Subway (Bottom Up) ♦

August 24, 2017 tarannosaurus

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Utah → Zion National Park → Subway (Bottom Up)

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Kolob Terrace Road, Zion National Park, Utah

Distance: 6.5 miles (roundtrip from the Left Fork Trailhead to the Subway)

Elevation Gain: 1000 feet

Time Required: 5-7 hours

Red Tape/Notes: The park is open 24 hours a day; park passes are $30 per vehicle and are valid for 7 days. Trail requires a permit (even for the bottom up route); visit the Zion Permits website; no shuttle necessary. The trail starts and ends at the Left Fork Trailhead on Kolob Terrace Road, where there is an ample parking area.

What’s Nearby?: Grafton Ghost Town, The Subway (Top Down) Canyon, Right Fork of North Creek (Hammerhead Approach)

This hike is a great option if you didn’t get a permit to do the Subway Top Down or you don’t have the canyoning skills required to do that route – you can still see the most beautiful section of the Subway by doing this non-technical hike. It’s not one of those boring paved-trail hikes either – there’s a lot of rock hopping and fun creek crossings (if you have appropriate water shoes or just don’t care anymore, sometimes walking in the creek is easier and certainly cooler than attempting to scramble around it) and some beautiful scenery to keep you occupied on the way. The hike starts with a steep descent from the parking lot to the bottom of the canyon and North Creek – you’ll ascend this same trail on your return trip so make a mental note of where the trail branches off so you don’t miss it on the way back. After you reach the bottom, you make your way up the stream by whatever means is most expedient (do try and follow the existing use trails for the sake of preserving the canyon). The initial section is rather boring, but the scenery will improve substantially until you reach the Subway itself, which is pretty breathtaking. Hike as far in as you want; I definitely recommend swimming through the potholes back to the waterfall and waterfall room. You may run into people rappelling from above in this section of the canyon – this is the bottom of the last rappel in the Top Down route.