taylor creek

This was an excellent hike, located in the far less visited Kolob Canyons district of Zion NP. I covered the middle fork, which is the commonly travelled section found in the hiking guide at www.nps.gov/zion Did not cover the north fork or south fork, which are options to Taylor Creek. This particular hike takes you along a slow flowing stream. You will have to cross several times, but there are several stones which you can skip across so not to get too wet. At the time I went in Feb/March, I still recommend proper hiking shoes. The hike goes up a canyon, with narrowing walls of the same red oxidized sandstone you find in the main canyon. The vegetation is more unique however to what you find at the 5000-6000 foot elevation point in the area, with several tree species and little desert vegetation. Ground is rocky and sandy, with some mud and wet red kayenta formation. End destination is a large cavern type hollow carved out of the maybe 500 foot high sandstone cliffs. You pass a couple of old historic cabins en route, located at roughly the third points in the hike. This hike is best late spring through to beginning of the winter. Winter can make this hike difficult if there has been a lot of snow. Spring runoff can make the water crossings a little more difficult if not impossible to keep your feet dry.

We have done a lot of hiking in Zion National Park but this was our first Kolob Canyon hike. We started at about 10:00 am. and it took us exactly 4 hours. We are leisurely hikers who stop to take a lot of photos and eat lunch but we hiked back out fairly quickly. I had read that the hike is mostly in the sun but it certainly isn't this time of year or the time of day that we hiked. The first part of the trail was in the sun on our way out. Kolob Canyon is fairly windy and this hike was quite cool in the shade even with the warmer than normal temps (61 degrees for the high). We only crossed one tiny patch of snow and didn't need spikes but a normal winter would call for those this time of year. I was glad to be wearing long sleeves and would have liked gloves on my hands. Layering would be a good idea for this one.We crossed the creek no less than 38 times and had no trouble keeping our shoes dry. That too would be dependant on the amount of snow and the time of year. I'm sure it dries up in the summer. The cove at the end of the hike is a worthy reward for the long easy walk. Make sure to put someone in the cove so your pictures show some perspective of how massive it is. It's magnificent! This hike is now on my list of Zion favorites! This is not a difficult hike. If hiking with young children you would want to factor in the length of the hike. At 5 miles round trip it is a fair distance and would take much longer than the 4 hours that we did it.in.

Not a difficult hike but it's a long one.Following the creek bed along up through the canyon.Although the main Zion canyon had temperatures into the low 60's F and no snow or ice in sight this hike was chilly and snow covered in places but with grippers and plenty of layers we were fine.Scenery just like Zion is amazing.You'll need around 5 hours for the hike.

When visiting the Kolob Canyons of Zion National Park, hiking the Taylor Creek trail to the Double Alcove Arches is a must! The hike is easy to moderate. The distance of the hike is 5 miles roundtrip. Along the trail there are two cabins built in the 1930's. You will cross Taylor Creek several times during the hike, so plan to get your shoes wet. The elevation gain is approximately 450 feet.I hiked during January and found ice and mud along the trail. My trekking poles prevented me from slipping and falling. The hike along Taylor Creek is beautiful and the Double Alcove Arches are spectacular! The is a great day hike!

The hike up Taylor Creek ending at Double Arch Alcove was just as unique and fun as Angels Landing or the Narrows, with a fraction of the crowd. The walls of the finger canyon close around you as you hike until it seems that sunlight must rarely hit the canyon floor where the trail runs. The alcove is a huge theater sized space that pictures don't do justice to. Although there are a steep set of stairs down from the parking area the rest of the hike is of minimal elevation change. There are MANY creek crossings, so consider the recent weather and time of year so you are prepared to possibly get wet.

I hate losing elevation but you have to drop down off the road to get to the canyon...which means you have to climb back up to get out...but it is worth it.Really beautiful walk up a shaded canyon -- not the totally amazing route of the Narrows in Zion Canyon, but very peaceful and lovely. Lots of birds to see and if you watch carefully you will see frogs along the way. The trail sort of ends at an arch/amphitheater. The colors of the rock there are amazing and the field of yellow columbine were spectacular. Our gripe was the group of yacking hikers who seemed to think the echo of their voice was music to everyone's ears...if you can, spend a moment of silence and listen to the sound of the wind, the dripping water and the birds echoing in the natural theater. Almost everyone turns around at the arch, but keep going up the canyon for another 1/4 mile or so...it is lovely above and ends at a really neat pour over.

This is a fun hike but you need to pace yourself because the climb back up to the trailhead is a doozy, especially if you haven't acclimated yourself to the thin air yet. But it's definitely do-able for anyone over 8 I would say. Great photo-ops along the way and a mixture of easy walking and some small climbs. I wouldn't want to do this hike right after a big rain because you do have to cross a small creek several times.

