First, a confession: I signed up for a canyoneering tour near Zion National Park without knowing what canyoneering is.
I read an article in Marin magazine that described using belay devices and rapelling down cliffs, and it sounded great. So I decided to sign up for Amazing Adventures’ half-day private canyoneering tour ($250 per person) with little other research. I’m so glad I did! Our time at Lambs Knoll Climbing Site, just outside the boundaries of Zion National Park, was one of the highlights of our Utah trip.
So what is canyoneering?
Basically, canyoneering is like rock climbing in reverse. You’re exploring canyons — at Lambs Knoll, that includes narrow slot canyons where you have to suck in your gut and squeeze through sideways. It can include a little rock climbing or scrambling, but you mostly start high and rapell down.
Review of our Zion canyoneering tour
The day before our outing, our guide, Jackson, called us to give us instructions for meeting. Since the Amazing Adventures signup page had said to meet at a trailhead, I was imagining we’d be parking on some remote roadside. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to find the place. But Jackson assured us that the Lambs Knoll Trailhead is a parking lot with a bathroom.
Great! I’m a 50 year old mom. I like every adventure to have a bathroom at the beginning.
When we arrived, Jackson was waiting for us. He gave us each a climbing harness just like the ones you would use in a rock climbing gym. We each got a belay device and a figure-8 style device which we could use to add friction while belaying. And we were each given a helmet, which we could carry until we started rapelling. Then it was off to the races.
Hiking and climbing to our first rappel
First, a little walk down a partially shaded trail. Nothing too strenuous. Jackson was friendly and personable. Although he’s of course young and fit — you wouldn’t want your guide to be out of shape! — he didn’t patronize us or look down on us for being new to canyoneering.
Before the first drop, we got to do a little climb. Since I do gym rock climbing, I’d been looking forward to this. We basically had to part scramble, part climb up a steep rock, holding a rope that Jackson set up for us. It was a climb that would have been easy with rock climbing shoes on in the gym! In hiking boots, it was challenging. But we all made it.
Rapelling down into canyons
Now it was time to find out what canyoneering is about! Jackson set up two ropes, one for us to hold and lower ourselves down on, and a second rope that he used to belay us. This way, even if we completely screwed up and let go of our rope, he could still gently lower us to the canyon floor.
Jackson demonstrated exactly how to use our devices to lower ourselves, and then guided us through our first descent, one by one.
Standing on a ledge, my back to a drop-off, those first backwards steps were a leap of faith! However, the rope set up made me feel very secure. In fact, you start off leaning backwards against the rope, it has so much friction that you may find it difficult to get going. I did!
For this and subsequent climbs, getting down over the ledge is the hardest part. Once you start going down, you might have a moment where you bump across the face of the canyon, before you get your legs into a good position to hold yourself in a good stance. I had a few bruises the next day from these moments.
Other than that, however, rapelling is easy. You walk yourself down a canyon wall, feeding out rope as you go. You can move quite slowly if you want. I never felt like I was in danger or out of control.
Once at the bottom, Jackson had instructed us to step away from the wall, disconnect from the ropes, and yell to him that we were off rope. Then he would pull the rope back up again so the next person could go.
All the while, Jackson used our phones to take photos of us so we would have great memories of the day.
Narrow slot canyons
A couple of the canyons we passed through were tight squeezes. Jackson instructed us how to turn our bodies to get through without trouble. At one point, he had us hand all our backpacks to him so he could get them through. Other times, we had to carry our packs in front of us as we side-stepped through. This part of the tour felt almost like caving, and was really fun.
I did worry that I might get stuck at points, as I’m a little overweight. But I made it through!
Customization on our canyoneering tour
I actually ended up rescheduling this tour, because I fell during our very first hike in Zion National Park and hurt my knee. Amazing Adventures was very flexible about rescheduling even though it happened the night before our original outing. While I was discussing it with them, they let me know they could easily customize our trip to make it easier on my knee. But in the end I was glad that I postponed the outing until the end of our trip so I could make the most of it.
I’m sure that if our group was experienced at canyoneering, or more athletic, Jackson could have taken us on some harder climbing and rapelling activities. Or, he could have made things easier for us. Since they offer fully private tours — ours was for three people — they customize it just how you want.
Lambs Knoll Climbing Area
Lambs Knoll is on BLM land, near the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park. When we visited on a weekday in May, it wasn’t crowded, although we did meet several other groups of guided climbers and at least one pair of independent hikers. The people we met were a little more adventurous than the folks you meet wandering through Zion Canyon, and we enjoyed talking with them.
The scenery you can peep from the ridges before — and during — your rappels is gorgous. First, there are the canyon walls themselves, with their undulating ridges and coloration. Toward the end of our adventure, the rocks opened up and we gazed down on a lovely green valley.
How hard is canyoneering?
I’m sure that canyoneering near Zion, or anywhere else, can be as hard as you want it to be. But our outing with Amazing Adventures was not difficult. All of us had tried indoor rock climbing at least once, but even if we had never worn a harness before, it still wouldn’t have been out of reach.
Can you go canyoneering if you’re afraid of heights?
I think it would have been pretty tough to take those first steps off the canyon rims to start rapelling, if you were afraid of heights. However, canyoneering with an experienced guide and the right equipment is totally safe!
What should you bring on a Zion canyoneering tour?
For a half-day tour, you’ll want plenty of water — we brought one to two liters per person — comfortable clothes and good walking shoes. Our guide wore approach shoes, which I would totally buy if I started canyoneering a lot. However I definitely wouldn’t buy them for just one trip. Hiking boots were fine.
You could bring a snack, although on a four-hour tour I didn’t really want one. Our guide carried the first aid kit and all the ropes and equipment.
Should you go canyoneering near Zion National Park?
I would wholeheartedly recommend this activity on a visit to Zion. I would also recommend Amazing Adventures in particular. Both the schedulers I spoke to and the guides were friendly, helpful and informative. Our guide Jackson was fun to be around and made us feel at ease and safe. The equipment he brought was all in great shape as well. As a bonus, Jackson gave us great advice for other hikes to take in the Zion area.