Hiking the Zion Narrows Photo © Dave Noland

Hold off on sharpening your ski edges for another month and head to southwestern Utah to play the snow-free slots of Zion National Park. This spectacular 147,000-acre park is a study in the remarkable sculpting forces of nature and time, with colorful, sedimentary rock, steep-sided sandstone cliffs, and intricate, river-carved canyons. With summer's heat and sudden storms having receded, late fall is the time to get out and explore Zion's backcountry.

The park's premier slot hike is the 12.5-mile trip up the Narrows, a challenging and strenuous route that traces a 2,000-foot-deep, 16-mile canyon carved by the Virgin River. This is no simple trail-based walk in the park: over half your time will be spent wading or swimming the river, the exertion of which can easily make 12 miles seem like 24. In November, while the river might be running a little lower, you will need to carry wet or dry suits, and be prepared with equipment and clothing to ward off the possible effects of hypothermia. Daytime temps usually hover between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but you'll be in and out of wet clothes all day long, and nighttime temps will get quite chilly. Note, too, that canyoneering is a hazardous and potentially ecologically damaging undertaking, so you should always follow park procedures, check for flash-flood warnings, be prepared with escape routes, and carry all the recommended equipment. (See the Away Network's Guide to Canyoneering and check with the American Canyoneering Association for more advice.)

Zion abounds with other hiking opportunities. Angel's Landing is a superlative five-mile round-trip hike that zigzags 1,700 vertical feet from the bottom of Zion Canyon to a beautiful summit overlooking the majestic Zion landscape. Wesley Voshell, an engineer who recently hiked the trail, says, "None of the trails at the other national parks come close in terms of sheer acrophobic heebie-jeebies. It's not really strenuous, and not really technical, just really scary." Observation Point is another highly rated day hike, an eight-mile trip that follows a less precarious and wider trail up and out of Echo Canyon. Beyond that, there are a number of excellent backcountry trails that will take you into a marvelous world of rocky, awesome solitude. Camping is permitted at designated areas along the trails, as well as at larger campgrounds near the park's main entrances. Check with the park for permits and reservations (435-772-3256, www.nps.gov/zion).

RELATED GORP LINKS
Zion National Park Guide
Hidden Gems of Zion
GORP National Parks