Zion National Park Warnings Or Dangers

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This is a great trail until you get to the final leg of the Angel's Landing trail. My son and I went past Scout Lookout and encountered the cables for a bit. The cables are not placed correctly to ensure your safety. The rock is littered with sand, making it very slippery. Nothing but sheer drop offs. We saw people trying to go up the final accent to Angel's Landing wearing sandals, thongs and no shoes at all.

My son was 22 years old and I was 50 at the time. Both in decent shape and aware of of suroundings and the danger. My son didn't want to go any further. I too felt it was unsafe. We spoke to two Rangers afterward and they told us about how many people have fallen to their deaths climbing Angel's Landing. It is a National Park and you are responsible for your safety they said.

I would recommend hiking up as far as you are comfortable. If you have kids with you pay extra attention to them and their safety. I feel there are great views all the way up to Scout Lookout. Enjoy Refrigerator Canyon and get a great workout going up the 21 switchbacks at Walter's Wiggles.

I just felt I should warn people about the danger at the end of this trail for visitors.

As memorable as the cables on Half Dome, the final 'chokepoint' on the trail up Angel's Landing is along the summit crest. Anchored cable chains provide more stability on the steep vertical ground in this section. Forego this area when conditions are wet. Forego this area if you have a fear of heights.

If you are afraid of heights, Angel's Landing might not be for you. The final section of the hike is a chained section over the very spine of the peak. There are 1500 foot steep drop-offs on each side but worse are the people coming down who are getting an even hairier view than you. Them clutching the chains, white-knuckled does little for your own self-confidence. Don't look down and forge straight up. It's worth it!

Hiking in Zion Canyon in the Virgin River can be a unique and very rewarding experience. However, hiking in such a canyon can be very treacherous. Please always talk to rangers about the water levels and other dangers before heading to either the short or long versions of the Narrows hike.

Water levels/floods: The river is fed from streams and creeks hundreds of miles away. Even if the weather is clear the day you want to hike, a rain storm a day before a hundred miles upstream could trigger a flash flood that scrapes the canyon walls, with lots of debris inside. There are portions of the canyon, especially the Narrows section, where there is no high ground and no where to escape a flood. Watch the weather carefully and heed the ranger's recommendations on water levels.

Rocks: The river is filled with rocks of varying sizes. They are also slippery with mosses and worn smooth with water. Be careful while walking. My hiking partner turned an ankle partway through our trek and limped the whole rest of the way. A staff is a good bet to help keep your balance.

Do not take these warnings lightly... nearly every year people are injured or killed in the canyon which is very preventable. The year I did the whole hike 3 Californians had been killed just 2 weeks before I arrived. It is not meant to scare you away, but as with anything in Mother Nature, take heed and precautions.

Some of you that don't have a fear of heights may think I am being a bit too cautious. However, I must tell you to please be careful when hiking in Zion. There are some steep drop offs, and a fall from one of these would definitely be harmful, if not fatal. Just use common sense, and you will be fine.

Get into the park as soon as possible it gets really crowded by about 10-11am. If you are driving through it you will get ffrustrated if you don't leave early. There are many slow driving lookie loos who won't pull over for other traffic.

When hiking on Zion's many trails you will undoubtedly run across some of its less forgiving plant species. Within the park grows a few notable dangerous ones.
The first and most obvious is The Prickly Pear Cactus which has pear shaped "leaves" that have up to 1 inch (2.2 cm) long spines that are very sharp. They flower with yellow or purple flowers and can be quite inviting.
The next plant to watch out for is Poison Ivy. I did not encounter any of this plant variety but it is listed as one of the species that live in the park so it is important to be aware of that fact.
The last plant which I found to be the most common to run into was the Yucca Plant. It looks similar to a dwarfed palm tree It has long extremely tough leaves with very sharp spines at their ends. The leaves just so happen to be about 4 feet (1.2 m) off the ground in general and very easily poke into you if you are not watching out for them.

Zion National Park is home of seveal poisonous snake species, including the feared rattlesnake. Any traveler should be careful to avoid being bitten, and especially make sure that you don't put your hands in places you can't see. A rattlesnake bite can be fatal. At the same time, don't let your fear of rattlers inhibit your ability to enjoy Zion. Rattlesnakes are more afraid of you than you are them, and they won't attack unless provoked. They can't out run you and they (usually) aren't smarter than you, so even if you spot one you're not really in danger -- just keep your distance.
This rattlesnake was safe to approach because his fangs were otherwise engaged and likely empty of vemon. Additionally, no rattler worth his salt would give up this hard-won dinner (yum, squirrel!) for a taste of me!