“Only An Angel Could Land On It”

Upon seeing the imposing giant of a rock while exploring Zion Canyon in 1916, Frederick Fisher exclaimed, "Only an angel could land on it." After seeing the summit from Scout’s Lookout, I agree, but I decided to press on and make it to the summit.

For those not afraid of heights or not having small children, Angel’s Landing is both the premier hike of Zion National Park and of the whole National Park System. This four-hour round-trip hike starts at the Grotto shuttle stop. From the shuttle stop, cross the road and the footbridge over the Virgin River. Midway across the footbridge, look to your right at the formidable rock rising 1500 feet into the air. You can’t miss it. The top of this rock is your destination. From the footbridge viewpoint, reaching the top looks like an impossible task and only one an angel would attempt. At the tee in the trail turn right.

The trail starts out as soft sand, but quickly turns into a paved trail. As you start your ascent, the trail takes you up a series of switchbacks. At about the one-mile mark you cross a footbridge into Refrigerator Canyon. With Angel’s Landing on the right and Cathederal Mountain on left, hikers get a reprieve from the otherwise constant upgrade as the path levels out and the temperature drops 10 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

After leaving Refrigerator Canyon, hikers start up the twenty-one short switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles and at the two-mile mark, exit onto a flat sandy area called Scout’s Lookout. For those unable to overcome their fear of height or those with small children, this is their final destination. On the right, the view of Zion Canyon is spectacular. Straight ahead is another equally spectacular, but daunting view – the summit of Angel’s Landing.

After leaving Scout’s Lookout, the trail becomes more demanding. In places, the trail is a mere thirty inches wide with drop-offs on one side of 1200 feet and 800 feet on the other. While most of the dangerous places have chains to hold on to on one side of the trail, there are other equally dangerous places that do not. This trail is not for the faint-hearted as tripping or losing one’s balance could result (and has) in serious injury or death. This last half-mile is physically demanding as it involves pulling oneself up and over boulders, angled rocks and narrow ledges, but it is also mentally demanding working on one’s mind.

After negotiating the l/2 mile hike from Scout’s Lookout, you finally exit on top of the landing with the final portion hiking along the top of a slanted spine ending at the flat point of the landing. From the top at 5,275 feet, you see the Lower Zion Canyon, the Organ and the Virgin River winding around its base and you are eye-level with the Great White Throne, Observation Point and Cable Mountain.

While going up to Angel’s Landing gets your heart pumping from the constant and relentless upgrade, coming down for me was more physically demanding as I had to constantly hold myself back while hiking down which worked my knees, hips and thighs almost to the point of exhaustion.

If you are a hiker, this is a must-do hike. Once back down on the canyon valley floor, stop in at the Zion Lodge’s Gift Shop and reward yourself with a “I hiked Angel’s Landing” t-shirt. You earned it!