I am a HUGE fan of last minute, epic adventures. And that is exactly what happened when I was I hiked The Subway in March 2022. Zion National Park is so much more that Zion Canyon, Angles Landing and The Narrows. I had heard of and seen photos of The Subway online and knew it required a permit. We got extremely lucky with the timing of our trip and being able to get a walk-up permit the day of our hike. More details on the permitting process at the end of the blog though. For now, lets recap the day!
The Subway Trail – Left Fork of North Creek Bottom Up
Left Fork of North Creek Trail Head
First order of business was to get our permit from the main visitors center. Then we were off to the Left Fork Trailhead. To get to the trailhead you leave the National Park, drive out of Springdale and head down Kolob Terrace Road for just over 8 miles. The trailhead had a decent amount of parking and vault toilets. We put out our gear and headed out down the trail.
The hike started out super chill, flat with a clear and easy to follow trail. The we hit the cliff, where is it a fast 400 feet down into the canyon to the creek bed. Dropping down all I could think about was climbing back up that at the end of the day. It did not sound appealing.
Hiking the Creek Bed
I did an excessive amount of research for this trail, as I do with all permitted hikes. Everything I read said DO NOT MISS THE EXIT is big bold letters. I took advantage of my hand Garmin InReach Mini GPS tracker and dropped a quick waypoint so we would be sure not to miss the way out. Yes, there are trail markers on the bank of the creek and at the base of the cliff. However, the majority of the hike is in the creek itself and it is easy to miss the signs.
The hike from this point was wet. There are some “social trails” on the side of the creek, but the true trail is through the creek bed. We did use the social trails on occasion to get around some of the water features, but overall we were in the water a majority of the hike. I was really happy we rented waders and neoprene socks in Springdale from Zion Guru (my go to outfitter). The hike was really quite easy at this point with some minor navigating to do. This is where my Garmin GPS came in handy. I had downloaded a plot to my InReach that kept us on track the entire way.
Can’t miss Features along the way
There are plenty of fun features along the way to The Subway.
- At approximately 2.3 miles on the left side of the creek as you head up there are dinosaur prints.
- Around 3.1 miles there is a smaller staircase waterfall, which I 100% mistook for the actual staircase falls.
- When you get to mile 3.6 the actual staircase falls are revealed as you walk around a bend in the canyon. As soon as we got to the staircase waterfall I quickly realized why they named “the staircase”.
- After the staircase there is a taller waterfall that you do have to go around, just to the right side of the creek there is a clear trail. Then it was quickly back into the creek bed to continue.
- Just before The Subway is one of my favorite features. The water has worn out a crevasse in the rock and runs through it. This area was also still covered in ice and slick algae, so I opted to dawn my microspikes to help with stability while walking. After all it was March and there was plenty of ice along the entire trail.
The Subway
The subway was the next feature, and the destination of the hike. The actual Subway feature is an incredibly short canyon feature but just as epic as all the photos online. We had the entire place to ourselves, which is rare, and were able to get some amazing shots.
Unless you are ready to go for a swim, this is the end of the line. During the summer swimming would be appealing. However with icicles hanging from the walls of the canyon, it did not sound like a good time. If you do go for a dip there is another waterfall that does require canyoneering gear and should not be attempted without it.
Hiking out
The hike back to the trailhead always seems to go much faster than the hike to the destination. On the way out we stopped for lunch at the dinosaur prints and quickly continued along the creek bed to the exit from the canyon. Thanks to the trusty GPS waypoint we did not miss the exit. After the grueling climb out of the canyon it was quickly back to the car and we were home free.
Before you go
Permits for The Subway (Left Fork of North Creek)
Now for the fun part, all the information on how to do highly sought after hike. The NPS only issues 60 permits per day and limits the group sizes for the permits. There are two different hikes, so be sure to pick the correct one! The Bottom Up route is what most people do (and what I did), does not require canyoneering gear, and is an out and back route. The Top Down route begins at a complete separate trailhead and is a point to point hike that requires advanced canyoneering skills and proper gear. The NPS has more information available from the Zion National Park Webpage.
Wilderness permits are a year round deal for this hike. There are lottery permits that must be applied for 2 months in advance online for anyone wishing to do The Subway hike from April – October. If you plan your trip November – March you can simply apply anytime online up to 1 month in advance. The calendar on the NPS website lets you see how many permits remain for each day during the November – October timeframe. I found that most days there were still 40+ available permits. We opted to just walk up to get the permit from the Wilderness Permit desk on the day we planned the hike. The permits do cost money in addition to park entry fees and are non-transferable. You can get permits for both timeframes from the Zion Wilderness Reservations webpage.
Suggested Gear
The Left Fork of North Creek Bottom Up route to The Subway is a hike you should plan to get wet doing. While it is not as deep as The Narrows, it does have variable water levels. We rented neoprene booties and pants from Zion Guru to keep dry. If you plan to complete the hike during the November – March timeframe I would not do it without these rentals. April – October it is much more personal preference, but the water is always a cool 60-ish degrees. So make your choice with the air temperatures in mind.
Weather
Just like The Narrows, this hike is subject to flash flooding! So always be aware of the weather and have a back up plan. We had initially planned to hike Left Fork of North Creek our second day in Zion National Park. On day 1 we stopped by the visitors center to grab the permit for the following day. The Park Rangers advised us to reconsider and go that day vs. the next due to the weather forecast. I was glad we took the advice, the next day it was much colder and snowing in some areas of the park. The park rangers can also cancel permits last minute due to weather.
GPS Track
Feel free to export my GPS track to use with your own GPS unit! The end of the track is off due to the canyon walls, but there is no way to mess up that part of the hike. As a side note, Garmin offers several options for personal use GPS trackers. If you are looking for a device, check out their website to see the options and all the features for each device.
Check out more to do in Zion National Park on my National Parks page!
Wow great article once again. superhike! loved the video and super happy to see you put your Christmas present through its paces with tracking and sharing trial info. 👍😊
Yes! Thank you! I have really been enjoying my garmin
Try it from the top next time. You will need to do some rappelling and swimming. The walk across the sandstone is gorgeous on the way in. Wet suit recommended
I wish I was that adventurous! I have heard Top Down is an amazing experinence, but definitely dont want to be swimming here in March.