Latest:	10 Jun 2024 (1 yr, 12 mos ago)

Reported by:	Canyon.406 (52 reports)
Location:	Imlay Canyon (Sneak Route)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Deep pools
Wetsuit:	Full wetsuit
Water temperature:	60 F
Difficulty:	Special challenges
Time:	14 hours

Team: 5 people with experience level Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Was a good time. Took our sweet time with great breaks. Last section of narrows was entertaining. Didn't try to kill me. Will do again.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
31 May 2026	Amazing		Full wetsuit		13 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	RFontaine (374 reports)
Comment: We descended Full Imlay, from Lava Point. Posting here for convenience. 1.5hr from Lava TH to Potato Hollow. Caution, the rap down to the big rappel’s rebelay has multiple huge loose flakes that are easily dislodged and can fall directly on the hanging station below. We dislodged a few of these. This rappel sequence should ideally be relocated to a different section of wall for safety… Upper section has some pools knee to swim, spread out along the route, lots of sun between pools. We waited to suit up at the crossroads to Lower. Some of the swims in the lower section of Upper were quite cold without a suit on, however. Sun made them bareable. It took us 6.5hrs to reach the crossroads from Lava 5/4 wetsuit was comfortable for me once reaching Lower Imlay. Not too hot and warm in the water. Keepers are very low, many requiring multiple hook placements. Lots of logs moved around opening up holes in places and even a new keeper pothole, about 6ft deep. No potshots needed ever, only hooks and bag tosses. The guided rappel keeper is entirely dry at this point, for reference. We brought materials to build and replace anchors as usual, however I was not expecting most every anchor to be in such poor condition with so many other groups recently running this canyon. Webbing on 75% of the anchors were very abraded many with cuts on their edges. Some I was very surprised to know others had rappelled on them and it’s clear people are not properly inspecting them. We replaced as many as we could but there are still quite a few more that are in bad shape. Additionally, whoever tied an overhand knot on the one new piece of webbing placed on a log needs to learn what a water knot is… Overhands can easily roll and come apart under load. (Fixed) All that aside this canyon is always beautiful and fun! Cant wait to get back through!! 13.5hrs total
23 May 2026	Amazing	Deep pools	Thick wetsuit	Special challenges	13 hours	6 people Advanced	Johnbcaves (168 reports)
Comment: On trail at 5:30am. Had to hook out of ~3 potholes, otherwise work hard or partner assist another 2-3. Used 2 guided rappels to keep the team warmer. Water is cold. One drysuit (did most of the hooking) and 5 in thick wetsuits. Awesome trip.
21 May 2026	Amazing	Deep pools	Thick wetsuit	Special challenges	13 hours	6 people Intermediate to Expert	BWylie (27 reports),Ameister (48 reports)
Comment: A couple potholes several ft below the rim requiring hooks/potshots/beached whaling to escape currently. Hot in the beginning, would recommend waiting to put on wetsuit for a bit right now. Very cold and windy (probably colder than Heaps?) in the final section before the narrows rappel. Group all in 5/4/3, 7mm full, and stacked 4/3+3/2 (+2) wetsuits, one cold in full 7mm with base layers and most cold in the final section. We set a guided rap at the pothole with the log and had an awesome day with most of the group new to Imlay, great fun.
19 May 2026	Amazing	Deep pools	Thick wetsuit	Special challenges	15 hours	6 people Intermediate to Expert	BryceM777 (32 reports)
Comment: Started from the angels landing trail at 520 am. Took us about 5 hours for the approach, 8 hours in canyon and about 2 hours for the exit. Imlay does have some special challenges. We hooked out of about 3 or 4 potholes and used potshots on 2 or 3. For the person hooking out of the potholes, I would recommend that person to have the thick neoprene. I was very happy in canyon with 3/2 over a 4/3 and an extra 2 mil vest for 9mm total in the chest. Some of our group members were starting to get cold in just a 5/4. During my trip, there were no logs in the trash compactor and surprisingly didn’t see very much log soup until one spot towards the end. The V trough however was stacked with logs that required some climbing up and a somewhat tricky start to go down. Overall, this is certainly my new favorite canyon in Zion. Absolutely gorgeous!
26 Oct 2025	Amazing	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Advanced	10 hours	5 people Intermediate to Expert	Mountainmansam (33 reports)
Comment: Imlay was absolutely spectacular, featuring deep narrows, cavern-like formations, over 20 short rappels, and a dramatic 120-foot rappel into The Narrows. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the canyon, which quickly became one of my favorites. Imlay was in easy mode, and the potholes were full after the recent rainfall. We found the existing anchors in good shape and had no trouble descending the canyon. Our group wore 5/4 wetsuits and stayed comfortable overall. We carried a 150-foot rope and three 100-foot ropes to easily navigate the numerous rappels. Our time with a group of five was 10.5 hours—about 5 hours on approach (5 hours hiking, 6 miles, and elevation gain of 2,072 feet), 3 hours in the canyon, and 2.5 hours hiking down The Narrows.
13 Sep 2025	Great	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Normal	14 hours	4 people Intermediate	Celes (45 reports)
Comment: First time doing Imlay for all of us. We took our time did all raps together took lots of videos and pictures. The most "keeper" of potholes were only a foot below lip, since it had rained over a week ago. A couple of the guys were good climbers so no escape tools needed. No issues to report. The guys wore 5mm and were all fine. I went overkill with 2 layers of micro fleece plus thermal under my drysuit. Could have gone with just 1 layer and still be fine.
