The Best Zion National Park Hidden Gem

Located right off the 15 freeway is the most underrated cornes of Zion National Park.

Nominated and selected to be the ‘second Zion National Park Monument’ is Kolob Canyon, a vast ravine on the side of the national park, which can be easily driven through or hiked around.

Getting There:

The National Park entrance is extremely easy to get to and very accessible, just take exit 30 off of the 15 freeway and follow the sign into the visitors center. This side of the park is just 40 miles north of Zion Canyon and 17 miles south of Cedar City. Inside the visitors center, you can either purchase a day pass or, if you have the America the Beautiful pass, you can use that to enter.

View Visitors Center Times HERE

This stretch of Zion is extremely accessible by car and has multiple viewpoints and hikes along the scenic 5-mile stretch of road that weaves through the red stone canyons. Sometimes the road is closed during the winter due to ice, snow, or construction.

You can see if the road is accessible HERE

Something to Remember: There is no road connecting Kolob Canyons to the main Zion Canyon within Zion National Park; this is a truly secluded second monument.

What to see:

The Scenic 5-mile stretch is an absolute must-see, but these are my favorite spots we pulled off to see the entire canyon.

The first pull off you see is with a parking lot, right by Taylor Creek. There are bathrooms, and it’s a great spot to walk around before turning the corner and entering the canyon.

Once you enter the canyon, you can hike the most popular trail, the Taylor Creek trail, which is a 2.2 easy hike into the “Kolob fingers”. This hike has many sights, including the Double Arch Alcove, a Navajo Sandstone Formation, a few historic cabins, and the smaller ‘almost slot canyons.’

A quick, more advanced hike is the Timber Creek Overlook.

This 1.1-mile overlook trail follows the rocky canyon up to a reward with a view. Featuring Shuntavi Butte, Timber Creek, Kolob Terrace, and the Pine Valley Mountains. This viewpoint looks south, you may even see Mount Trumbull, 100 miles away at the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

For the more Advanced hikers and backpackers, the Kolob Arch is the more famous sight. Stretching 287 feet across a ravine, making it one of the longest arches in the world. However, it remains a bit more difficult to access with an 8-mile in and 8-mile out hike. This can be done in a day, but you are also able to reserve backcountry permits for backpacking.

Finally, the best and easiest viewpoint of all is the Kolob Canyon Viewpoint.

Which is pretty self-explanatory, it is the highest and most easily accessible viewpoint in the park, located at the end of the 5-mile scenic trail.

All in all, this more secluded part of the National Park is incredible for escaping the crowds and soaking in the auburn canyons.

I’ll See you