Kolob Arch Overnight Gear Checklist
The La Verkin Creek trail starts at Lee Pass in the Kolob Canyons section of Zion, follows Timber Creek and then La Verkin Creek, and ends at a viewpoint for Kolob Arch. The park sets 13 designated campsites along it, bans campfires, and wants every person to carry a waste bag. People who camped there describe a sandy, hot walk with a lot of creek crossings, so they packed extra water, a way to treat spring water, shoes that can get wet, and a rain layer for weather that turns fast.
What shapes your gear on La Verkin Creek
- Distance and elevation
- The park measures 7 miles from Lee Pass to Kolob Arch, which makes the out-and-back 14 miles. A hiker's 2009 write-up puts the trailhead at 6,040 feet and the drop to the arch viewpoint at about 560 feet, so the walk out is the uphill part of the day. The trail is sandy and easy to follow, apart from the stretch near campsite 3 where it drops into the creek bed.
From National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions, Landscape Imagery and The Outbound
- Thirteen campsites, two ways to get one
- Camping is allowed in designated sites only. Five of the 13 (sites 2, 4, 5, 8 and 11) are on the online calendar, and the other eight are walk-in, first-come sites. Site limits run from 2 people to 12. Permits are picked up at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, which is about 45 minutes south, and not at the Kolob Canyons center.
From National Park Service, Zion: La Verkin Creek Trail and National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions
- Heat, cold and snow
- The reports cover every mood of the trail. A July pair found it incredibly hot. An October family had a warm, bluebird weekend. An April hiker started in 50 degree wind with snow in the forecast and shed a sweatshirt once the sun came out. The park says winter snow can stay on the trail into early spring.
From Backcountry Post: Zion NP-Kolob Arch, Beartrap Falls, and Willis Creek, Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob, Landscape Imagery and National Park Service, Zion: La Verkin Creek Trail
- Creek crossings upstream
- Past the arch junction the trail keeps crossing La Verkin Creek on the way to Bear Trap Canyon. The April hiker found the water too deep to cross with dry shins and wished for sneakers and a walking stick. The park describes the route as continuing up canyon past the arch to Bear Trap Canyon and Willis Canyon.
From Landscape Imagery, National Park Service, Zion: La Verkin Creek Trail and National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions
- Ants, gnats and wasps
- The park warns that ants like campsite 5 in summer. A July camper at site 10 had gnats, wasps and ants all weekend, and an October camper's daughter was stung between the toes by something small while playing in the sand.
From National Park Service, Zion: La Verkin Creek Trail, Backcountry Post: Zion NP-Kolob Arch, Beartrap Falls, and Willis Creek and Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob
What the agency requires on La Verkin Creek
A wilderness permit, carried with you
Every overnight trip in the park needs a permit, and it is valid only for the campsites and dates written on it. Carry it and show it when asked. Reserved sites must be converted into a permit at the Wilderness Desk the day before or the day of the trip.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations and National Park Service, Zion: La Verkin Creek Trail
A waste bag for every person
Each permit group carries at least one human waste disposal bag per person and brings its solid human waste out of the wilderness.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations
A stove, not a fire
Open fires are banned throughout the Zion wilderness. Camp stoves and lanterns are fine, and the park asks you to light them on bare ground with no plants nearby.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations
A hard-sided food container or a wire mesh bag
Keep food and trash in a hard-sided container. A woven wire mesh bag that interlocks also works if you hang it in a tree where animals cannot reach it.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations
Treated water, drawn from springs
Untreated wilderness water is unsafe to drink. The park warns that toxins from cyanobacteria may be present in streams, that no known filter makes in-stream water safe, and that water should be filtered straight from a spring opening. It also recommends one gallon per person per day.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations and National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions
What hikers carry on La Verkin Creek
More water than looks sensible
A group that camped at site 11 warned that the canyon bakes with little breeze and patchy shade, and that you should carry more than you think. The same writer noted that campsites 1 to 3 rarely have water in summer. The park lists only one named source on the trail, Beatty Spring, and says spring flow changes.
The park advises one gallon per person per day for the desert.
From The Outbound, National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions and National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations
A filter or other treatment, aimed at springs
The 2009 hiker walked up to Beatty Spring for morning water and ran it through a filter anyway. The creek itself carried so much silt that he compared it to chocolate milk. An October camper said the best drinking water came from a spring that joins the creek just past the Icebox junction, where it flows into the creek.
