Mystery Canyon Gear Checklist
Mystery Canyon is a technical descent that ends with a rappel down Mystery Falls into the Zion Narrows, and Zion requires a permit for any canyon that needs ropes. Guides count somewhere between 10 and about 15 rappels, with the longest between 115 and 120 feet, so people carry ropes for a drop that long, spare webbing and rapid links, and dry bags for the pools near the end. Wetsuits depend on the season, and you carry your own water until the final drop.
What shapes your gear on Mystery Canyon
- Two ways to reach the top
- Parties either leave a car at the visitor center and drive to the East Mesa trailhead, or start on foot from the Weeping Rock bus stop in Zion Canyon. A guide who knows the area says everyone he knows tried the car shuttle once and then switched to the hike, which saves the car drive but adds a steep climb of about 2,100 feet.
From Road Trip Ryan, Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide and Live That Adventure
- How long it takes
- Plan on 6 to 8 hours. A group of six took the full 8. You exit at the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop, so finish before the last shuttle.
From Road Trip Ryan and Live That Adventure
- Number and length of rappels
- The guides disagree on the count. One says about 12 rappels, another about 15 including two big ones near the end, and a trip report counts 10. All put the longest at about 115 to 120 feet. One guide puts the Mystery Springs drop at about 115 feet and the last drop into the Narrows at about 132 feet, while a trip report puts the last one near 110 feet.
From Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide, Joe's Guide to Zion National Park, Live That Adventure and Road Trip Ryan
- Water in the canyon
- The lake behind the landslide is usually dry or boggy, but it can fill to a ten-foot swim. Mystery Springs has a plunge pool, and one trip report waded waist-deep through another pool after it. There is nothing to drink until the end, although the spring water can be filtered.
- How you get a permit
- Mystery Canyon has its own seasonal lottery with four three-month seasons, and a $6 non-refundable application fee. If you lose, the daily lottery two days ahead is the last-minute route, and unclaimed days go back on the calendar. The refundable per-person fee is $10, and the person on the reservation collects the permit in person.
- Flood limits
- One guide reports a ceiling of 150 cubic feet per second on the Virgin River, above which no permits go out, and a trip report rates the flood risk in Mystery as mild but the Narrows as serious. The park adds that a reservation is no promise that a canyon will be open on your day.
From Joe's Guide to Zion National Park, Live That Adventure and Zion National Park (NPS): Canyoneering Permits
What the agency requires on Mystery Canyon
A wilderness permit for the whole group
Zion requires a permit for every canyon that needs descending gear or ropes. The reservation holder collects it in person at the Wilderness Desk in the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, the day before or the day of the trip, and the permit cannot be transferred.
What hikers carry on Mystery Canyon
Ropes long enough for a 120 foot rappel
One guide asks for enough rope for a 120 foot rappel and prefers two ropes of that length or longer. Another puts the Mystery Springs drop at 35 meters and the last drop at 40 meters. A trip report put the biggest rappel at 120 feet into the spring pool.
From Joe's Guide to Zion National Park, Road Trip Ryan and Live That Adventure
Spare webbing and rapid links
Anchors are mostly bolts, but guides say slings can be missing or worn. One suggests packing roughly 20 to 30 feet of spare webbing plus some rapid links, and a trip guide reports that a team replaced webbing that the sun had faded.
From Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide, Joe's Guide to Zion National Park and Road Trip Ryan
Dry bags or dry kegs
Pack everything you want dry before the Mystery Springs drop, because the plunge pool is a mandatory swim for many parties. A trip report put its gear away in dry bags at the top of that rappel.
From Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide, Live That Adventure and Road Trip Ryan
A wetsuit in spring or fall
Guides disagree on the cutoff. One says wetsuits are highly recommended in spring and fall and optional in the hottest weather. Another says to bring them in cold months and skip them when it is warm, since the water sections are short. A hot-weather party found the pools freezing but welcome.
From Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide, Live That Adventure and Road Trip Ryan
A helmet, harness and a leash for the exposed traverse
Mystery Springs starts with an exposed move to the anchor. A guide suggests a safety line or belay there, with a tether and locking carabiner on each party member, and another suggests a sling or daisy chain as a leash at stations.
From Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide, Joe's Guide to Zion National Park and Live That Adventure
A GPS or map for the top
Finding the head of Mystery is the part guides worry about, because several side canyons look alike and the wrong one may need more rope than you carry. One trip report searched for the faint trail on the shale slope for a while.
From Joe's Guide to Zion National Park, Live That Adventure and Road Trip Ryan
Water to drink and a warm layer
A guide says to carry all your own drinking water until the very end. One group felt cold and tired on the long walk down the Narrows afterward, and they wear packable insulated jackets for canyon days.
A way to ascend a rope
In 2016 two canyoneers got their two ropes stuck on back-to-back rappels and had no gear to climb a rope and free them. They spent a night in the canyon, and another party helped them down the last drop.
From Zion National Park (NPS): Yelling for help from the top of Mystery Canyon
6 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Mystery Canyon
The second car
One guide and his friends all did the car shuttle once and then walked up from the valley on later trips because the shuttle ate the day.
From Road Trip Ryan
A wetsuit on a hot day
A guide says wetsuits are not needed when the landslide lake is dry and the weather is hot, since the swims are short. A hot-weather group found the water cold but refreshing.
Dropping gear off the last rappel
The last drop lands in the Narrows with a crowd below. One guide says not to let anything fall and to lower the ropes rather than throw them.
From Road Trip Ryan
A permit-free attempt
The two canyoneers in the ranger blog also had no permit and were cited. The lesson the rangers took from it was to get the permit and to stay where you are when you call for help.
From Zion National Park (NPS): Yelling for help from the top of Mystery Canyon
Gear questions for Mystery Canyon
Do you need a permit for Mystery Canyon?
Yes. Zion requires a permit for every canyon that needs ropes or descending gear. Mystery Canyon runs its own seasonal lottery, with a daily lottery as the backup. The person named on the reservation picks the permit up in person at the Wilderness Desk.
How many rappels are in Mystery Canyon?
Guides count between 10 and about 15, depending on whether optional drops are included. The longest is about 115 to 120 feet.
From Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide, Joe's Guide to Zion National Park, Live That Adventure and Road Trip Ryan
Do you need a wetsuit for Mystery Canyon?
Guides recommend one in spring and fall and say you can skip it in hot weather, because the swims are short. A dry bag matters in every season.
From Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide, Live That Adventure and Road Trip Ryan
How long does Mystery Canyon take?
Plan on 6 to 8 hours. A group of six needed the full 8. The route ends at the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop, so leave time before the last shuttle.
From Road Trip Ryan and Live That Adventure
Is there drinking water in Mystery Canyon?
No, not until the very end. Carry what you need. Guides say you can filter water at Mystery Springs if you must.
Sources
- Canyoneering Permits · Zion National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Yelling for help from the top of Mystery Canyon · Zion National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Mystery Canyon - Zion East Side · Road Trip Ryan, Ryan · Blog
- Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide: Mystery Canyon · Tom's Utah Canyoneering Guide · Blog
- Mystery Canyon - Joe's Guide to Zion National Park · Joe's Guide to Zion National Park, Joe · Blog
- A Quick Guide to Canyoneering Mystery Canyon · Live That Adventure, Dustin and Vy · Trip report