Get off the beaten path in Zion National Park

This little hike isn’t a particularly difficult one by any stretch. With that said, if you’re trying to get away from the crowds inside this popular national park, Shelf Canyon is an appealing option.

Shelf Canyon isn’t known to a lot of people, mainly because the park doesn’t advertise it in any of its publications. I learned about it on a popular canyoneering site (IYKYK) and decided to give it a try. We actually found it on our SECOND attempt. Our first try was several weeks earlier. As it turned out, we hiked a nearby canyon we THOUGHT was Shelf Canyon. That canyon was interesting enough, but it clearly wasn’t what we thought it was.

This lesser known canyon is directly accessible from the small parking lot at the Canyon Overlook Trailhead. It’s on the northwest side of the road – almost immediately after exiting the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel. Finding a place to park is kind of tricky sometimes – especially if it’s a busy weekend. don’t let that stop you though. There are several pullouts along the road just past the parking lot.

To enter shelf canyon, look for the descent near the north side of the parking lot and enter the wash. You will notice a steep, towering sandstone wall on your right. Continue up the wash. The canyon will gradually become more narrow as you move forward. In the spring, or after a summer storm, you may find water in some places. You can usually navigate around the small pools. Sometimes you may have stem across the water in the most narrow section of the slot.

The gritty, orange sandstone gives you plenty of grip to continue up the canyon. We continued up the slot until hitting a few good sized boulders. You’ll have to climb up and around the rocks until you see several shelf-like formations on the left. That’s what gives this canyon its name!

You’ll reach the end of the canyon when it becomes obvious you can’t go any farther without some serious rock climbing skills. All in all, it took us about 20 minutes to get to the end. We took a few minutes to sit on the shelves and enjoy the silence. It was kind of strange to think that a short distance away, hundreds of people were vying for a spot on the popular Canyon Overlook trail. And there we were – away from everyone on one of the busiest days of the season inside the park.

After exploring Shelf Canyon, we decided to explore a little section of Pine Creek, hiking upstream from the canyoneering entrance. We ran into another couple from nearby Hurricane, UT looking to get away from the crowds for a while – just like us!