Narrows Top Down Trip Report 5/5/26
For a long time I saw pictures of the Narrows and thought meh it doesn’t look that cool and I don’t want to do it. After researching the option to do it Top Down I decided to do it after scoring a daily lottery permit. For anyone considering this hike, DO IT!! It is amazing and breathtaking!!!! As someone who travels and hikes a lot this might be the coolest hike I’ve ever done.
Completed 5/5/26. Took the Red Rocks shuttle at 6:00 am and started at 7:30. Didn’t see anyone else on the trail until Big Springs. Was really nervous about timing because the last shuttle to the visitor center was at 7:15 pm. I do a lot of hiking but consider myself average in terms of speed and had never done a river hike like this. Ultimately finished around 9.5 hours taking very limited breaks. For the first half of the hike until Big Springs I was only measuring about 45 minutes ahead of the time table the National spark gives you and I had to finish 35 minutes ahead to make last shuttle. They must allot more time for people going down the main part of the Narrows because that’s when I started measuring 1-2 hours ahead of the time table. It was amazing to experience the first half of the Narrows in solitude!
When I picked up my wilderness permit the ranger said there would be 3 full swims and recommended a dry suit. I didn’t see any areas where you had to swim, seemed there’d be a trail on land to bypass it. That being said I rented a dry suit, canyoneering boots, neoprene socks, and a dry bag backpack. Once I trusted the dry suit would keep me dry, it was SO much fun to float the rapids/swim in some areas. Especially once I started seeing people doing the bottom up that stared at me like I was crazy when I just plunged into the deep water haha Under my dry suit I wore biker shorts, a long sleeve sun shirt. Packed a fleece, down jacket and pants just in case (I tend to pack with the thought of what would I need if I got stuck out here for a night). Beginning of the hike was chilly and I almost stopped to put my fleece on but it started to warm up later in the morning.
Brought 3L of water with me but honestly only drank 1L.
Definitely a must do hike and very doable as a long day hike! Great way to avoid the crowds starting at the bottom.