From Landscape Imagery, Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob and National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations
Shoes that can get wet, and a walking stick
Hikers cross La Verkin Creek again and again past the arch. One traded boots for sandals at the log crossing to campsites 12 and 13, then wished for sneakers and a stick on the upstream stretch. An October parent found that a child's too-small shoes made the last climb back to Lee Pass miserable on swollen feet.
From Landscape Imagery and Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob
A rain jacket and a tent you can stake down
The April hiker packed a three-season tent for forecast snow, weighted the corners with stones in a gusty camp, and was in the tent before rain began. A rainstorm and a knee-deep creek crossing marked an earlier trip by an October camper.
From Landscape Imagery and Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob
A jacket or sweatshirt for the side canyon
On a warm October weekend the group still pulled on jackets and sweatshirts the moment they stepped into Bear Trap Canyon, where the girls complained about the cold.
From Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob
Something to hang or lock food
Rangers told the 2009 hiker to hang food because of ringtail cats and squirrels, and he used a thick branch of the big ponderosa in camp. The park now spells out the rule: a hard-sided container or a wire mesh bag hung out of reach.
From Landscape Imagery and National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations
Insect repellent and a plan for ants
Gnats and wasps were constant at site 10 in July, and ants showed up at camp in October. The park singles out site 5 for ants in summer.
From Backcountry Post: Zion NP-Kolob Arch, Beartrap Falls, and Willis Creek, Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob and National Park Service, Zion: La Verkin Creek Trail
A hammock
A father swung in a hammock while his daughters played in the creek, and another party called the camp at site 11 a perfect spot to hang one.
From Backcountry Post: A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob and The Outbound
12 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 La Verkin Creek
An overstuffed pack
The 2009 hiker admitted that he brought far too much, packed extra warm clothes and a heavier tent for an April storm, and felt it in his hips on the walk out in soft sand. The first camp is about 2 miles in and the arch is 7, so every extra pound goes that far.
From Landscape Imagery and National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions
A plan to follow Willis Creek as a trail
Two July hikers who treated the Willis Creek route toward the park border as a trail found tangled raspberry thickets, a dry fall and a steep loose slope instead of a path. They blamed sources that call it a trail and said it is really a wash.
From Backcountry Post: Zion NP-Kolob Arch, Beartrap Falls, and Willis Creek
Boots for the upstream crossings
The April hiker kept his boots on for the creek crossings above the arch, jumped rocks and landed hard enough to stiffen his back. He said sneakers would have been the better choice.
From Landscape Imagery
Gear questions for La Verkin Creek
Do you need a permit to camp on the La Verkin Creek trail?
Yes. Zion requires a permit for every overnight trip, valid only for the campsites and dates on it. Five of the 13 sites are on the online calendar and eight are walk-in, first-come sites. All permits are picked up at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, not at Kolob Canyons.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations, National Park Service, Zion: La Verkin Creek Trail and National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions
Is the water safe to drink along La Verkin Creek?
Not without treatment, and the park is cautious about the stream. It warns of cyanotoxins in streams and says to filter water straight from a spring opening. Hikers who tried the creek found it silty, and the one named spring on the route is Beatty Spring. Check conditions with a ranger before you rely on any source.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations, National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions and Landscape Imagery
Can you have a campfire at La Verkin Creek campsites?
No. The park prohibits campfires in the Zion wilderness. Fuel stoves are allowed if lit on bare ground away from plants, so cooking is stove work.
From National Park Service, Zion: Backpacking Safety and Regulations
How far is Kolob Arch on the La Verkin Creek trail?
The park puts the arch 7 miles from Lee Pass, so the out-and-back is 14 miles. Campsites 4 to 10 sit before the Kolob Arch turnoff, which makes a night there a shorter walk with the arch as a day trip.
From National Park Service, Zion: Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions and The Outbound
Sources
- La Verkin Creek Trail · National Park Service, Zion · Agency
- Wilderness Trail and Campsite Descriptions · National Park Service, Zion · Agency
- Backpacking Safety and Regulations · National Park Service, Zion · Agency
- A Return to La Verkin Creek and Kolob · Backcountry Post, Ugly · Trip report
- Zion NP-Kolob Arch, Beartrap Falls, and Willis Creek · Backcountry Post, Jeffrey Chandler · Trip report
- Kolob Arch - La Verkin Creek - Bear Trap Canyon · Landscape Imagery · Blog
- Backpack Kolob Canyons, Zion NP · The Outbound, Jack Henstridge · Blog