Observation Point via East Mesa Trail

Earlier this week we headed out “east” to hike to Observation Point via the East Mesa Trail for unparalleled views down into Zion Canyon. That means we drove out of the park via the Mt Carmel Tunnel, past the east entrance to the park, then turned north and drove past the private Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort to the trailhead. We covered the 7.2 mile out and back trail in just under 3 hours, with a nice lunch stop at Observation Point itself.

The trail meanders gently up a ridge, dotted with wildflowers, and through stands of Ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) …

Along the way are views down into the canyons to the north and south …

At about the 2.5 mile mark, the trail descends steeply onto a sandy mesa, before sloping up to Observation Point …

The views from Observation Point are spectacular …

Most of Zion National Park is you looking up at the rocks; these views are you looking down into Zion Canyon. The Great White Throne is the peak on the left side of the canyon …

… and on the right are Angels Landing and The Spearhead behind it …

To the north are views down into the canyon where the popular Narrows hike begins …

Just before we returned to the trailhead and our truck, it started to rain. That turned the 2 mile muddy road back to pavement at the Ponderosa Ranch Resort into a slick-as-ice, icky-sticky-clay, rutted mess. We made it out ok, but were sliding sideways more often than I liked. I wouldn’t recommend driving to this trailhead in a sedan, and would have preferred a 4x4 Jeep with all-terrain tires in this mud …

Still a fantastic hike with amazing views! For comparison, here’s what we wrote about this hike from our 2022 visit.