The view from Observation Point. You can see trails cut into the cliffs in the lower left.
Hiking up the Observation Point trail in the morning.
For our second day in Zion we decided to hike up to Observation Point. It’s another trail with some dramatic exposure—the upper has been hacked out of a cliff.
Entering the coolness of Echo Canyon.
The trail starts the same as Hidden Canyon, but then branches off into Echo Canyon. This section is relatively flat and surrounded by walls of rock.
Beginning to switchback.
After Echo Canyon, the trail switchbacks up a steep ridge, winding through sharp ravines and small trees.
Beginning a section of cliff area.
Eventually, the trail comes around a sheer cliff face. At this point, the trail has been cut out of the cliff. There are no chains to hang onto—the trail is wide enough to not need them.
It’s a thousand foot drop at this point in the trail.
There’s a big ooh-ahh factor here—all of Zion Canyon opens up to you.
Zion Canyon, with Angels Landing straight ahead.
After winding through trees on the plateau at the top, you come out to Observation Point itself.
From here, I could see a lot of packs and bags caught in the bushes near the top of Angels Landing. It was apparent that many tourists’ packs had been blown off the top. Somebody with a rope and a harness could rappel down and make quite a score.
Descending down the trail.
After a long lunch at the top, we wound our way back down.
Hiking out of Echo Canyon.
The Observation Point trail is not as exposed as Angels Landing or Hidden Canyon, but it’s still way up there.
I think it would be best to hike very early in the morning, maybe before sunrise, so the sun is behind you when you reach the top.
Afterwards, we hiked the Kayenta Trail to the Emerald Pools as the sun was going down. This was by far the lamest hike in Zion. At dusk the Emerald Pools look more like wastewater treatment ponds. I didn't bother taking any pictures.
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