
… and The Sentinel …
The happy hiking party …
