Imlay Canyon, Zion National Park

LOGISTICS   -FULL IMLAY
Rating	4B IV R
Season	Summer or fall
Time Commitment	10 to 14 hours
Longest Rappel	165 feet (50 m)
Access	Start at the West Rim Trailhead by Lava Point; finish by hiking out the Narrows. A long car shuttle is required.
Permit Required?	YES – If seeking an early start, be sure to ask for a White Pass that allows parking at The Grotto.
Emergency	Zion Wilderness Desk: 435-772-0170 Zion EMERGENCY: 435-772-3322
EQUIPMENT
Essentials	Helmets, rappelling gear, webbing, rapid links and hooking kit.
Cold Water   Protection	Thick wetsuits or drysuits required at all times of the year.
Drinking Water	Once in the canyon, filterable pothole water is available, but not recommended.
DIFFICULTIES
Flash Flood Risk	High - There are long sections of narrows and a large watershed above.
Skills Required	Efficient travel, problem solving, pothole escapes, staying warm.
Anchors	A mix of natural and bolted, bring webbing and quicklinks.

 

SEASONAL ADJUSTMENTS

Summer and Fall are the best times for Imlay. Snowpack in winter and spring could make both the approach and the canyon extremely difficult. The real variable for Imlay is the water levels in the potholes. High water = fast, cold and easy. Low water = slow, difficult and not so cold. Snowmelt and thunderstorms fill the potholes. Knowledge of recent weather or recent trip reports can clue you in, but you should ALWAYS be prepared to hook out of potholes.

From Lava Point, hike the West Rim Trail 5.1 miles (8 km) to Potato Hollow. A side trail leads left to a small pond and a designated camping site. Follow the outlet of the pond to the head of the canyon. There is often a trickle of water in the stream. (Can also be hiked to from the Main Canyon floor but this will take 4-5 hours).

Traverse the left rim 1/8 mile (200m) to a small bowl with two pine trees. Downclimb through a break in the cliffband to the lowest pine.

R1: Rap 140 feet (40m) to a large pine tree.

R2: Rap 120 feet (35m) to the creek bottom.

R3: Rap 120 feet (35m) off of logs in the streambed through multiple pools past an old piton. The pools are usually waist deep.

Climb down the canyon. One section may be easier to rappel or handline. At a steep pouroff, climb left up dirt and brush, then down to a small tree.

R4: Rap 60 feet (18m) to a large tree.

R5: Rap 65 feet (20m) to a ledge with a couple of bolts. 

Combining R4 and R5 is not recommended as your rope can get stuck in the bushes and trees.

R6: Rap 165 feet (50m) down a steep wall to a big ledge atop a ridge.

Downclimb to the end of the ridge, then off the right side down steep dirt into the wash. Several hours of interesting canyon with numerous short rappels (and a long rappel here and there) lead to The Crossroads. The pools get deeper as the canyon progresses – suit up after encountering the first waist-deep pool.

The Crossroads

The Crossroads is a complex area where numerous canyons come in from both sides. The two Sneak Routes come in on the right, in two places quite close together. The end of the Crossroads is generally taken to be the "bivy alcove": a large overhang sheltering a sandy beach with easy access to higher ground. There is water in a pool, usually pretty nice.

After the Crossroads area is a section of corridors with numerous short downclimbs and short rappels, often a few swims, and at times some log soup to work through. This section will take 30 to 60 minutes to complete, ending with a rappel off a bolt into a keeper pothole - the start of the first extreme narrows.

Work your way through the narrows, enjoying the beauty of this deep, dark and heavily sculpted canyon. Strenuous climbing, pack tosses, ingenuity and, as a last resort, drilling and hooking may be required to pass the numerous obstacles. After an hour or two or three, the canyon relents and opens up briefly. A safe bivy can be found by climbing slabs out of the canyon to the left.

Note: it is possible to exit the canyon right at the start of the first section of extreme narrows, and proceed overland to bypass them – but it is reported to be ugly.

The second extreme narrows (the Terminal Narrows) is somewhat shorter, but still takes an hour or two to traverse. It culminates in a long rappel (60 feet, 20m) to a long pool. At the end of the pool, the canyon jogs left to a large ledge overlooking the North Fork Narrows. Rappel 120 feet (37m) to the river. Hike The Narrows to the Temple of Sinawava (about 2 hours).

Hike The Narrows to the Temple of Sinawava (about 2 hours).

PDF Canyon Guide A printable canyon description and map you can take with you.

Zion: Canyoneering Have all Zion's classic canyons in one convenient book.

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Imlay Canyon

Detailed Route Maps Click on any map to browse a larger view, then right-click to save and print.

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Deluxe Maps Deluxe maps are available in two formats: • 1 Mb files in the Map Download Center, designed for printing on 11" x 17" paper  • Canyoneering Maps for Purchase in the Canyoneering USA Store. Printed maps are 13" x 19", nicely presented on 24 lb. white paper.

Zion: Central Canyons and Trails

Author's Experience

I first did Imlay Sneak Route with Shane Burrows and Scott Holley in 2001, and then with Scott and a friend of his, doing the Full, three weeks later. Mel Brown, Steve Brezovec and I did a winter Imlay Sneak in February 2003, and I have done Imlay once or twice (or more) a year since then, usually by the Sneak route. In that time, I have done the Full Imlay only four times. We also entered once from Sleepy Hollow, and that was awful!

Sneak Route, June 2004 - Tom, Chris Avery, Lin Alder and Tom Wetherell vie for the best photos of Imlay and Kolob.
Imlay Sneak, 7/16/05 - A mid-summer Imlay requires an early start.
Imlay Canyon Full Route, 9/23/06 - Steve Brezovec and Tom do Heaps and Imlay in a day.
Imlay Sneak Route, 9/24/10 - The Colorado Gang has fun in Imlay.

Trip Reports

Sneak Route, 7/04/04 - Todd Martin and the Arizona Gang set out for a day trip via the shortcut route to Imlay Canyon.
Sneak Route, 5/20/07 - Dan Ransom's Sneak Route.
Zion Trifecta, 6/27/09 - Jared Campbell, Buzz Burrell and Ryan McDermott do the three biggest canyons in Zion is just over twenty five hours.

Stories

Descents by Dennis Turville - A selection of canyon descents by Dennis Turville, Mike Bogart, et al.
German Tourists in Imlay - Barb Pollyea writes of her first trip through Imlay Canyon.
Sneak Route: Imlay, 2/23/02 - Tom. Steve Brezovec and Mel Brown do Imlay in the winter.
Imlay Two Ways - Scott Card's adventures in Imlay.

Exterior Links

BluuGnome.com, Sneak and Full Imlay - Description

 

 

• Upper Imlay rap Upper Imlay rap
• Rapping into a pothole Rapping into a pothole
• Imlay sneak 1 Imlay sneak 1
• Canyoneers approaching Canyoneers approaching
• Down to the alcove Down to the alcove
• Suited up n ready to go Suited up n ready to go
• Mud! Mud!
• Rap n Swim Rap n Swim
• Arch rappel Arch rappel
• Looking up Looking up
• Across a pothole Across a pothole
• Imlay scenery Imlay scenery
• Across a BIG pothole Across a BIG pothole
• Imlay final rap Imlay final rap
• Final rap, Imlay Final rap, Imlay
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