Mystery Canyon

One of the most coveted canyons in Zion, one of the most difficult permits to get. There is a two-stage lottery for permits. Extreme good luck required to get a weekend permit, but weekday ones are much easier. This canyons will seem spectacular or mediocre depending on the time of the day you visit it. When the sun is at an angle is when you will experience the canyon glowing with its best colors. Try to time your arrival at the big rappel for either mid-afternoon or mid-morning.

Starts at East Mesa Trailhead on the Ponderosa Ranch Resort and involves a fairly a flat trail hike to the head of the canyon. This route requires a one-hour each-way car fetch, or using a commercial shuttle from Springdale. The parking lot at East Mesa is very small and the dirt road that leads there is rutted in places and impassable when muddy. There is no parking anywhere along the road. A commercial trailhead shuttle is also available from near the entrance to the Ponderosa Ranch Resort that will drop your group off just before the rutted out section of the road adding about .5 miles of road walking. Historically, one could hike up from Zion Canyon / Weeping Rock shuttle stop up the East Rim trail but this route has been closed due to a series of rockfalls since 2019 and there are no current plans to reopen that section of the trail.

Mystery canyon is noted for the variety of terrain it offers. The adventure starts with a steep descent down "The Death Gully" (no deaths reported to date). It is important to find the correct small trail, as off-trail descent of this slope is gruesome. Descend the Death Gully. Hike down the wooded canyon floor with a few short downclimbs. (A bolt anchor is available at most of the downclimbs, for those who would prefer a short rappel.) At the end of the wooded canyon is the Rock Narrows, a series of about six rappels one after the other. All anchors are two-bolt anchors. After the Rock Narrows, the canyon widens and becomes wooded again. A brief walk leads to the Mystery Canyon seasonal lake, which is a dry or muddy flat unless it has rained in the last few days. A three hundred foot pile of sand and rocks blocks the canyon, creating the lake. Climb the sand pile on the right margin, then down the other side. A bit more hiking, a rappel and a few downclimbs leads to the spectacular final section. An easy but exposed walk out to a bolt anchor (safety line usually in place) leads to a rappel into Mystery Springs and a two-stroke swim. The canyon has a small flow from this point. A couple slimy downclimbs including into a short swim leads to the final rappel next to Mystery Falls into The Narrows.