Gifford Canyon Hike

Gifford Canyon is about a 3.6-mile out-and-back from the Canyon Overlook access, up an open sandy wash to its enclosed head and back. Allow two to four hours. Most of the canyon is a gradual climb over sand and slickrock, but this is an unofficial, off-trail outing with no continuous maintained tread. Go only if you are comfortable route-finding and scrambling. The route line follows the wash corridor; it does not show the access path or the short detours around dryfalls. If you want a maintained walk instead, the separate Canyon Overlook Trail starts from the same area.

Use the signed River Access path beside the Canyon Overlook restrooms and descend the rocky slope into Pine Creek. Cross toward the road side to reach Gifford Canyon's mouth. A dryfall blocks direct entry, so a steep, brushy user path climbs over slickrock around it before dropping into the wash. Do not continue downstream in Pine Creek; that leads to a different, technical canyon route.

The wash alternates loose sand with pale slickrock bands and bowls. The sand can be tiring when dry; narrow, greener pockets hold moisture and may have soft ground or standing water after rain. About a mile in, a second dryfall requires a scramble up shelves on the west, or right-hand, side. Beyond it, the canyon opens again, with a few short slopes of loose rock before the walls close in near the head. A pool or boulder obstacle commonly marks a sensible turnaround. Return the same way; do not try to climb out through the enclosing cliffs.

The payoff is the contrast between pale, sloping sandstone and the darker, greener wash below. Pines, cottonwoods, shrubs and ferns grow in wetter pockets, and flash-flood debris shows how much water can move through this normally open drainage. At the upper slickrock bowl, look back down-canyon and frame the sandy floor against the layered walls; it gives a better sense of the wash's shape than a close crop of the rock.

The small Canyon Overlook lot just east of the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel is shared with several other walks and can be congested. If it is full, use only designated overflow pullouts farther east. A restroom is reported at the lot; food and potable water were not found along the route, so bring what you need. Summer heat and flash flooding are the main conditions to plan around: avoid the wash during storms or rising water and check current park alerts before setting out. Pets are not permitted on this route; Zion allows them only on the Pa'rus Trail, with service animals excepted.