Right Fork (from the Top), Zion National Park

Getting There:  From Springdale, drive south and west 14 miles to the town of Virgin. Turn right on the Kolob Reservoir (KR) road. The paved KR road winds through town, then climbs a dramatic ridge in making its way to Kolob Terrace. Six and a half miles from Virgin, the road enters the park and three trailheads are soon encountered - Right Fork being the first. Park at the Right Fork Trailhead, 7.0 miles from the town of Virgin. The trailhead is not shown on many maps, but is close to the Bench Mark labeled BM 4501. Driving time from Springdale is 45 minutes. This is your exit point, leave a car here.

The top of the route can be accessed from either the West Rim Trailhead or from the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead. The first is a shorter hike, but a longer drive, and will be described here. Wildcat Canyon Trailhead will work better if you have only one car, or if the Lava Point road is closed. If you have one car, leave it at the Right Fork Trailhead. Or, arrange a shuttle to transfer from the Right Fork Trailhead to Wildcat Cyn TH or the West Rim Trailhead with Zion Adventure Company. 

Approach Hike from West Rim Trailhead:  Hike down the West Rim Trail 500 feet (150 m), then branch right onto the Wildcat Canyon Trail. Follow this 15 minutes (0.7 miles), then drop south off the trail through brush to the bottom of Little Blue Canyon (not labeled on the map). Follow the bottom of Little Blue southwest until it drops steeply into Wildcat Canyon. Two 75-foot (20 m) rappels pass this section into a lush glen.

Alternatively, stay on the trail another half mile and drop into Wildcat Canyon where the trail crosses the visible drainage, avoiding the two rappels of Little Blue Canyon.

Approach Hike from Wildcat Canyon Trailhead:  Follow the Wildcat Canyon Trail 4.1 miles to where it crosses, you guessed it, Wildcat Canyon, and plunge down the watercourse from there.

Alternate Technical Approach: The Hammerhead – The hammerhead-shaped canyon 0.2 miles SE of PT 7325 on the West Rim makes a reasonable (though more technical) entrance to the Right Fork. Bushwhack to the northern end of the hammer: the best route follows the trail south from Potato Hollow, then cuts right and follows grasslands up a wide valley, then right again up to a shallow pass overlooking the south end of The Hammerhead. Traverse the rim till above the north end and work your way down the slope to the first rappel. The brush is terrible and the terrain hard to read, so a GPS is recommended. Six rappels to 165 feet (50 m) from natural anchors, and several downclimbs, are required to reach the Right Fork. At the intersection with the main canyon, descend the steep nose on canyon left to reach the floor of the canyon. (For a small, skilled group, the Hammerhead will be just about as fast as the normal approach. For larger, less-skilled groups it could take MUCH longer).

Wildcat Canyon is an open, rugged and dry canyon with large cliffs on both sides. Follow easily the bottom of the canyon, for a mile and a half, until it becomes more rugged and brushy. Avoid difficulties by staying right of the canyon bottom on the benchland where the walking is easier.

Follow the bench for 3.2 miles, crossing a wash. Just short of where Wildcat Canyon turns right and joins the Left Fork, follow social trails that find a ramp that leads easily down into the canyon. Follow the canyon bottom for 1/10 mile (160 m) to an easy exit up slabs on the left (east) where The Seeps come in. This is likely the first drinkable water found on the hike, though the flow is often a tiny trickle, and the potholes in the canyon might offer a better source for pumping.

Up to the Pass: Hike south-southeast, climbing up a wide, open and dry valley. There are some incredible Ponderosa Pines in this canyon, protected by the very large sandstone walls on each side. Cresting the pass, the canyon to the south is a neat slickrock canyon of great rugosity. A bivy site near the pass offers excellent views.

Descend The Valley and Climb to The Shelf. Stay to the right to avoid the rugged canyon on the left. Follow game trails down and into a small drainage, that in thirty minutes joins with the main canyon on the left. Follow the main drainage for only a few minutes, to where it becomes slickrock and starts to slot up and form potholes. This is the start of the more-technical Direct Upper Right Fork* (see description at bottom) section that most parties will wish to avoid.

Backtrack a few minutes and find a social trail or game track ascending the steep, wooded slope to the west. Climb several hundred feet to the crest. Once atop of the ridge, a good trail-of-use makes travel easy. Follow the crest of the rib, then drop into a shallow, beautiful slickrock canyon on the right, and follow this remarkable "Giant Staircase" to its end. (This is the last place to bivy before dropping into the narrow canyon). Where the canyon drops precipitously, downclimb steeply to the left, using the trees and carefully searching out the easiest route. Rappels should not be necessary. Near the bottom, cross the watercourse and follow a shelf 40 feet above the watercourse, until it is easy to drop into the canyon. You may need to use a handline or lower packs to get to the canyon floor. Some people bivy in this vicinity. Water may be available in potholes.

The Right Fork:  Finally! we're in the cool confines of the Right Fork. The canyon is deep and shaded with a rocky bottom – but also quite rugged and downstream travel is slow. The wise canyoneer will hunt for options at each obstacle, choosing the fastest and safest route down. This stretch to the Grand Alcove is only 1.3 miles (2 km) long, but takes 2-3 hours to traverse.

Hike downcanyon under a giant boulder. A few minutes later, the canyon turns sharply right. In about 20 minutes, the Black Pool is encountered.

