Spry Canyon Gear Checklist
Spry Canyon is a technical Zion descent with a long slickrock approach, a first rappel of 165 feet, and about ten more drops after it. Gear here means rope length, anchors and rope care first. Guides and trip reports agree the canyon is sandy and hard on ropes and descenders, and they split on wetsuits, which depend on the season and on recent rain. Bring all your own water, because there is none in the canyon.
What shapes your gear on Spry Canyon
- Permit and reservation
- Zion requires a permit for every canyon that needs descending gear or ropes. Advance reservations for canyons other than the Subway and Mystery Canyon open up to three months ahead in seasonal blocks, carry a $6 non-refundable fee, and can be made until 5 pm Mountain Time the day before. The permit itself is picked up at the Wilderness Permit Office in the visitor center the day before or the day of the trip.
From National Park Service: Canyoneering Permits, Zion National Park
- Group size
- Two guides give a limit of 6 people per group. Joe's Guide says the park also caps Spry Canyon at 28 people a day.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park and CitrusMilo Adventures
- Route and time
- The route climbs about 800 feet out of Upper Pine Creek to a pass, then drops through the canyon to Pine Creek near the first switchback of Highway 9. It needs a car spotted at the end or a short hitchhike. Guides estimate anywhere from 4 to 8 hours.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, Climb-Utah.com and CitrusMilo Adventures
- Rappels
- The first rappel is the longest at 165 feet, down a low-angle slab. One guide counts 11 rappels in all, another trip report counts about 12. Most anchors are bolted.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, CitrusMilo Adventures and Alpine Wanderlust
- Water in the canyon
- Drinking water is not available. The one swim that cannot be avoided comes near the end and is short. Other pools are often waist deep and many can be bypassed.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park and CitrusMilo Adventures
- Flash floods
- Guides call the flood danger moderate. Tom Jones writes that the small catchment still gets direct storm hits, and that a flash in 2010 swept three canyoneers over a rappel. Joe's Guide says to skip the canyon if rain threatens.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, CitrusMilo Adventures and Climb-Utah.com
What the agency requires on Spry Canyon
A permit for the trip
Every canyon in Zion that requires descending gear or ropes needs a permit. A reservation on Recreation.gov is not the permit. You collect the permit at the visitor center.
From National Park Service: Canyoneering Permits, Zion National Park
Your own plan for conditions
The park says a permit is not a safety net. Visitors are responsible for their own decisions, and a canyon can close or change because of rockfall, flash floods or fire even with a reservation in hand.
From National Park Service: Canyoneering Permits, Zion National Park and National Park Service: Canyoneering, Zion National Park
What hikers carry on Spry Canyon
Ropes sized for the 165-foot first rappel
Climb-Utah's list is two 50 meter ropes. Joe's Guide prefers one 200 foot rope and one rope of at least 140 feet. A party of two skipped the long rope. Their first 120 foot rope only reached a ledge partway down the slab, so they tied the second one on there.
From Climb-Utah.com, CitrusMilo Adventures and Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon Anchor Bolting, Zion National Park, UT
Helmet, webbing and rappel rings
Tom Jones lists helmets, webbing and rings as the essentials. Climb-Utah asks for several slings and at least 50 feet of webbing. Anchors are mostly bolts, but some rappels hang off a tree or a wrapped chockstone, so spare webbing gets used.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, Climb-Utah.com and CitrusMilo Adventures
A descender you can afford to wear out
Spry is very sandy, and the guide says the sand is hard on ropes and rappel devices. Pack the device that has seen some use, not the new one.
A long pull cord and a rope-saving tool
On a two-person trip Tom Jones carried a FiddleStick and a 300 foot pull cord to bring down the long first rappel. Guides also warn about deep rope grooves at the old anchors, and anchors were moved or added to reduce them.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon Anchor Bolting, Zion National Park, UT and CitrusMilo Adventures
A leash for rappel stations
Joe's Guide suggests a sling or daisy chain as a safety tether. Rappel 4 starts from outward-sloping rock, and you reach across a 40 foot drop to the bolts.
A wetsuit, but only in cool or wet conditions
Tom Jones says to wear one in summer after storms and in the wettest conditions, and to leave it behind when it is hot. In 2010 a group was glad of theirs even in the 90s. A 2024 party in dry summer weather needed none.
People disagree. The deciding factors are recent rain and air temperature.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon with Visitors, Zion National Park, UT and Alpine Wanderlust
All the water you will drink
There is no drinking water in the canyon. The approach alone is long and hot in summer, and one party advised starting early to avoid overheating and dehydrating.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park and Alpine Wanderlust
A GPS and the topographic map
Climb-Utah calls a GPS useful and names the Springdale East 7.5 minute map. Joe's Guide uses a GPS to confirm the saddle and the start of the canyon.
From Climb-Utah.com and CitrusMilo Adventures
Two-way radios for a larger group
Joe's Guide says radios may help at the longer rappels, where the group splits across a drop.
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 Spry Canyon
A wetsuit on a hot dry day
Tom Jones notes that only one swim is unavoidable and short, so a wetsuit does not need carrying in hot weather. A summer party in 2024 found the canyon dry enough to skip them.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park and Alpine Wanderlust
A late start in summer
The approach is the longest of the Zion canyons that one party did that trip, and the heat builds on the slickrock. That party suggests picking up the permit the day before so you can leave before the ranger station opens.
From Alpine Wanderlust and National Park Service: Canyoneering Permits, Zion National Park
A favorite descender
The sand wears devices fast, and the guide treats the canyon as a place to use gear that is already worn.
Gear questions for Spry Canyon
Do I need a permit for Spry Canyon?
Yes. Zion requires a permit for any canyon that needs ropes or descending gear. Reserve on Recreation.gov up to three months ahead for a $6 fee, then pick up the permit at the visitor center the day before or the day of. Guides give a group limit of 6.
From National Park Service: Canyoneering Permits, Zion National Park, Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park and CitrusMilo Adventures
What ropes do I need for Spry Canyon?
The first rappel is 165 feet, so guides list two 50 meter ropes, or a 200 foot rope plus one of at least 140 feet. A pair of canyoneers got by with two 120 foot ropes and a long pull cord, joining the ropes at a ledge on the first drop.
From Climb-Utah.com, CitrusMilo Adventures and Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon Anchor Bolting, Zion National Park, UT
Do I need a wetsuit for Spry Canyon?
Not always. Guides say to wear one after summer storms or in cool weather and skip it when it is hot. Pools are often waist deep and most can be avoided.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, Alpine Wanderlust and CitrusMilo Adventures
How long does Spry Canyon take?
Guides estimate 4 to 8 hours, including the approach and the walk out to Pine Creek. You also need a car at the end or a short hitchhike back.
From Canyoneering USA: Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, Climb-Utah.com and CitrusMilo Adventures
Sources
- Canyoneering, Zion National Park · National Park Service · Agency
- Canyoneering Permits, Zion National Park · National Park Service · Agency
- Spry Canyon, Zion National Park · Canyoneering USA, Tom Jones · Blog
- Spry Canyon with Visitors, Zion National Park, UT · Canyoneering USA, Tom Jones · Trip report
- Spry Canyon Anchor Bolting, Zion National Park, UT · Canyoneering USA, Tom Jones · Trip report
- Spry Canyon, Zion National Park, Canyoneering · Climb-Utah.com · Blog
- Spry Canyon Canyoneering, Joe's Guide to Zion National Park · CitrusMilo Adventures, Joe · Blog
- Where's the spray in Spry? Spry Creek canyoneering · Alpine Wanderlust, Cherlyn · Trip report