Our trip to Colorado was a roller coaster ride of a week and near the end it really hit a climax with our time in Zion National Park. I have been to Zion a couple of times before, but somehow I missed the amazing hike that is Angels Landing. I should caution people upfront though, if you are at all scared of heights the last part of this hike will not be for you. However, those with a heart for adventure and amazing views should certainly give it a try, it’s amazing.
The hike in and of itself does not cover a lot of mileage (5 miles round trip) but it does cover some elevation, 1500 ft in elevation gain. It starts out from The Grotto not far from were the bus stops, and then quickly gets down to business with some intense switchbacks. Once the switchbacks are conquered, you work your way through a nice sheltered canyon, then some more switchbacks before getting to Scouts Outlook. There are some good views from Scouts Outlooks and it seemed like most people stopped here. By far the most amazing part of this stop was looking over the edge and seeing several huge condors circle below, these birds are huge and during my short stop they continued to fly around below Scouts Outlook, it was a sight to behold.
Once at Scouts Outlook there are a few choices: hang out and enjoy the views, head back down, or the selection we made, head out to Angels Landing. This is however were the hike gets pretty intense, from this point on the trail continues over a rocky path, some of it cut out of the sandstone. There are portions where on one side there is a 1200′ drop and on the other side an 800′ drop, all the while you are holding onto a chain for stability. Much of this portion of the trail features steep inclines or declines with a chain and posts for stability, but not much else to hold onto. If I were to try to describe it, it would be somewhere around bouldering. There are no ropes or safety equipment, it’s mostly short climbs, but man if it isn’t intense holding onto that chain or scrambling up the sandstone with sheer drops on both sides. There was a point when I turned and remarked to Josh that I was really surprised that they actually let people hike this. This was by far the most intense hike we have ever done and I expect to probably ever do.
Getting to Angels Landing was quite the accomplishment, the 360 views of Zion were truly breathtaking. There were far more people than I thought there would be at the top and as people rotated out sitting on the very precipice of Angels Landing, taking their pictures and enjoying the views, we enjoyed a nice snack and break near the top until we could take out turn. The views of the valley and huge canyon walls all around were quite a sight. All of the colors and shapes just continue to draw your attention. Everyone seemed excited to be at the top and we took our time to enjoy it and take pictures of others as they did the same.
Josh, I started our decent and caught back up with the rest of our party who stayed at Scouts Outlook. And yes, it was just as intense getting down as it was up, waiting for people to pass or be passed was probably the worst but we made it off and everyone headed back down. It was a great hike, we were glad to have done it and hope to do it again.
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I enjoyed reading your story and looking at your photos of your Angles Landing hike. I did this hike in May and absolutely loved it. I checked out your write up on hiking up the Narrows. I really wanted to do that also but it was flowing t0o fast and high in May. Guess I’ll have to plan another trip there in September of one year down the road!
Hey thanks for the reply! Yea both amazing hikes! We are talking about maybe a trip in a year or two and doing the narrows from the top down in two days, its supposed to be amazing.