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Observation Point

Zion

There is sad news concerning the famous Observation Point hike. For the foreseeable future this trail is closed. A massive rockslide has dumped tons of rock, mud and trees at the place where Observation Point and East Rim Trails intersect. Both trails are now impassable. Because of the narrow, winding nature of these trails, it is impossible to get heavy equipment to the site. Structural Geologists have been brought in and after several days of study concluded that Cable Mountani is "cleaving." That is, due to long term weathering, it is peeling off three huge layers, like peeling an onion. The one layer is the one that already fell and lies in pieces in Echo Canyon on the trail intersection. The other two are still up there, and can fall at any time : tomorrow, next week or next month.

This means work crews would be in critical danger if they were to try and remove the debris already there. Even if they got it removed, hikers would be in critical danger.

So all the Park Service can do is wait until the other two layers fall, and even then, how to remove the debris poses challenges they have not yet solved. In the meantime anyone wanting to get to Observation Point must drive or take the shuttle around to Zion Ponderosa and hike in the East Mesa Trail. Anyone wanting to hike to Cable or Deer Trap Mountain must use the East Entrance Trailhead to the East Rim Backpacking Trail.

You can click on East Mesa Trail on the menu bar above. To learn about the East Rim Backpacking Trail go to the Backpacking page and click on East Rim.