The Infamous Black Pool is a nice way to cool off. Drop into the pool, and swim 50 feet to 100 yards through a sinuous sandstone slot. Brrrrrrr. Rumor has it the pool can be avoided by a traverse on the left, then rapping off a tree into the end of the pool. But what's the point?

Walk briskly to warm back up. Other obstacles are overcome, rappels are made, pools are swum. Close to the Alcove, a little flow starts up in the canyon bottom. After several hours of rugged canyon, you arrive at:

The Grand Alcove, a magnificent overhang with multiple colorful tiers. The canyon cuts through the aquifer layer and copious quantities of clear, clean water burst out of the walls. This makes a splendid camping place - requiring your best minimum impact camping technique.

The Grand Alcove was named the "Stevenson Alcove" by the first ascent party of Ron Shofner and Bill Fisher in July 1965. Adlai Stevenson died a few days before they started their trip. Unfortunately, later authors did not propagate this name.

The Grand Alcove comes with a cliff obstacle that can be rappelled on the left at the far end of the ledges off a fixed anchor. A second, short rappel is made off a tree to the canyon floor. But, way WAY more fun -- the streambed flume can be slid and downclimbed directly to the pool at the bottom, which makes for a refreshing morning swim, and is a wonderful section of canyon.

Barrier Falls:  One hundred yards below the Grand Alcove, a 60-foot (20 m) waterfall is rappelled from bolt anchors. Barrier Falls represents the furthest the canyon can be hiked from the bottom. The is a lot of Poison Ivy from Barrier Falls out to the trailhead. Heading downcanyon soon leads to...

More Waterfalls:  A splendid waterfall appears difficult, but is easily passed by a trail to the side. The next fall is Double Falls - passed on the left. A ledge passes behind the twin waterfalls, allowing the adventurous canyoneer to dive through the waterfall into the pool beyond. Big boulders and rugged terrain make this section slow going.

* Upper Right Fork Direct – The series of linked potholes in the Upper Right Fork can be descended directly. Climbing skills may be required to exit one or two of the potholes, and rappels up to 80 feet will be found, all from natural anchors. The series of linked potholes calls for greater protection from cold water than the regular Right Fork route. This variation adds 1-2 hours to the normal descent.

The Slog:  Unfortunately, Double Falls represents the end of the 'goodies', and the beginning of the slog out. The streambed is kinda like the end of The Subway, but twice as long, and a lot more interesting. Follow the streambed and side trails west for 4 miles to the junction with the Left Fork. Where the stream cuts an "inner gorge", follow along inside the gorge.

Poison Ivy is prevalent in this part of the canyon, so keep a keen eye and stay away from vegetation as much as possible.

From the junction with the Left Fork, cross the stream and head south (left) on the opposite bank. A quarter mile below the junction, a path heads up and right to the lava cliffband. Keep your eyes peeled – while the path is marked, it is still an unofficial trail, and can be easily missed. Follow the trail up through the steep talus, then up through the cliff band of black lava to the Right Fork Trailhead. Near the base of the trail up, a great swimming hole is available and recommended.

The last three miles to the road were impacted by a large fire in June 2006, and the trail may be difficult to find and follow through this section. At times, a landslide forms a lake that requires an extended swim.

Author's Experience

I first descended the Right Fork from the top in summer 1999 with Bill Reimann.  I have descended it a couple of times since then, including by the Hammerhead approach, and sometimes including the Direct Right Fork when possible.

Right Fork Fest, 10/19/02 - The first descent of The Hammerhead.
Right Fork, September 2003 - Tom and friends descend the Right Fork in two teams.
Stevenson Canyon, July 2007 - The first descent of Stevenson Canyon.

Stories

Right Fork North Creek, July 17, 1965 - possible first ascent (or pretty close)
Right Fork First Descent, June 26-July 2, 1966 - This is the report of the first descent by Victor Schmidt, Fred Kissell, Hugh Young, Frank Acker, David Thompson and Carol Thompson.

Exterior Links

Trip Reports

 

Stories

Ultra Right Fork, July 2007 - Tom Wetherall, Canyon Tales Collection
Stevenson Canyon, July 2007 - Tom Jones, Canyon Tales Collection

Alternative Descriptions

• Geared up Geared up
• Left Fork Overlook Left Fork Overlook
• Finding Hammerhead Finding Hammerhead
• Tight brush Tight brush
• Brian Cabe en rap Brian Cabe en rap
• First rap First rap
• Lin Alder rapping Lin Alder rapping
• Another rap Another rap
• A narrow slot A narrow slot
• Rapping in Little Blue Rapping in Little Blue
• Bivy spot in Upper Right Bivy spot in Upper Right
• Pearl styling the 'big rap' Pearl styling the 'big rap'
• Siesta time! Siesta time!
• Brian Cabe - Grand Alcove Brian Cabe - Grand Alcove
• In the Grand Alcove In the Grand Alcove
• Blake enjoys some chow Blake enjoys some chow
• Bivy Bivy
• In the Alcove In the Alcove
• Lower Alcove Lower Alcove
• A morning swim A morning swim
• Todd likes antiques Todd likes antiques
• Tom W raps Tom W raps
• Old bolts Old bolts
• Barrier from below Barrier from below
• Another waterfall Another waterfall
• Phillip at Double Falls Phillip at Double Falls
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