Pine Creek Canyon
| Rating: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | Difficulty:3B II (v3a2 II) Raps:8, max ↨100ft
Red Tape:Permit required Shuttle:Required 10 min Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shuttle: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Condition Reports: | 26 Oct 2025
"Descended pine creek to final rap in 1.5 hours.Cathedral still typical swimmer with cold water. Group ranged 3/2 -7mm suits. Emergency at final rap r |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best season: | Late Spring; Summer; Fall
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regions: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
37.2130, -112.9404
37.2133, -112.9404
37.2144, -112.9580
Search nearby locations
Weather forecast
Waterflow
Introduction[edit]
Pine Creek is a fantastic introduction to Zion canyons. It's easy to access and return, and hosts spectacular (and varied) scenery. There are typically plenty of permits available, and often combined with nearby Keyhole Canyon (Zion National Park).
Depending on the season, the canyon can be quite chilly or pleasantly cool. In March or April you could be swimming down dark corridors, teeth chattering in a 7mm wetsuit. By June that very same corridor could be dry walking passage and a shortie 2mm wetsuit too hot, or completely unnecessary.
For better or worse, you pay for the easy access to this canyon with the immediacy of the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. The wilderness character of this beautiful gorge is subtly marred by the sound of automotive traffic passing above you.
Approach[edit]
To setup the car shuttle, leave your exit vehicle at the "second switchback" then drive your group east through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. After exiting the tunnel, park immediately in the first parking lot on the right. If no parking is available here, drop everyone else off and then continue driving east until a parking spot on the side of the road can be found. The drop-in is a concrete runoff spillway just off the parking lot's sidewalk. Don't walk down the dirt hillside, this contributes to erosion (and the park staff will ask you to use the concrete "path").
Hitchhiking[edit]
Parking at the top, beyond the tunnel, is extremely congested. It is very common to leave vehicles at the exit and just hitchhike to the start. When hitch hitchhiking to the start of Pine Creek Canyon the following are the recommended best practices:
- It is advised to hitchhike earlier in the day because there is more traffic on the road and also more daylight, both of which will increase your chances of being picked up.
- Hitchhike before you descend the canyon rather than afterward as you will be clean and dry and therefore people will be more likely to give you a ride.
- To increase your chances, especially if you have a larger group, have just the vehicle driver hitch hike. To do this, drive through the tunnel and drop off your group at the start of the canyon, then have just the vehicle driver return to the exit, park the vehicle, and only they will have to hitchhike back to the start.
Descent[edit]
Pine Creek begins with some a few small down-climb problems and you quickly come across R1.
Rappels[edit]
- R1: 25 feet. Anchored from blue-in bolts. NOTE: This is no longer a two stage rappel.
- R2: 20 feet. Anchored from two glue-in bolts RDC and drops into a long pool with swim.
- R3: 15 feet. Anchored from two bolts above a large boulder. Note: This rappel can sometimes be downclimbed.
- R4: 15 feet. Anchored from a log and drops about 15 feet with the next rap just down canyon.
- R5 - The Cathedral: 50 feet. Anchored from glue-in bolts. Drops into a a very large chamber with a pool at the bottom that is typically a swimmer. This section of the canyon is known as "The Cathedral" for the very tall, cavernous section that is typically quite dim, but can also have spots of light filtering in. The lack of sunlight here makes the pool at the bottom usually cold. Accessing the anchor LDC may be tricky; consider using a meat anchor to belay someone out to the anchor to rig it. This rappel often has a partially-swimming disconnect and then a short full swim across a very cold pool. Depending on time of day, there may be some small bit of sunlight penetrating the canyon for people to warm up in, but often this area is just cold.
- After R3 comes the bulk of the canyon, full of small downclimbs and narrow water-filled passages.
- R6: 25 feet. Anchored from two bolted hangers. Note: this rappel can sometimes be downclimbed.
- R7: 55 feet. Anchored out on a ledge using a mix of different bolt types. Near the bottom of the rappel is a short downclimb.
