Observation Point Canyon
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| | Difficulty:4B III (v4a2 III) Raps:5-7, max ↨300ft
Red Tape:Permit required Shuttle:Required 60 min Vehicle:High Clearance Rock type:Sandstone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 4 Oct 2025
"Observation Point Canyon is open again.. Replaced webbing on most drops (except 2nd to last which weirdly looked brand new).. The 2nd rappel ( |
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| Best season: | Spring or Fall
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37.2804, -112.9386
37.2965, -112.9011
37.2711, -112.9386
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Introduction
Dramatic location, three long rappels, south-facing. Fun, not too strenny, can usually keep dry (ish). Downclimbing the south-facing slabs can be hot even on mild days - not recommended for summer.
Approach
Walk the East Mesa Trail to Observation Point. Backtrack along the trail to the sharp notch where the very head of the canyon is closest to the trail. Continue on the trail another 100 feet, then cut over to the rim. The watercourse itself could be descended but looks very brushy. Select a tree on the rim that offers a clean rappel down steep rock and into a grove of trees. Make sure your rope reaches the ground. (Best to use the GPS point to get to the best spot, shown in the ropewiki beta as "Start".)
Descent
R1: 250 feet (83m) to a grove of trees.
Hike down a broad, rough gully to slickrock. Follow the low-angle slickrock to where it steepens. Cut right, then downclimb steeper rock to a series of ledges. Follow the ledges back left, then all the way left, until you can downclimb easily to the next level. Follow the watercourse down 100 feet. As it starts to drop off steeply, traverse right to lower angle slabs past a ridge, then down to the edge. Select a sturdy bush with a clean line of pull, as low as possible.
R2: 260 feet (86m) to the canyon floor. You might rappel past an old RT (Royce Trappier) bolt, 20 feet short of the canyon floor (bad day out for RT).
Rig carefully! The many plates and loose rock make rope retrieval a bit tricky.
Continue downcanyon through trees and brush. The canyon then slots up 100 feet from the end.
R3: Short rap from a chockstone.
R4: Rap into a slot. Walk along the slot and continue the rappel into a keeper pothole. The keeper can be avoided with some fancy rappelling skills.
Downclimb into another pothole (waist deep?).
R5: 120 foot (40m) rappel from bolts.
R6: 80 foot (26m) rappel down to an exposed ledge, big enough for four people.
R7: 300 feet (92m) to the ground. Be careful throwing the rope - there is a tree 30 feet from the bottom that likes to make things difficult.
Exit
Carefully climb up to the Weeping Rock observation platform. Follow the trail to the Weeping Rock Trailhead. Do NOT descend through the riparian zone.
Red tape
Speaking with the rangers at the Wilderness Desk over email (3/24/2024), the Weeping Rock trail has been closed since another rock fall on 11/14/2023 and this route is not legal to travel. Contact the Zion wilderness desk for current conditions if you are considering this route.
The Observation Point Trail from Weeping Rock is closed as of fall 2023.
Permit is required, but may not be available on the drop-down menu, so only by a corporeal to the Wilderness Desk.
Beta sites
CanyoneeringUSA.com : Observation Point- Super Amazing Map : Observation Point Canyon
Trip reports and media
Background
History: Tom Jones first descended this in 2008, finding several slings and an RT bolt 20 feet off the ground on Rappel 2. Royce Trappier descended this canyon, likely sometime in the 1990's. Several styles of bolts in place indicate that this canyon was in use by several people as of 2008.