skirt the edge of a grassy opening beneath Goose Creek Knoll and soon reach Trailhead 17 (1.4; 22.9) where Trips 19 and 20 begin. A locked gate here blocks the road eastbound to MIA Camp. Parking is available at the trailhead for about seven vehicles.
Hikers bound for Trip 21 and Kolob Reservoir should stay left at the Lava Point Road junction, shortly passing the turnoff to Kolob Mountain Ranch and Lodge (0.3; 20.9) above Blue Springs Reservoir, and thereafter passing numerous summer homes. The dirt road leads through bucolic meadows dotted with grazing cattle during summer and early fall.
Upon reaching large Kolob Reservoir (spillway 8188’), avoid the left fork branching toward the dam. Instead we follow the main road as it twists and turns above the east shore of the popular reservoir. At the north end of the reservoir, we reach a signed junction (4.5; 25.4) with our trailhead access road (left), from where the primary graded road continues north, leading to Cedar City in 27 miles.
Turning left, our narrow road follows the north shoreline closely, shortly curving northwest along the Indian Hollow arm of the reservoir. At the upper end of this arm, ignore a left fork that follows around the opposite shoreline, and quickly reach a sign (1.0; 26.4): TO LA VERKIN CREEK IN ZION NATIONAL PARK. Turn right here and park off the road in the aspen grove, just below the gate. Trip 21 begins here at Trailhead 18.
Kolob Canyons Road, Trips 22 and 23
This is another supremely scenic drive bypassed by most Park visitors. The road is paved, has a steady grade and many turns, and offers exceptional views into the Finger Canyons of the Kolob, an area that many would argue is the finest scenery in the Park, if not some of the most incredible scenery on the globe. Everyone traveling this road must first stop in the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center and pay the Park entrance fee. There you can obtain a copy of the Kolob Canyons brochure. In addition to providing ample information on the natural history of the area, the brochure is also a road guide, keyed to numbered stops along the way.
(0.0) The Kolob Canyons Road leaves Interstate 15 at exit 40, 19 miles south of Cedar City and 33 miles north of St. George. The Kolob Canyons Visitor Center (0.3) offers books and maps for sale, backcountry information, and backcountry permits.
Beyond the Visitor Center, the road quickly bends north while climbing the wooded slope of the Hurricane Cliffs, which form the western margin of the Markagunt Plateau. A gate here may be closed periodically between late fall and early spring if rockfall or snowpack blocks the road ahead.
As we head north toward Taylor Creek canyon, we briefly enjoy expansive views across a broad valley to the bulky Pine Valley Mountains. Here on the face of the Hurricane Cliffs we are entering the Colorado Plateau Province, while our views both west and northwest stretch into the Basin and Range Province, which encompasses much of western Utah.
The road ahead curves east into Taylor Creek canyon, and climbs eastward south of the creek.
(2.0; 2.3) Trip 22 begins on the left (north) side of the road, indicated by a TAYLOR CREEK TRAIL sign, where a spacious turnout offers ample parking at Trailhead 19. The road ahead winds upward through the pinyon-juniper-oak woodland, soon curving east into Taylor Creek’s South Fork. A spacious turnout (1.3; 3.6) on the right shoulder of our road is encountered just before we curve across the South Fork. It offers parking for picture taking or for a rewarding jaunt up that canyon, via a faint but traceable pathway.
Beyond the South Fork our road curves west and climbs north-facing slopes below Beatty Point, reaching the Taylor Creek-Timber Creek divide at signed Lee Pass, 6080’ (0.5; 4.1). From the pass the Finger Canyons of Timber Creek suddenly explode upon the scene, but they can be enjoyed to better advantage from the roadend ahead. The Trailhead 20 parking area for Trip 23 lies 100 yards south of Lee Pass of the left (east) side of the road. The road continues southwest 1.4 miles to the roadend, where there is a picnic area and dramatic views into the Finger Canyons.
Trip 1
Chinle Trail to Coalpits Wash
Distance: 16.4 miles, round trip
Low/High elevations: 3800’/4450’
Suited for: Dayhike or backpack
Difficulty: Moderate
Best season: Mid-September through March
Map/Trailhead: 1/1
Hazards: No water is available between the trailhead and Coalpits Wash, at the trail’s end; no shade.
Introduction: This is Zion’s longest low-elevation trail. Seldom trod during the summer, it becomes an attractive excursion during the cool months from fall through spring. The grade is gentle as the trail traverses broad benches clothed in woodlands of pinyon and juniper, with an exciting backdrop of soaring, brilliantly hued cliffs. Campsites are abundant beyond the powerlines near the Park boundary, and there is ample room for off-trail exploration. Be aware that camping is not allowed along the trail within 0.5 mile of the Park boundary, or in the area surrounding the spring in upper Coalpits Wash at the trail’s end (see Zion’s Backcountry Trip Planner).
A scattering of petrified wood offers a glimpse into the distant past, when ancient streams carried driftwood from far-away highlands, depositing them on a sloping coastal plain.
Description: Our trek begins at the spacious hiker’s trailhead parking area, behind the information signboard (0.0; 3800), and from there we ascend steeply alongside the paved road, then briefly descend to cross the pavement. The trail ahead traverses northwestward across open slopes studded with blocks of Shinarump conglomerate, the basal unit of the Chinle Formation. We traverse below broad Rockville Bench, its gentle contours contrasting with the brightly colored cliffs of Mt. Kinesava, soaring more than 3000 feet above in a lateral distance of less than 2 miles. Upon the flanks of that giant crag four prominent sedimentary rock layers are exposed to full view, representing a 50-million-year span of geologic history.
At length we gain the gentle surface of Rockville Bench, and ascend gradually to the Park boundary (1.0; 4025). The trail ahead ascends gently, and soon we pass beneath a power transmission line (0.5; 4100) serving the town of Springdale, beyond which we enjoy expanding vistas, presently including volcanic Crater Hill, and the hogback crest of distant Pine Valley Mountains, both to the northwest. Branching right onto an old 4WD track at a trail sign (0.2; 4100), we climb easily around the shoulder of a ridge (0.8; 4220), then curve north, traversing wooded slopes above the shallow gorge of Huber Wash. Our eyes can follow the Shinarump rimrock of the extensive bench as it contours around the flanks of Huber Wash. The finest display of petrified wood in the Park lies ahead, scattered over the bench beyond Huber Wash. Fluted red cliffs bounding Mt. Kinesava rise boldly above to the northeast, while to the northwest, foregrounded by the broad wooded bench, more barrier cliffs soar skyward to the rim of Cougar Mountain.
Soon we cross two dry forks of Huber Wash (0.6; 4160). Vegetation here is typical of the pinyon-juniper woodland, including prickly pear and cholla (the latter more common in the Lower Sonoran Zone, which dominates the southwest of the Park), squawbush, blackbrush, broom snakeweed, big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, cliffrose, and buffaloberry. After climbing moderately out of the wash, the trail crosses another small wash (0.5; 4240), where shrub live oak joins the woodland.
The grade slackens as we trace a northwestward course across the bench, and soon fragments of petrified wood begin to appear alongside the trail. Look for multihued rock fragments that seem out of place among the tan rocks of the Chinle Formation. Some pieces of the petrified wood are large enough that we can actually count growth rings, and in places entire tree trunks have been exposed by erosion. Although broken into sections, they lie where stream sediments buried
