Weeping Rock

Weeping Rock is a shallow sandstone alcove at the end of a short paved trail in Zion Canyon. Water seeps through porous Navajo Sandstone, feeding a hanging garden of green plants on the shaded wall. It’s a quick stop, but the wet overhang gives you something different from Zion’s big, dry cliff faces.

From the access area beside Zion Canyon Shuttle Stop 7, cross the footbridge and turn left. The round trip is 0.4 mile with 98 feet of gain: paved, but steep in places, with stairs and minor drop-offs. It isn’t wheelchair accessible. Pit toilets are at the parking area; there’s no drinking water there. The damp rock beneath the alcove can be slick.

From the alcove and trail area, look for Angels Landing, the Great White Throne, Big Bend, and Cable Mountain. For a photo, keep part of the seep-streaked overhang or hanging greenery in the foreground and leave an opening to the canyon; that shows what makes this view Weeping Rock’s.

Porous Navajo Sandstone absorbs water and releases it slowly at the alcove. That seep supports a small hanging garden in an otherwise dry canyon. The water can be a fine drip or a more noticeable trickle, but don’t count on a waterfall; the flow varies.

Studies of Zion’s hanging gardens found that some groundwater reaching these wet alcoves has been underground for 1,000 to 4,000 years. That range describes one of the groundwater sources identified in Zion, not an age measured for every drop at Weeping Rock.