23 Aug 2025	Amazing		Thin wetsuit		12 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	RFontaine (374 reports)
Comment: Another awesome run of Imlay! Truly some of the best that Zion has to offer! Keeper potholes are about as low as they get! Makes for super fun escapes! Most pools less than waist deep. 4/3 wetsuit - (wait as long as you can before putting it on, water not cold early on) 4hr approach 6.5hr canyon 1.5hr exit The Narrows is not cold, glad we took wetsuits off before last rap! Enjoyed the day at a leisurely pace!
15 Jun 2025	Great	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Advanced	15 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Mchlprk11100 (16 reports)
Comment: Water levels were low to medium. Definitely in keeper mode. The 3 major pothole problems added just the right amount of spice to an already incredible route. 1st pothole was very low and utilizing a guided rappel helped us get through fast. 2nd pothole was a swimmer. 3rd pothole we were able to stand. The smaller potholes at the 3rd to last rappel were bypassed utilizing a guided rappel as well for everyone but the first one down.
30 May 2025	Amazing		Full wetsuit		11 hours	4 people Advanced	RFontaine (374 reports)
Comment: Once again, such a fun and beautiful canyon, one of my top favs! Rappelled into the last part of upper Imlay, my new favorite way to get into this canyon. Water level dropping a bit, needed hooks once or twice, definitely dont forget them! 5/4 was comfy! Splash jacket nice to cut the breeze near the end. 11hours at a leisurely pace.
23 May 2025	Amazing	Deep pools	Thick wetsuit		12 hours	5 people Intermediate to Advanced	Gkbalcells (1 reports)
Comment: This was my first time running it, but others in my group who ran it in March of this year said the potholes have filled in with quite a bit of sand. Only used a hook to get out of the big pothole near the end, otherwise partner assisted or climbed out of all other potholes. Chilly water but group was comfy in 5-7mm wetsuits. I lost a rope in a purple rope bag in the last big pothole. It got waterlogged and sank to the bottom. If you find it please call or text me at - 4348062189! $100 reward!!
9 May 2025	Amazing		Full wetsuit		10 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	RFontaine (374 reports),Kirbside (99 reports)
Comment: Always incredible and full value! Top notch beauty and fun! We cut over far left at end of approach to follow a drainage down and rappelled into upper Imlay before the last 2 drops. Very worth doing! All pot holes very full and escapable without gear by mono-ing the pockets. Should still always bring a pair of hooks just in case. Water clean and comfy in a 5/4 wetsuit.
11 Oct 2024	Amazing	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	10 hours	5 people Advanced	Coops (157 reports),Kirbside (99 reports),AdamOtter (93 reports)
Comment: Amazing day in Imlay. My first time doing Imlay not in easy mode. Water level was lowish. 2-5 feet below the lip in most cases. Most problems yielded to partner assists + hooks. One assist required one person to be underwater (water depth was ~7-8 feet) and the other person to insert a hook. One exit was made easier using the hook holes as mono pockets. One exit required a pot shot or rope bag throw. Overall quite fun if you are looking for some challenges. Anchors are in a condition they are often in in Imlay (sketchy looking bolts and sometimes odd placements due to the floor level changing as obstacles change).
2 Sep 2024	Amazing	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Normal	9 hours	3 people Advanced	Sqshemet (85 reports),Kirbside (99 reports),Epeairs (75 reports)
Comment: Overall an amazing day in Imlay, as always. We took the right side approach but dropped in above the 2 potholes the left approach adds. CEM from a tree at the head of the wash was 90ish feet. Imlay is very full but water level is starting to go down slowly. No pothole challenges. Group was cozy in a mix of 5.5:3, 10:5, 7:3 wetsuits with no rain jackets. We were moving efficiently and a slower group might be more chilly. Time does not include a few hours spent in Orderville on the way out.
5 Jul 2024	Amazing					6 people Intermediate to Advanced	RFontaine (374 reports)
Comment: This canyon is an amazing journey and is currently in exquisite conditions!! We did FULL Imlay and started hiking from Lava Point at 4am. Made it to the 1st rap in 1.5hrs. Upper Imlay is just okay. After the initial large rappels (that are just meh) , there is lots of downclimbing and wash walking! There are a few neat narrows but nothing compared to lower. This section is a one and done for me (not much juice for the squeeze). I will just do sneak route going forward. Lower Imlay is INCREDIBLE. We arrived at the crossroads around 12:30. Much of the canyon is dry and the potholes are all VERY low making escapes more challenging and fun! Probably only 1 swim in the entire canyon (that I can recall) most of the keepers are so low you can walk across. We didnt even wetsuit up until near the end of the canyon at last narrows! A 4/3 wetsuit was more than sufficient at this point. We arrived at the shuttle at 8pm, last shuttle is 8:15 this time of year. I love experiencing Imlay in these conditions! Super fun mode!!
10 Jun 2024	Amazing	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	14 hours	5 people Advanced	Canyon.406 (52 reports)
Comment: Was a good time. Took our sweet time with great breaks. Last section of narrows was entertaining. Didn't try to kill me. Will do again.