Coalpits Wash, Zion National Park - Utah

On the trail

After a week of mid-December sub-zero temperatures, typical Utah winter haze, and too many crowds at the pre-Christmas sales we were ready for some warm weather, clear skies and solitude. With post holiday work weeks and family commitments keeping me near home there was only one thing to do: throw the gear in the car and head south for some winter hiking in Zion National Park.

Zion National Park, with it's relatively easy freeway access and 4 million visitors a year, isn't exactly the kind of place you go for solitude. Unless you go in the off season and you get off the beaten path, which in this case means getting away from Zion Canyon. When Coalpits Wash was suggested, I thought "Why, it's just open canyon hiking through a dry, flat wash?" But what we found was a great winter hike with temperatures in the 60's.

The Trail
Coalpits Wash is located in the southwestern end of the park. The trailhead is 50 feet off the highway that leads to the park gates. This means you don't have to pay the park entrance fee and, if you don't spend the night in the park boundaries, no backcountry permit fees either. It's a 13-mile round trip that takes you from open canyon walking, through the desert, climbing over large boulders, hiking under the sandstone and conglomerate shelves to the pourover that ends the canyon.

"Coalpits Wash turns out to be a great hike, ... the real reason we enjoyed Coalpits Wash is because we were able to catch a rare glimpse of desert beauty in the winter. ..."

When we take the first left fork, the wash begins to narrow and the hiking becomes quite a bit steeper and more interesting. Five and six

Frozen waterfall at Coalpits Wash

foot waterfalls are around every bend and they all have beautiful ice formations that formed during the night, when the temperature reached down to the low 20's. Ice formed in layers on the surface of the stream. In the places where the sun rarely hit, the ice is thick enough to walk on, which makes for easier stream crossings.

A few miles into the wash we reach the junction with the Chinle Trail another trail in the southwestern portion of the park. Just before we reach it the wash narrows down again into some of the most interesting formations yet. Conglomerate rock forces the stream into narrow twists. Then suddenly, the canyon opens up again. Before us is a small waterfall, frozen and framed with the Moenkopi cliffs of Zion Canyon in the background.

The canyon opens up and we wind our way through the Juniper, PiŅon, and Cottonwood forest, crossing and re-crossing the stream countless times. As the temperature rises to near sixty degrees, I am surprised to find myself looking for shade to hike in.

Old oil drilling operation (5 1/2 miles from hikers gate)

We eventually reach the site of an old oil drilling operation. In 1909 Congress preserved the area currently known as Zion National Park as Mukuntuweap National Monument. This designation phpluded areas mostly around Zion Canyon. Around this same time frame, oil was discovered in the Coalpits Wash area. An operation to drill for oil was established. In 1919 the national monument was expanded to phplude Coalpits Wash and the name was changed to Zion National Park. The remains of the oil operation are still visible in the canyon.

Again the wash narrows and steepens as it nears the end of the canyon. More waterfalls appear with varied and interesting ice formations. Icicles form on the Maiden Hair ferns that hang from the shelves, giving the appearance of some icy, backcountry chandelier.

As we reach the end of the canyon, we realize that the Winter Solstice was just a week ago and we will be walking in the dark unless we move quickly. We return the same way we hiked in. Everywhere we saw icicles or frozen waterfalls the ice is now gone. We look at each other and realize how lucky we were to be in the right place at the right time to see the frozen formations.

We push hard to get back to the trailhead before nightfall. The hike out goes by fast and soon we are hiking in the open desert toward the beginning of the trail. As the sound of cars passing on the highway pulls me back into civilization, I stop and turn around for one last look. Only the very tops of the majestic cliffs of Zion Canyon in the distance are bathed in the last rays of sunlight. We reach the car with just enough light to remove our packs and load the car.

Coalpits Wash turns out to be a great hike, partly because it was warm, and partly because of the solitude. We only saw one other person, a day hiker

Filtering water at Coalpits Wash

that we passed on our way out. There were only a few footprints above the junction with the Chinle Trail, none above the oil well site. But the real reason we enjoyed Coalpits Wash is because we were able to catch a rare glimpse of desert beauty in the winter.

If you go to Zion National Park in the winter, be prepared for temperature extremes. We experienced highs in the 60's and lows in the 20's. Water wasn't a problem for us, but check with the rangers as Coalpits Wash doesn't run year round. And in dry years water could be scarce. Coalpits Wash is also the lowest point in the National Park at 3,666 ft. A good trail guide for the wash is Hiking Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks by Erik Molvar and Tamara Martin, published by Falcon Books and the Trails Illustrated map for Zion National Park.

By John Walter
John Walter is a Contributing Editor at GearReview.com.