The 30th Anniversary Tour, 9.19.22 - 10.15.22, Part 9 of 12: Zion National Park/Hoodoo City & Petroglyph Canyon

Zion is a big park and there is a lot to see. The vast majority of the people who visit Zion stick to the main canyon of the Virgin River. While this canyon is spectacular and there are many viewing points and trails, there are other sections of Zion National Park that see far fewer people. After our excursion to Angel’s Landing we were ready for some quiet time in one of these lesser traveled areas. Again, acting on information provided by Gary, we took a drive out of the park and headed up a road to the Kolob Terrace section of Zion. The Kolob Terrace Road heads north from just outside the town of Virgin and winds its way into, then out, back in and and finally out again of the park boundary. We followed Gary’s information to an unmarked tiny pullout with room for only two vehicles. Following a trail that you can’t even see from the road and is not marked on any maps, we hiked a short distance along a ridge. Below us was a really cool looking area of slickrock covered in geologic rock mounds. This area is unofficially called Hoodoo City. Dropping down from the ridge into Hoodoo City, we thoroughly enjoyed wandering around. It is not a huge area, but there wasn’t another soul in sight which suited us just fine. From the highest point in Hoodoo City we got a great view further north. Below us we could see the lonesome Hop Valley Trail making its way towards the northernmost section of the park called the Kolob Canyons. We probably spent two and a half hours there just soaking up the sun, relaxing and enjoying the peace and tranquility. It was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the main Zion Canyon area. I was hoping to hang out there until the sun went down but I could tell the others were starting to get a little sunrise/sunset burnout so we left a little earlier than sunset. The drive back down was very nice with some great views of the Zion area from a higher vantage point.

**Looking down on Hoodoo City from the unmarked trail**

**One of the namesake hoodoos (Bridgit pic)**

**View across Hop Valley towards the Kolob Canyons**

**Nice light on a peak in northern Zion**

**Sunset on the peaks above our campground**

Still feeling the pressure of sunrise burnout (although it could have just been in my own mind) I scrapped the plan for the next morning. We were supposed to drive out towards the east end of the park, stopping just beyond the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel to do a one mile round trip sunrise hike to Canyon Overlook. From there we had planned to drive out of the east end of the park and up to the East Mesa Trailhead and hike up to a high point overlooking Zion called Observation Point. The plan changed because I was worried about everyone not wanting to get up so early again and because the Observation Point hike was a bit too long for everyone’s liking. Instead, we made an alternate plan and it worked out just fine for all of us.

We drove up into Zion as far as cars were allowed (which is only to the Canyon Junction Bridge. There we turned east and made our way through the Mount Carmel Tunnel. Once again, using information I got from Gary, we drove a specific distance past the east end of the tunnel and parked. There were a whole lot of cars on the road already so we were glad to find a space to park. We walked back down the road about a hundred yards to a small bridge. At the bridge we dropped down into the wash which had no trail sign and isn’t on the maps. Hiking up the wash, in a very short way we found a side trail that took us to a long panel of petroglyphs on the wall of the canyon.

Back in the wash we continued hiking. Only a bit further at a pour-off we found a steep rudimentary trail that climbed up out of the wash and onto a plateau of slickrock. There were several pools of water but none that I found that provided good reflection opportunities. The plateau was basically a dead-end basin at the head of the canyon. We spread out and wandered higher up into the basin. Bridgit, Gina and I stayed high above the wash and stumbled upon a short but very nice slot canyon. It was totally hidden from view until you were right at the entrance. We hiked up until a pile of rocks impeded further progress. Mike and Sandy came up as well to check it out.

So far we had seen no one up in this basin right in the heart of Zion. I was getting the impression that although many spots and trails in Zion can be packed with people, there are ample opportunities to get off the beaten path and have a hike all to yourself. We did run into a party of three coming up into the basin as we were getting ready to leave and they were kind enough to take our picture before we parted ways.

**The most common animal we saw on our trip**

We ended up driving out as far as the pull off for Checkerboard Mesa before turning around to go back. We parked along the road just before getting to the Mount Carmel Tunnel. While Bridgit and Gina waited, Mike, Sandy and I hiked a half mile to the Canyon Overlook. There were tons of people on the hike but we didn’t mind. The view was actually down a side canyon of the Virgin River down Pine Creek. Checking my compass, I was rueing that I didn’t come for sunrise. The view down the canyon runs exactly east/west so I think the sunrise light would be primo at Canyon Overlook. We’ll just have to do that on our next visit. That evening we had another stellar sunset on the Watchman above our camp site.

We had one last day in Zion. To read about it, move on to Part 10.

The 30th Anniversary Tour, 9.19.22 - 10.15.22, Part 9 of 12: Zion National Park/Hoodoo City & Petroglyph Canyon

The 30th Anniversary Tour, 9.19.22 - 10.15.22, Part 8 of 12: Zion National Park/Angel’s Landing

The 30th Anniversary Tour, 9.19.22 - 10.15.22, Part 10 of 12: Zion National Park/The Zion Narrows