Our itinerary for the Zion Traverse had a lengthy second day – 14 miles from our campsite along La Verkin Creek to a dispersed campsite close to Wildcat Spring. This is typical for most backpacking trips given that the few campsites located in between – at Hop Valley and dispersed in the Northgate Peaks area – are miles away from water. Though the trail is easily defined, this is also the only day of the trek that requires any appreciable amount of navigation, as it joins together the Hop Valley, Connector and Wildcat Canyon trails. We’d hiked a portion of this route earlier in March, so we knew that this was going to be a long day.
This trip report is from our most recent visit to Zion National Park in late May 2024, as the second leg of a four day/three night backpacking trip across the western portion of the Zion Traverse.
Table of Contents
Hiking the Hop Valley Trail from Kolob Canyon
We woke at daybreak with the goal of getting onto the trail by 7am, estimating that between the sands and the photo-ops we’d do good to average 1.5 miles/hr. The hike out of Kolob Canyon begins to climb immediately after passing Beatty Spring and the campsites, gaining approximately 600 ft over the next mile.
The first half mile of trail switches back across from the canyon opening, providing ever changing views deeper into the Kolob area as the sun slowly reveals the rock formations. It’s an incredibly scenic stretch of trail that makes for a magical start to the day.
Click on the images within the galleries to expand to full screen and view the captions.
At the top of the steepest section of incline is arguably one of the coolest trailside rocks I’ve ever encountered – a layer cake of sandstone perfectly positioned for photos against the backdrop of cliffs. I’m not a big poser with things in the backcountry but I’ll make an exception for this one.
It is flat on top. Perfect height and location. Cool rock of Zion.
Such is my ode to the cool rock, but I believe I’ll stick to blogging over poetry.
We spent more time than I care to admit variously sitting on, standing on, and posing with the rock for only being 30 minutes into the hike. From here, the trail makes a deceptive turn downhill into a glade of pines and lupines, only to continue climbing in a less conspicuous manner for another half mile.
The view eventually gives way to the Hop Valley, a verdant meadow sitting close to 6000ft flanked by vertical red cliffs and private ranches.
The moment the trail emerges from the forest and opens up into the valley proper is one of my favorites. The transition into wide sand bank and sheer cliffs on either side feels like throwing open the doors and crossing a threshold into a hidden valley.
Geology of Hop Valley
Hop Valley is one of several flat-bottomed valleys in Zion that were formed when rock avalanches, or large rockslides, dammed an existing river or stream creating a lake that eventually would fill with sediment. It’s the remnants of this rockslide, 2600 years ago, that you’re hiking over just prior to arriving at the sand bank.
Hop Creek still flows through the center of the valley, though how wide and how deep will vary by season. We were prepared for numerous creek crossings, which there were – the trail crosses the creek at least a half dozen times, but the crossings were either shallow enough or narrow enough that they didn’t pose a problem at all.
The walk through Hop Valley was beautiful in the early morning light, with the smell of sweet grass and sage perfuming the air and last vestiges of the sunrise painting on the canyon walls and bathing the entire valley in a warm glow. I try to focus on these little pleasures along this part of the trail, because to describe it otherwise can be done in a single word:
Sand.
The trail is sandy. Soft, deep sand that pulls you back with every step. It’s an endless trudge. Part of the Leave No Trace (LNT) philosophy, and NPS mandate, requires that you walk in single file down the center of the path and walk on the most durable surface to minimize impact to the environment. This prevents the trail from widening and prevents desire paths from scarring the landscape.
Sand is highly durable, even when compared to dry grasses of the meadow which, as far as vegetation goes, is more resistant to trampling that most. I dutifully adhere to these principles, but knowing that cattle often run the area through which the trail traverses and that horses are allowed on this section of trail sometimes makes it really difficult to continue sloshing through the sand when I could be picking up the pace on firmer ground a foot to either side. It requires mental fortitude to resist the temptation. Thank goodness for sand gaiters.
The walk through the flat section of Hop Valley lasts for 2.5 miles. The hike out on the far end is much less scenic, and much less gentle, than the ascent into the valley from this morning. It begins with an abrupt rocky incline and continues through several ‘false summits’ where you think “surely, we are getting close to the trailhead” but alas. You are not.
We did much better this time knowing what to expect than in March when the trail seemed to drag endlessly. This section of trail feels like it should be shorter and I cannot place my finger on why. Perhaps because it is called the Hop Valley Trail you could expect the valley portion to comprise the majority of the mileage when is reality it’s roughly a third. I can, however, pinpoint precisely what made me want this section of trail to finish immediately: flies.
