I had never heard of The Narrows hike until a few days before we left for Vegas. After reading about it I knew that it was something I would LOVE to do. It is rated one of the best hikes to do in National Parks all over the USA!
We left the hotel around 6am only stopping once to get breakfast (at dunkin donuts, perfect for a hike, right?).). It was about a 3 hour drive to where we were going to rent all the equipment we needed. The Narrows is basically a hike up the Virgin River. You are deep down in the canyon following the river that takes up most of the canyon floor which means you are wading through the river. There are parts where you can walk on the river bank but for most of it you are in the river where it can be anywhere from ankle deep to shoulder deep!
When we arrived at the rental place we had to watch a quick safety video (so we knew to watch out for flash flooding!) and then we picked up our rental gear. This included a large stick, special hiking boots, wet suit socks as well as food and a backpack.
We set off to the entrance of Mt Zion National park and from there we had to take a 45 minute bus ride to the start of The Narrows. The first mile or so is a hike along a paved path. At the end of that you meet the river and have to head on in!
The water was not as cold as I thought it would be and some of the areas are harder to walk on than others because you are walking across large slippery stones/rocks in the water. The walking stick definitely came in handy and helped me balance.
About another mile of so in you reach what is called Wall Street. This is where the canyon walls narrow even more and you have to be careful of flash flooding because there is very little to no banks! The crowds start to thin out the further up you get which is nice.
We reached the Orderville junction and took a short break. At this point you can decide which way you want to go. You can continue up the Narrows or turn and hike up Orderville Canyon. We kept going up the Narrows. We reached the floating rock and then went about another 20 minutes before turning back. I would guess we had a little less than a mile until we reached Big Springs. Big Springs is where hikers must turn. I would like to go back one day and hike the top down which requires a permit as well as camping. It would also be fun to be able to explore Orderville Canyon. I have read that Orderville canyon requires a little more climbing, scrambling and wading! Sounds like fun to me!
The hike back was quicker than it was up. We were all glad to finally reach the bus and head back to the car where we had the 3 hour car journey to look forward to.
That night we had dinner at another favourite spot: Battista’s Hole in the wall. After dinner we were all so tired that we went straight back to our rooms and fell asleep making sure to NOT set an alarm clock!
Lots of Love,
Buffy x
