a mystical oasis | mystery canyon

7 mi . 6790 ft high . 300 ft ascent . 120 ft rappel . about 10 rappels

Zion National Park, Zion Wilderness

Note: This is a technical route, rappelling and rescuing techniques required to descend the canyon.

Mystery Canyon is one of the most popular canyoneering routes in Zion National Park. And for a good reason! Permits can be difficult to get and you might be stuck behind other parties. Since there is plenty of other comprehensive information about the technical aspect of the canyon, this guide serves more as inspirational.

I had an absolute blast on Mystery Canyon. It started with a medium hike to the start of the technical bits with some optional rappelling through the hike. The canyon itself wove through various ecosystems from dry to lushness. To top it off (potentially), you rappel into the Narrows at the very end and the hike through the Narrows is short. It makes sense why it is so popular since it’s got great bang for you buck.

Need-To-Know

• Permits are absolutely required for canyoneering within Zion National Park. They are released quarterly with the seasonal lottery with additional availability for daily lottery and walk-up permits. Generally it costs $6 for lottery applications and $10/person with a group size cap at 6 people.
• Route Description: I really like using canyoneeringusa for their in-depth guide but it’s always good to consult another such as reading further here for photos to know what to expect.
  • CanyoneeringUSA: most comprehensive with map, gear and beta
  • RoadTripRyan: sometimes more succinct in descriptions but offers more photos
  • RopeWiki: a good highlight (high-level) view of the route

Getting to Mystery Canyon

We stayed at an Airbnb in the Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort so it made sense to start our canyons from the East Mesa. We also had a lovely situation where we didn’t need a car shuttle and could have someone pick us up from the end! So We casually rolled up to the East Mesa Trailhead a few minutes from the cabin and began our hike.

Despite being in April, the desert sun was already beating down on us. I took a few extra breaks to photograph some cute flowers along the hike. There’s not a lot of parking space in the lot and you’ll be potentially contending with hikers trying to reach Observation Point via the easier trail than from the valley floor. The great thing about the start of this canyon is that there is virtually no uphill. We walked about 2 miles with the most gentle 200 ft of uphill to the start of the non-technical part of the canyon.

If your gps shows you past Blew By Peak, you’ve definitely blew past the entrance to Mystery Canyon. Unfortunately the descent is not aptly named. They call it “death gully” and my friend was definitely scared by the name. But there was nothing out of the ordinary to be worried about in the end. Death Gully is a total misnomer. It is neither a gully nor have there been reported deaths (from cursory research). Rather, it is an annoying sandy not-quite trail that takes you down some 800 ft before leveling off.

About a mile later (it is incredibly hard to track actual distance within a canyon), and a bunch of short down climbs with optional (and I wouldn’t recommend) rappels, we reached the first mandatory rappel. I guess canyoneeringusa describes a bunch of the rappels with potential to down climb, but no, I’ll stick to rappelling.

Mystery Canyon Part 1: Rock Narrows

I love that the canyon offers such variety! It dove straight into a series of 5 short 50 ft or less rappels. It was so fun trading off setups with the group, having dialed down our efficiency over the week. It sure helps to have friends who are climbing guides and well versed in technical rope skills and alpine efficiency. Honestly I felt like a canyon princess with limited amount to do. Although having 5 people helps with the work load vs only 2 people, between setting up and storing gear.

Brief Intermission

The canyon opens up a little and you think it’s going to be the big opening, but no. You have to squeeze through a “v slot” section that has some optional down climbs that can be rappelled with a body belay. I appreciated the short rappels. We also heard some rock fall here and was unsure what had caused it, but it was alarming. No one was injured but it felt like rocks just flew over our head.

Back to your regular programming

Shortly after the v-slot section, we found 2 more medium rappels that finished the Rock Narrows portion of Mystery Canyon.

Mystery Canyon Part 2: Intermittent Lake Bed

As you finish the first 7 rappels, the canyon opens up dramatically. Depending on the time of year, this section can be a lake and at other times, it can be intensely hot. We hit it at a great time of year where we found shade and in the sun it was quite warm. I found it silly that the “pile of rocks and sand” is called a pile. It doesn’t feel like a pile, but more like a large hill to hike up and over. I believe there’s many trails here now, but we tried to follow the main traveled trail. If memory serves me right, there was at least one major rappel with some optional downclimbs or short rappels in between.

Mystery Canyon Part 3: Mystery Spring

The last section is definitely what most consider the highlight. I rather liked the slot canyon section, but this definitely has the most drama and expansive view. Here we started to get bottlenecked with some other groups. It starts with the longest rappel of Mystery Canyon (120m) followed by the second longest rappel which ends in the Narrows. With our group of 5, we did a lot of double rappels and it was definitely helpful to fix two ropes together. There’s two rappel stations to make it go smooth and fast and a fixed line to keep you safe before the rappel. Plus plenty of area immediately before to explore and take a break to let people pass if needed. After the main Mystery Spring rappel, you end up in this lush area with so many flowers if you’re lucky. I wanted to spend so much more time here but felt like I’d hold up the next group. And sadly I didn’t take my camera out for photos. I feared I’d drop my camera in the water. But believe me that it was gorgeous!

The last rappel (110m) was pretty fun still despite all the Narrows hikers looking at and filming you. It was rather slick going down the slime, but kind of exciting somehow. And once you’re in the Narrows, it’s the best part! The shortest canyon exit that goes through the Narrows! We could float one short section of it but compared to Englestead, it was much quicker. This was great for April since the water was quite cold and the air temperature wasn’t the warmest either. Dry up or remain wet and hike the one mile of Temple of Sinawava Riverside Walk.

Hope this helps your next Zion canyoneering trip!

Notes

• Start Trailhead: East Mesa Trailhead
• End Trailhead: Temple of Sinawava (take the shuttle – be mindful of last shuttle)
• It took us under 6 hours to complete as a group of 5 who are efficient with rope and transitions but without racing to the end.
• Permits are required. First set of lottery permits opens 2-3 months ahead of your date. Walk up permits might be available opening 2 days before your date. See recreation.gov
• We completed this canyon in late April/early May and it was a pleasant temperature for no wet suits.

Photos taken on Canon 5D Mark IV