▲ 33 r/ZionNationalPark
The Narrows Overnight Trip Report 5/9/26-5/10/26
Main Gear:
- Non-waterproof trail runners (New Balance Fresh Foam x Herrio)
- Neoprene Socks (Orvis 0.5mm Wading Sock)
- 55l Backpack (Durston Kakwa)
- Hiking Poles (REI Traverse)
- 20F Down Sleeping Bag (TNF Trail Lite)
- Sleeping Pad (Nemo Tensor All-Season)
- Trekking Pole Tent (Cheap one from amazon)
- Dry bags for sleeping bag, clothes, miscellaneous items. Wrapped my sleeping bag and clothes in an additional trash bag.
- 4l of water. This turned out to be a good amount, could maybe get by with 3l.
Temp:
- 5/9 Arrival to trailhead - 68F
- 5/9 High - 82F / 90F in the sun
- 5/9-5/10 Overnight Low - 55F
- 5/10 High 92F
- It looks like the temp was around 93F in Springdale on 5/9, so similar temps.
- I was surprised how much sun we actually got. Probably 3+ hours.
Campsites:
- Site 1 - Extremely small. The worst one we saw
- Site 2/3 - Missed
- Site 4 - Also small, a little more room than 1.
- Site 5 - Pretty Big, mostly shaded. Decent spot.
- Site 6/7/8 - Missed
- Site 9 - Pretty Big. Tucked against the rocks. Good spot.
- Site 10/11 - Missed
- Site 12 - Big. Probably the best spot we saw.
Bugs:
- Certain spots along the hike with a ton of black biting flies. They swarmed us at site 9 until dark and then mosquitos came out for a bit around dusk and again in the morning. We did not bring bug spray and wish we would've.
Trip:
Day 1
- Arrived Friday 5/8 at the Visitor's Center to pick up the permit. Completely packed, zero parking. The ranger said there would be 5-6 swims between the first narrows and waterfall. Recommended a dry suit. We went right to Zion Adventures to ask their opinion on gear and they said it was right between needing a dry suit or just neoprene socks.
- Took the 6:15am shuttle through Zion Adventures to Chamberlain's Ranch Trailhead.
- Saw a few bighorn sheep on the drive up.
- Arrived at the trailhead at 7:30.
- Hike for about 3mi along the dirt path. There's a stream crossing immediately starting the hike.
- Hiked for a total of 12mi/6.5hr to Site 9. Not as strenuous as I was expecting. We were planning for potentially a 10hr day so we had a lot of time to kill after arriving to the site at 2:30pm, should have packed some cards. Zero swims, nothing got above our knees. A little confused why the ranger would have such different info. There were spots were you could swim along most of the hike but nothing where you had to on the first day. Also EXTREMELY glad we did not wear anything other than shorts and neoprene socks. Even got warm at times and preferred walking in the water to cool down. Only saw 5 other people, all staying overnight.
- Slept amazing. Was pretty warm until early morning and never got cold.
Day 2
- Hiked for a total of 8.1mi back to the park shuttle. Two areas where it was chest/shoulder deep but a short ways across. Lost my footing on the first crossing but could have probably stayed on my feet if I was careful (6ft tall). Saw 2 deer grazing and cross the water early on which was awesome. Didn’t see many day hikers until the last 3mi or so, but there were a ton then.
- The park shuttle back to the Visitor’s Center wasn’t too busy, but it’s a lot of stops on the way back.
- Decided to walk back to Zion Adventures since the Springdale shuttle had a big line and it was an easy walk.
Takeaways:
- Amazing experience, should be a bucket list item for all backpackers. Sleeping and spending time in the narrows with not many people around is magical.
- Deciding on gear, especially clothing, can be difficult. Ask around and read as many reviews as possible to determine temps and water depth, I would err on the side of being warm.
- Bring bug spray, or at least long clothing for the biting flies.
u/Joseph_LeShmeegle — 1 day ago