- R8 - The Grotto: 100 feet. Anchored from 2 glue-in bolts into a large chamber. There are additional options/alternate anchor stations, for this rappel. This primary one will drop you into the cavern, known as the Grotto, after which there will still be a short drop that can slide/downclimb left to complete. Some alternative anchors options will bypass the Grotto and will place you beyond the slide/downclimb. These options may require more than 100 feet of rope.
- Primary Anchor: To find these anchors, when you get to the boulder at the top of the drop scramble up on the LDC side then go down canyon about 40 feet to find a couple of large glue-in anchors located over a void. You will need to lean out over the void to rig the rope to the anchor. BE SURE TO provide the first person a safety rope as they lean out and rig the anchor.
- Option 1: Go directly down the watercourse on the RDC side of a boulder using chockstones anchors (not recommended).
- Option 2: Go almost directly down the water course on the LDC side of a boulder using 2 bolted hangers on the top of the boulder. This option drops you into a chamber where you will then need to downclimb / slide down a final ledge of about 20 feet. The added downclimb for this option is scenic and mildly challenging. Option 3 (described above) - When you get to the boulder at the top of the drop scramble up on the LDC side then go down canyon about 40 feet to find a couple of large glue-in anchors located over a void. Rappelling from here drops you downcanyon of the final downclimb into a huge rubble-filled chamber.
- Slide/Downclimb: 15 feet. This downclimb is short and the water has carved a fluted slide. This area can be slipper but a controlled slide is possible and likely the easiest way down.
Exit[edit]
Follow the canyon downstream, downclimbing and routefinding around and between the boulders. When in doubt, look for tracks to show the easiest way, although they are not always readily visible. This section can feel long and exhausting.
Don't be tempted to exit the canyon early, remember you're headed for the second switch back, not third which is much higher in elevation. Much of your time in the canyon will be spent in the non-technical exit, which in of itself is quite beautiful and contains many fun boulder gardens and down-climb puzzles. The canyon will gradually level and finally you'll find yourself just 80 feet below the second switchback parking area. Find the well established use trail and follow it up to the stone wall visible from the canyon floor. While traveling down canyon, look for a very large pool with a large rock upstream of it that looks like an attractive place to jump from. This is where the trail out of the canyon to the road starts. The retaining walls of the exit parking lot are visible from the watercourse if you keep an eye out for them about 30 ft above the watercourse and DCL.
Red tape[edit]
A canyoneering day-trip permit issued by Zion National Park is required for this canyon.
Beta sites[edit]
BluuGnome.com : Pine Creek Canyon- Chris Brennen's Adventure Hikes (Southwest) : Pine Creek
- RoadTripRyan.com : Pine Creek
- CanyoneeringUSA.com : Pine Creek
- Climb-Utah.com : Pine Creek Canyon
- HikeArizona.com : Pine Creek Canyon
Zion Canyoneering Book by Tom Jones : Pine Creek Canyon- ToddsHikingGuide.com : Pine Creek Canyon
- CanyonCollective.com : Pine Creek
- Super Amazing Map : Pine Creek Canyon
- AmericanSouthwest.net : Pine Creek
- ZionCanyoneering.com : Pine Creek
- SummitPost.org : Pine Creek Slot
- WildPathsAZ.com : Pine Creek Canyon
Trip reports and media[edit]
- Dennis Turville on Canyon Tales : Pine Creek, September 21, 1977
- Video Mystery Canyon, Pine Creek and Keyhole Canyon
- Dennis Turville on Canyon Tales : Pine Creek, September 21, 1977
- https://www.stavislost.com/hikes/trail/pine-creek-canyon
- Chasing Adventure : May 28th, 2017
- Ultra Pink Dirt
- http://adamhaydock.blogspot.com/2014/09/keyhole-canyon-and-pine-creek-zion.html
- Candition.com : Pine Creek
Wikiloc.com : Pine Creek Canyon - Zion National Park- Bogley trip report http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?79595-Pine-Creek-Zion-National-Park-July-28-2019