There were swarms of black flies hovering above the trail! These must be the ‘cedar gnats’ the shuttle driver had warned us about the day prior. They clung to sun, so it became a matter of holding your breath and powering through from one spot of shade to the next. Masses of dead flies littered the trail, collecting in the impressions dug into the sand. We couldn’t figure out of they were mating or dying (or both?), but there were thousands of them. Honestly it was the most peculiar sight, and one that the internet hasn’t provided any clarity on. If you know what’s going on here, please leave a comment as I’d love to know. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be biting.
Between our goal to make it to Hop Valley TH by noon and the clouds of flies dissuading us from stopping, the mile along the ridge felt a bit of a blur. Close to one of the many places that could be thought of as the ‘top’ of some incline or another, there was a bench in the shade in memory of Corey Buxton, a teenager who went missing and later died while backpacking this area in 2010. We all initially assumed it was a memorial for someone of an adjacent landowning family as the trail crosses into private land in a few places. Learning about it later made it an even more reflective space.
At the top of the crest, the trail opens up to a wide, flat field complete with an old tractor to underscore the utility of this land in ranching. After passing through a gate, all that remained between us and the first waypoint was a sandy swath of sagebrush and white lupine. I checked the time somewhat obsessively, pushing to achieve the noon goal. At 11:59am I reached the junction with the connector trail, and entered the trailhead parking lot at 12:00pm on the dot!
Caching at Hop Valley Trailhead
Leaving a vehicle at the Hop Valley TH and shuttling to Lee Pass effectively allowed us to resupply at the trailhead. We had cached numerous gallons of water as well as lunch. Water caching is allowed (and encouraged) even without a vehicle, but leaving food unattended outside a bear canister would be ill advised – not because of bears (though apparently there have been sightings of a lone black bear in the higher elevation area in recent years), but for the rock squirrels and another animals that could get into it.
This also provided a backup plan for those in our party who would have pushed too hard to reach Wildcat Canyon in a day. We had discussed this ‘bail out’ option prior to the trip, as well as with the rangers at the Wilderness Desk when we picked up our permit. If everyone was feeling capable, we’d leave the car at Hop Valley. If anyone felt that taking the Connector Trail would impact their ability to enjoy, or complete, the rest of the trip, they’d drive the car up the road to park at the Wildcat Canyon trailhead, effectively shaving 4 miles and 600 ft of elevation off the total distance and allowing for a prolonged mid-day break.
It was agreed that two of our party would avail themselves of the opportunity to take a leisurely lunch and meet at the intersection of the Wildcat Canyon Trail and Connector Trail. There would be a short 0.9 mile hike from Wildcat Canyon TH to the meet-up junction, but it would be flat and partially shaded. In order to time our rendezvous, we estimated a hiking pace around 2 miles/hr, so at 12:30, we made a plan to meet up at 3pm.
At the Hop Valley TH, we also ran into Montreal who’d arrived a few minutes ahead of us, even though he’d left Camp 7 at 9am, a good two hours behind us! It really does underscore the importance of learning your own pace for the purposes of trip planning. Before we left, we filled up his water bottle as he was completely out, and provided for two other trail runners whose water levels were low. Fortunately we brought a few extra gallons anticipating this exact scenario. Cache water at Hop Valley! I cannot stress this enough. The additional 7 miles to Wildcat Spring would have been unbearable, and potentially dangerous, in the midday heat without water.
The Connector Trail between Hop Valley and Wildcat Canyon
We packed up and hit the trail again at 1pm, reaching the junction to turn down the Connector Trail proper right as J&K hiked up last 100 yards of the Hop Valley trail. I didn’t recognize them at first, as J had clearly had too much of the bugs and donned the bucket net over her head! If I had put money on who would be the first to do so, I’d have lost. Apparently the paint strainer worked really well!
As we compared experiences, I shared that according to what I’d read online, Hop Valley trail is the favorite trail of some people. “Well some people are wrong!” was the general consensus. The Hop Valley trail can be mesmerizing, and magical, and miserable, and I firmly believe it is often all those thing at once.
From the Hop Valley TH, the trail crosses the Kolob Terrace Road before traversing the meadows of Lee Valley. Turning onto the Connector Trail wasn’t merely a change in name, it was a change in scenery. Such an uninspired name for such a gorgeous section!
The white sandstone of Pine Valley Peak stood prominent in the distance, guiding the way. To the right, were panoramic views of West Temple.
The views compensate for the exposure; with the sun now directly overhead and air stagnant, the trail heated quickly. We stopped for a break below a lone cedar, the only shade to be found.
At the base of Pine Valley Peak, the trail transitions from dirt to a path marked by cairns as it climbs up the slick-rock sandstone. Near the top, we could look back towards Jobs Head formation. After bemoaning the loose sands of earlier, it was in fact a pleasant reprieve to be climbing up the prehistoric sands in this capacity.
