East Zion trails

We enjoyed three hikes in East Zion today … Pine Creek Falls, Pine Arch, and the Many Pools trails. These are three relatively easy, short trails accessed from Zion-Mount Carmel Highway — which is the road into the park from the east, and which passes through two tunnels carved into the steep side of the mountain.

Pine Creek Falls — like many trails in Zion, its unmarked, has no trailhead sign, and no more than a road-side pull-off for parking. But the two-tier waterfall that tumbles into a shallow pool at the end of the trail makes it a worthy destination.

Pine Arch — with just some moderate scrambling over slickrock near the end, this trail leads up to a freestanding rock arch. It was originally called Two Pines Arch, but one of the trees has fallen.

Many Pools —this trail up thru a slickrock canyon was our favorite. We had lunch at the top, looking back down thru the heart of the canyon where dozens of small, linked pools were filled with the remains of spring runoff. Tadpoles darted about in one of the pools!

On the way out, we snuck thru a drainage tunnel under the roadway, just to see where it led!