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Left Fork (The Subway)

Difficult Difficult
 4.9 (28)
  1. Areas
  2. UT
  3. …Southwestern Utah
  4. …Zion National Park
  5. Southwest Zion
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“A bottom-up hike of the classic, beautiful, and super FUN route, perfect for a curious and adventurous soul. ”

Warinsinee Phusitkanchana
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Map Key

3.9

Miles

6.4

KM

Point to Point

5,731' 1,747 m

High

4,667' 1,422 m

Low

1,160' 354 m

Up

865' 264 m

Down

10%

Avg Grade (6°)

151%

Max Grade (56°)

Dogs No Dogs

Features Birding · River/Creek · Swimming · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Need to Know

Permits are required to access this area from either direction. Please visit nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/… for more information.

Dry pants, hiking sticks, and neoprene socks are helpful in the colder months!

Description

The trail begins at the parking lot for Left Fork trailhead, starting out pretty flat on a well-maintained trail for about 10 min then it starts to lead you down to the bottom of the canyon. There's a lot of loose rocks coming down this quite steep part. You'll see a sign "Left Fork Trailhead" once closer to the bottom of the canyons and the water.

Once at the bottom, start hiking upstream! There are "obvious" trails on both side of the creek, one might be easier than the other. There are a lot of water crossings, rock hopping, and some boulder climbing, if you prefer. After hiking for a while from the trailhead sign, the views of the canyons start to open up; it is majestic. There are many small waterfalls along the way created by some boulders in the stream before we hit those "signature" cascade waterfalls at almost the end of the hike.

On your way out make sure to keep a eye out for the exit as it is easy to miss the trail you hiked down into the canyon floor.

Water flow can change based on the time of year and current weather conditions keep this in mind as hiking the trail as it can flash flood.

Contacts

Land Manager: National Park Service - Zion National Park

Shared By:

Warinsinee Phusitkanchana with improvements by Abe H
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.9 from 28 votes

#1

in Southwest Zion

#95

Overall
  4.9 from 28 votes
5 Star
86%
4 Star
14%
3 Star
0%
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1 Star
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Trail Rankings

#1

in Southwest Zion

#11

in Utah

#95

Overall
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9,415 Since Apr 19, 2017
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Photos

Rainbow just above the entrance to the Subway, Zion National Park.
Feb 3, 2016 near Springdale, UT
The Subway, Zion National Park.
Jan 31, 2016 near Springdale, UT
The Subway
Aug 18, 2015 near Springdale, UT
The red waterfalls! Once you reach this part of the trail, you are just about 10-15 minutes from the main attraction. Walk directly onto the rocks of the waterfall to hike up two levels of rocks/waterfalls to reach the lower subway canyon!
Jan 8, 2016 near Springdale, UT
The Subway!
Feb 22, 2016 near Springdale, UT
The beautiful view inside of the Subway! Permits required for this 9 mile round trip hike from Left Fork Trailhead. Microspikes also highly recommended if you plan on going in the winter.
Jan 8, 2016 near Springdale, UT

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

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Check-Ins

Apr 24, 2024
Private User
Oct 27, 2023
Fabio Perotti
Oct 6, 2023
Daniel Fortune
Jul 24, 2023
Tim Black
Family hike
Jul 22, 2023
fabian ossandon
9 persons 7mi — 11h 30m
Jan 28, 2023
Stewart Carnes
It's extra beautiful and difficult this time of the year. I started an hour before sunrise. The first 1.5 miles has patches of snow and ice. The canyo
Oct 10, 2022
Regina Palmieri
9mi — 7h 00m
Oct 4, 2022
Jerome Bradley

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