As the crow flies, the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead would be just a few hundred feet away on the other side of the hill. Yet there was still another mile to go at this point to reach the trail junction. The trail heads into the pine forest as it gently rolls towards the intersection with the Northgate Peaks trail, with more spectacular views to the south.
We’d been keeping a close eye on the time knowing that we had planned to meet back up at 3pm. There hadn’t been a single other hiker on the trail since we left Hop Valley, and then as was rounded a hill we saw people in the distance – day hikers! Except they weren’t day hikers; they were the rest of our party looking to see if they could spot us. What good timing!
Despite not leaving the Hop Valley TH until 1pm and then stopping to chat with J&K, we still arrived at the meet up point officially by 3:10pm. We dropped our packs in the trailside grasses near Little Creek and rested in the shade. Splitting up ended up being the right choice for everyone. Our companions were feeling refreshed and in good spirits and we were feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Dispersed Camping along the Wildcat Canyon Trail
Compared to the trail segments up to this point – La Verkin Creek, Hop Valley and the Connector Trail – the Wildcat Canyon Trail was not very impressive. The trail began as a rocky, hard packed dirt path. It was shaded, which was appreciated, but there were few views to speak of. If we hadn’t wanted to hike further, we could have dispersed camped along the Northgate Peaks trail. It would have made for a much longer third day, but is an option for those who need it.
Less than two miles onto the Wildcat Canyon we entered the meadow area, which marked the start of the dispersed camping zone. The rules for dispersed camping sites are relatively straightforward: don’t be visible from the trail. You also need to be at least 200 feet away from water and a quarter mile away from any spring.
We wanted to make it closer to Wildcat Spring before setting up for the night so continued on, but knew that enough people obtain permits to camp in this area that we’d be looking for camping sites that already exist rather than needing to create our own.
Just before the trail starts to descend, cutting along the edge down to Wildcat Spring, is a treed area to the east with views of Wildcat Canyon. Without a doubt, this is “the place” to camp in the area if the sites are not already taken. It requires a short walk down to the spring and then back up to get water, but if you continue any further there are very limited places large or flat enough to pitch a tent. You are technically outside of the permitted area once you start walking down towards Wildcat Spring for this very reason.
Our feet were worn out at this point, between the mileage and the sand, that all we could think about was filtering water and setting up camp. We found a spot tucked into some trees. Dinner was our homemade backcountry “lasagna” and our teriyaki chicken and rice.
How to Find Wildcat Spring
The location of Wildcat Spring is easy to find, and easy to miss. It’s located trailside on the uphill, about a half mile past the meadow. This spring is “marked” in that there is a trail marker reminding hikers to purify the water; there is no other sign denoting Wildcat Spring. If you’re using a satellite GPS, like the Garmin inReach (highly recommended), you can input the following coordinates: N 37°22.207′ W 113°02.299′
Much like Beatty Spring, Wildcat Spring looks like a light to moderate flow of water emerging directly from the hillside.
Read more backpacking trip reports from Zion National Park!
- Day 1: La Verkin Creek Trail through Kolob Canyons
- Day 2: Hop Valley to Wildcat Canyon – that’s this trip report!
- Day 3: Hiking and Camping along the West Rim Trail – coming soon
- Day 4: From West Rim to the Grotto – coming soon
What to Pack when Backpacking the Zion Traverse
- Water filter. All water from the springs must be filtered before drinking. We like how quickly we were able to fill 6L liters of water to take to camp with our MSR Miniworks EX.
- Water bladder. Carrying extra water is essential on the long dry stretches of trail or when camping at a distance from one of the springs. Camp #8 was close enough to Beatty Spring that filtering on the day we arrived and departed would have been fine, but if we were camping further from the spring we would’t have wanted to backtrack. We either carry empty 2L Platypus, which only weigh 1.3 oz (36g), or 4L Hydrapaks.
- Wag bags. There are outhouses located at the Hop Valley and Wildcat Canyon Trailheads. Everywhere else, you must pack our your waste. Carry enough wagbags to take care of business! Wagbags contain enzymes that allow you to safely depose of them in the trashcans located at the trailheads.
- Sand gaiters. The Hop Valley trail is sandy, as are parts of the Connector Trail. Without sand gaiters or long pants, you’ll either need to stop an annoying amount of times to dump sand out of your shoes or deal with the discomfort. Keep your shoes sand free with a pair of sand gaiters.
- Food. We prefer to carry freeze-dried meals on our backpacking adventures that can be rehydrated with boiling water from our Jetboil. Many ready-made backpacking meals are heavy on the sodium, so we prefer to make our own light weight backpacking meals using easily obtainable ingredients.
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Planning your own hike in Zion National Park? Check out our Guide to Backpacking the Zion Traverse
Let us know what further questions or comments you have about backpacking the Hop Valley and Wildcat Canyon area in the comments!