Angels Landing might be one of the most popular (and to some terrifying) hikes in the world. Visitors come from all corners of the globe to check out this adrenaline-inducing hike and admire the views.
This hike review will walk you through my recent experience successfully hiking Angels Landing.
I’ve also put together an article with all of the helpful tips for hiking Angels Landing (external site). That article will show you how to prepare and plan for Angels Landing so I would definitely check that out.
Zion Canyon Overlook Trail Overview
Highlights on the Angels Landing trail include: exceptional 360º views of Zion Canyon, challenging heights, and the potential for bucket-list worthy bragging rights.
In terms of length and elevation gain, this hike is closer to a moderate trail for experienced hikers but for the less experienced, I think the strenuous classification is well-suited.
- Distance: 5 miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,630 feet
- Route Type: Out and back
- Pets: No
- Difficulty: Moderate to Hard
- Time needed: 3 to 4 hours
Getting to the trailhead
The trailhead is located directly across from the Grotto parking lot found along the Zion Canyon Scenic Route — about 5 miles from the entrance to the park.
Once you arrive, you’ll see the large parking lot on the right and then a smaller parking lot on the left.
After exiting your vehicle, you’ll cross the Virgin River via a narrow bridge and then head right. (Make sure you don’t turn left because that is the way to the Kayenta Trail.)
If there are no shuttles running, which might be the case between October and March, you can simply drive up to the Grotto parking lot.
This parking lot fills up extremely fast and my advice would be to show up about 30 minutes to one hour prior to sunrise to secure a spot.
The great thing about visiting during this time of year when the shuttles don’t run is that you can arrive to the trailhead as early as you would like and get an early start before the crowds get bad.
If the shuttles are running then only Zion Lodge and Canyon Trail Rides guests with reservations are allowed up the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.
This means that you will need to reserve yourself a spot on the shuttle and make your way to the trailhead.
You will reserve a one hour slot for the shuttle bus and you can board anytime during that one hour window.
Tip: If you are going for the earliest shuttle bus (often 7am) then my advice would be to show up to the Visitor Center shuttle stop 30 to 45 minutes prior to when it is scheduled to depart to ensure you board first.
You can reserve shuttle bus tickets in three ways:
You can make reservations ahead of time by going to Recreation.gov. Tickets will be released twice a month, on the 16th and the last day of the month. These tickets are $1 each.
Additional tickets are also released the day before your intended visit at 5 PM at Recreation.gov. These tickets are $1 each.
Finally, you can also try afternoon walk up tickets which are available from 2 PM to 4 PM at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center but these are limited on a first come, first serve basis. These tickets are free.
Be careful about going the afternoon walk up route with Angels Landing because you might have to finish the hike in the dark which is not recommended for beginners.
Trail conditions
A large portion of the trail is paved and so this trail is very easy to navigate. Of course, when you get to the chains section your path becomes a lot more rocky.
You should be able to easily recognize the trail when doing the chains but there are a couple of points were it is a little difficult to determine exactly which way you should go initially.
Route description
From the trailhead you first have about half a mile of relatively flat terrain that is great for helping you to warm up a little bit, especially if it is a bit chilly outside. You might gain 100 feet during this paved section.
The next half a mile is when you will start to hit the incline though.
You’ll be gaining about 500 feet in half a mile so that is a pretty good amount of incline and pretty steep. The great thing about this mostly paved portion of the trail is that the views start to emerge really quickly.
You’ll have some fantastic views of Zion Canyon and the Virgin River below — perfect for taking a breather or two (or three).
There are some sheer drop offs on the side of the trail during this stretch but the trail is pretty wide so I think it is still doable even for people with a fear of heights.
On the way up, I was purposely walking closer to the edge to try to prepare myself for the exposure coming later. I’m not really sure it did anything to help — the chains are just a different type of beast.
Right after you complete the 1st mile, you can relax a little bit because you’ll be heading through a cool canyon that is mostly flat.
When temperatures are high, this canyon — sometimes called refrigerator canyon — can offer a nice break from the heat.
In our case the temperatures were already in the 30s so this canyon just made things a little bit colder if anything.
After a nice half a mile stroll through this canyon, it is then time to deal with the famous Walter’s Wiggles.
This is a set of 21 tight switchbacks that gain approximately 250 feet in elevation.
As far as switchbacks go, these are not as bad as they look and because they are so short you can really fly up these things.
Well, maybe not fly.
It is probably much better to pace yourself since you’ll have to deal with the chains later on.
Once you finish Walter’s Wiggles, you will make it to the Scout Lookout — a fantastic spot to admire the views.