This is a 5 mile relatively easy hike. You cross Taylor Creek many time but don't need to worry about getting wet. We started a 9 am and were done by 12 pm, the earlier start was a good idea given the summer heat. We saw lots of lizards, turkeys and spectacular rock.Upon our return, we found the stairs up to the trailhead the toughest climb.

This is a nice, easy, level 5 mile hike. You will cross the creek many times on your journey to the double arch alcove at the end. Its not deep, but there are opportunities to get your feet a little wet. You will pass a couple of log cabins along the way and plenty of scenery making for some nice photo opts. This is a nice hike to escape the crowds in Zion's main canyon while still enjoying the sights Zion has to offer.

After a strenuous previous day walking Angels Landing..the 40 min drive to Kolob Canyons and taking this quieter more remote trail was a great contrast. Lots of steps at the start, but then it's a straightforward hike, through beautiful Mesa crossing the stream numerous times ( it was not deep when I did this trail) with lovely views. ... And passing two 1930s cabins.... You eventually bump into the cliff face of a mountain...which is formed into a massive two arch amphitheatre......cool and inviting... And hopefully peaceful stop for lunch and photos ( I had a flute player and a rather loud conversation resounding doing my stop) .

The most difficult part of the hike are the few stairs at the beginning of the trail, it is an easy trail 5 miles RT. We liked the trail more towards the end where the canyon narrows some. It is not far to drive here from the freeway but still is peaceful and quiet (the overlook trail down the road you can hear some traffic in the distance. An easy day hike, not much planning necessary.

While been in Utah for mainly hiking Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, we discovered Kolob Canyon. It's a part of the Zion Park, but they are not connected. Kolob Canyon has it's own entrance on the north of the Zion. It is not as huge as Bryce and main Zion, but has amazing views and relatively easy hikes. Unfortunately we only partially hiked on Taylor Creek trail up to the Larson Cabin because it was getting late and we didn't want to be caught in the dark in the wilderness. It's one of the secluded trails - it was no one on the trail but us. Even guided hike from Zion does not allow groups more than 10 people on this trail not to disturb the nature. Round trip is 5 ml and takes 4 hours, but you definitely want to stop and meditate is some places. Fist part of the trail is very steep with the man-made steps. Middle part requires many (I've lost count) small creek crossings, it was very refreshing to be near the water. Taylor Creek ends up in unique double alcove formation and I think it worth to come back to. So it definitely on out next To Do List.

We took our family of 6 up Taylor's Creek. IT WAS AWESOME. Our kids, 9,7,5 and 1 did great. The little one was in a child carrier backpack but the other kids had a blast exploring all the different areas along the trail. I was continually amazed at the scenery. Hiking up between two gigantic towers and all the different reds and oranges was truly amazing. On top of that the leaves are just about to drop so the colors were crazy awesome. I highly recommend this hike and Kolob Canyon over the South/Spingdale side. There are little to no people on this side and you can drive up and down the canyon in your car versus taking the shuttle up and down on the other side.

My wife and I couldn't resist the increasing awesomeness of the Taylor Creek hike. The more you hike, the more fantastic the scenery. We ended up going all the way to the double arch alcove, which is where most people turn around and go back. It took us an hour and 45 minutes on the outbound leg, and an hour and twenty minutes on the return. There are a few spots where the trail is hard to find, or with 2 or 3 foot drop-offs, usually where the streambank and part of the trail has been eroded by high water, but if you pay attention, you can avoid ankle-sprains and stay on the trail. Getting lost is not a big problem, since the canyon is narrow and the trail is never very far from the stream.

There is no doubt that the main canyon in Zion is beautiful - but sometimes it is hard to get away from people. Kolob Canyons is less visited and we enjoyed some solitude. You won't find concrete paths here...it is all very natural.There is not a lot of hiking in the Kolob Canyon side of the park, so this hike is most likely the top option for most. I believe the hike is 5 miles round trip (out and back), and has 450 feet of elevation gain (we did not notice the elevation gain except for the stairs at the start). You do cross the Taylor creek many many times - on the hike back, we played a game to count the crossings. I tend to have difficulties crossing creeks, but this one was not a problem in May. You don't have to worry about falling off any edges here...you are along the canyon floor.The alcove at the end is nice, but I wouldn't say it is the highlight of the trail...it is just a pleasant trail all along. There are no big sweeping views, but rather just hiking along a canyon floor. There are two homestead cabins along the way. We did see a lot of lizards, hummingbirds, and even what looked like a turkey. We started the hike earlier (9:00 am) and saw nobody on the way there, and about 10 people on the way back. There is no pit toilet at the trail head, so use the toilet at the vistor center. Enjoy!