Subway Hike - Zion's Nat'l Park

Father's Day weekend I was invited by a good friend to hike the Subway in Zion's National Park. For those that don't know about the Subway, it's a very narrow slot canyon that involves rappelling and a lot of swimming through some pretty frigid water. Luckily my friend suggested I bring a "shorty" wetsuit and neoprene socks, which helped a ton with the what felt like sub 50-degree water. Here's a nice description of the hike if you are interested in learning more about it.

The hike was incredible though. The weather couldn't have been better. Not a cloud in the sky (which is very important when hiking a very flash flood prone slot canyon. It's hard to describe in words and even with pictures. Anyone can hike this as long as they can swim. Although most parts you could touch bottom, a few areas are swimming only. The total length of the hike is around 7-8 miles. If you come from the top, you do need a hiking permit. Many hike from the bottom to the subway and then back, but you miss some of the coolest parts of the canyon this way.

Here is a cool Google Map that I was able to track with the help of a GPS I had with me. I lost reception for a few miles in the canyon itself as you can see from the straight lines.


View Larger Map

Be sure to click the picture below to link to the album I have uploaded. Don't miss the captions for the pictures as well.

Subway Hike

Thanks again to Adam Jacobsmeyer for inviting me on what was definitely not the last time I'll hike the Subway.