If you are truly bothered by heights then I would probably recommend this spot to be the end of your hike.
If you are still on the fence then you might consider testing out the chain section that is ahead and you will probably know pretty quickly if it is something you want to do.
Once you pass the overlook, it is just a short walk until you arrive at the chains section.
Right off the bat the terrain gets pretty steep. I found myself relying on the chains almost immediately.
For some reason I initially had this idea that I would only rely on the chains minimally but I quickly dropped that.
After you have trekked about half a mile, you will come to an area that levels off.
This is a deceiving point that a lot of people think is the end of the trail and to their disappointment they look up and see that they actually have a lot more to climb on an imposing cliff.
This “surprise” causes some people to turn back around at this point so don’t let this happen to you! Make sure you are prepared for a bit more exertion.
From this point, you will need to drop down a little bit in elevation and then you’ll come across what I consider to be one of the main money shots of Angels Landing.
It’s a set of steps on a very narrow part of the trail — perfect for photo opportunities but just make sure you are focused on where you are stepping.
As you make your way towards the final push you’ll have a few spots of pretty decent exposure to deal with.
It never felt like my life was in danger or anything, but I felt like I underestimated the mental aspect of this hike.
I have a really strange fear of heights that remains dormant 95% of the time and then out of nowhere — boom — the “holy s***” moment just hits me.
It hit me a couple of times on the way up and I didn’t really get super comfortable until we reached the summit. After that though, I was good and really enjoyed the hike.
I also think that doing this hike in pretty cold and windy conditions made it more difficult.
My hands were freezing and constantly removing my gloves to get photographs made dealing with the chains more difficult.
If getting a bunch of photos was not a priority and the temperatures were more moderate, I think the “mental load” of this hike would have been reduced by a large degree.
After dealing with a little bit of exposure, you will be approaching the main section of Angels Landing.
Things are definitely steeper during this portion of the hike so get ready for a little bit more scrambling/vertical moves. This section is not as bad as it looks but it is the most strenuous segment of the chains.
It took us about 20 minutes to get from this point to the summit but if there are a lot of crowds then it could probably take twice as long.
You won’t always have the chains to assist you so in some cases you may need to grab onto rocks or vegetation (be careful with grabbing vegetation because it is not always as solid as you think).
Pretty soon you will make it to the summit!
Once you arrive at the end of the chains, you’ll actually need to keep going a little bit farther. Angels Landing is slightly sloped so the actual summit is a little ways down.
If you were wondering what it is like on top of Angels Landing, the top consists of a lot of angled slabs.
This means that you need to be careful as you walk along this section where there are no chains. I believe most of the deaths here have occurred at the summit so this is where you need to really take your time.
As you would expect, the views from the summit of Angels Landing are pretty incredible.
I would’ve hung out longer on top but it was in the 30s and the wind was no joke.
After you’ve spent a little bit of time up on the summit, it is time to make your way down.
Going down can get a little bit tricky because of how steep the terrain is. When you add in the potential crowds, that adds a layer of complexity as well.
My advice would be to follow behind a group of hikers.
Typically on a trail hikers on the way up have the right of way. But on Angels Landing hikers on the way up will often stop and wait for an entire group to come down.
This means that if you follow closely behind a group you can simply allow them to blaze the path for you.
As you are heading down, you might need to get on your butt and/or crab walk to make it down safely. This is especially true when you are dealing with low hanging chains.
Do whatever you feel like you need to do to stay safe and comfortable when heading down. Just because someone else is not using the chains or not getting down on their butt does not mean that you should follow.
The scariest part about heading down is that you are almost forced to look down at the 1,600 foot dropoffs as you descend.
So it’s a good idea to just focus on where your feet need to go and your point of contact with the chains.
Once you finish up the chain section for good, then you will head back down the way you came on the steep Walter’s Wiggles.
It’s a beautiful hike down with tremendous views but your legs might be a little bit shaky after such a steep descent.
As we were on the way down, officials from the park shut down the chains section. That’s because they found a body that had tragically fallen from the summit the evening before.
This death really put the risk factor into perspective for me. It’s really important to remember that all it takes is one mistake by you or someone else to get yourself into trouble up there. So don’t let your guard down no matter how comfortable you feel.
Final word
Angels Landing is definitely an epic hike and one of my favorite hikes I’ve done to date.
I think the key to enjoy this hike is to go at the right time to where you don’t have to deal with a lot of crowds. That may not be possible for everyone so the second key would be: patience.
Take your time getting up and down and try to avoid getting frustrated. You’ll have incredible views all around so use them to help you enjoy the experience.