This short but beautiful trail is located in the middle of Zion National Park in Utah
I love National Parks, but I hate the crowds. I’m sure you can relate. There is a reason why these places are popular, they are our nation’s natural treasures. However, enjoying the quiet beauty of these natural places can be disrupted by crowded trails and observation areas that make you feel like you are at an amusement park and not a National Park.
The Lower Pine Creek Trail is an exception. This short but beautiful trail is located in the middle of Zion National Park in Utah. If you are familiar with the park, this trail is shortly before you get to the famous Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. This is the tunnel that takes you from Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.
There are switchback roads that lead up to the tunnel. At one of these hairpin turns is a small pull off area with a trail sign (near the bridge). This flat and easy trail is well worth the stop. It is about a mile to get out to the waterfall in this photo, which is at the end of the trail.
Although the trail isn’t clearly marked, if you just follow the water, you will get there. You may have to hop some rocks and cross Lower Pine Creek to get to the final destination, which is this beautiful waterfall called Pine Creek Waterfall. There are huge boulders that are around the area obscuring your waterfall view until you get close, which keeps this area from being a heavily visited tourist trap. In fact, I didn’t see anyone else during my time hiking this trail. Although there are over 90 miles of hiking trails in Zion National Park, I would be very tempted to revisit this area because of the solitude and beauty.
This flat and easy trail is well worth the stop
Here is a photograph of an American dipper, which is a small gray bird that was also enjoying the waterfall. These birds are found on the western side of the North American continent from Alaska to Central America. They can be found from California to as far east as Colorado and New Mexico. American dippers are found along streams and creeks like the Lower Pine Creek. They feed on aquatic insects and larvae. Because of this, they are considered an indicator species of areas that have clean waters. In this case, that was certainly true. The crystal-clear waters of Lower Pine Creek came from mountain snowmelt.
Did you know?
- Zion National Park hosts ~289 species of birds!
- The Anasazi people were the original inhabitants of the area we call Zion National Park. This civilization thrived around 1,500 years ago.
- The Virgin River slowly carved the Zion Canyon over millions of years. The Zion Canyon is ~2,000 feet deep in areas.
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