Checkerboard Mesa Canyon

Checkerboard Mesa Canyon is an informal 2.4-mile out-and-back from Route 9 to a saddle above the drainage between Checkerboard Mesa and Crazy-Quilt Mesa. Allow two to four hours. It is a worthwhile short canyon hike for confident scramblers, but it is not a maintained trail, and the GPS line follows the drainage corridor rather than every faint bypass.

From the roadside access, walk to the wash west of Checkerboard Mesa and follow it uphill. Expect boulders, logs, and sandstone shelves instead of a smooth tread. At one large boulder, the established bypass is to backtrack slightly and scramble onto shelves on the east side, then rejoin the canyon.

Near the canyon head, a loose, overgrown landslide rises about 200 feet. A faint use track zigzags up the sandy slope to the saddle. From there, look north toward the White Cliffs and south over the country above Parunuweap Canyon. Turn around at the saddle; the mesa summit scramble and the longer route toward Parunuweap are separate objectives.

Use a legal Route 9 pull-off west of Checkerboard Mesa near the drainage, or park at the mesa viewpoint and walk along the road to the canyon mouth. Much of the route is exposed, and footing is loose on the final slope. Because the route follows a drainage, avoid it whenever rain or flood risk is possible. Zion permits pets only on the Pa'rus Trail, so leave dogs behind.