Northgate Peaks Trail, Zion National Park

4 April 2013

Most people familiar with hikes in Zion National Park associate the Northgate Peaks trail as one they must take for a short distance to hike the Subway. But the Northgate Peaks trail is a fun, easy trail that rewards those who hike it with great views.

I had the day off work but Liz only had half a day free so we decided to do a shorter hike. Our neighbor, Matthew Arscott, who has accompanied us on a number of other hikes and who is always game for an adventure, wanted to come along too.

So the three of us left Hurricane at about 7:45 and took hwy 9 toward Zion National Park. Near the middle of the town of Virgin, the Kolob Terrace Road, which leads to the Kolob Reservoir, intersects the hwy from the north (left) side. There is a sign marking the intersection. We took a left onto the paved Kolob Terrace Road, and headed up 15.5 miles until we came to the Wildcat Canyon Trail head. There is a short dirt road which leads to a small parking area with restrooms and a marked trail head. 

The Wildcat Canyon Trail head is also where the hike to the Subway starts, so it can be a pretty popular place. When we pulled into the parking lot at 8:30, there were 2 vehicles already there which we later discovered belonged to some campers.

Wildcat Canyon Trail head

We loaded up our gear, past the two trail informational signs and got on our way on the wide, well-defined trail which in some places is actually more of a 4-wheel track. I had been on this part of the hike two times before when I had hiked The Subway, so the pretty pines that the trail wandered through had a nice familiar look to them.

After 1.2 miles, the trail joins up with the Wildcat Canyon Connector Trail (signed), a trail I had been on previously when I hiked the West Rim. At this junction (even though it's not really a junction but more of a merging of trails), veer to the left, but in just about the same direction you were already heading.

Only .2 miles later, a sign marking the Northgate Peaks Trail is on the left side of the trail. The Northgate Peaks Trail actually comes in from the right (south). Turn right onto the Northgate Peaks Trail.

The fork where the Subway route breaks off to the left.

Just a few hundred feet after taking the Northgate Peaks Trail, another fork in the trail is encountered, which is also signed. Here, the route to the Subway breaks off to the left (permit required, as the sign says) and the route to the right continues on to Northgate Peaks. There were a group of campers camping here in between the two trails on a nice, flat meadow.

We followed the Northgate Peaks Trail to the right and continued 1.1 miles from the Wildcat Canyon Connector Trail until we got to the end of the trail - a small peninsula of volcanic rock nearly right in between the Northgate Peaks, and with a great view of North Guardian Angel directly ahead. We also took time to find the canyon walls of the Left Fork (the Subway) off in the distance to the south.

Liz and I at the view point at the end of the hike. (North Guardian Angel in the background).

We took a few pictures and headed back in the way we came. On the way back, we passed a number of hikers who looked to be attempting the Subway (very cold for this time of year). Round trip, the hike was 5 miles long and took us about 2.5 hours on the flat, well defined trail.

Looking south toward "The Subway."