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The Subway (The Left Fork of North Creek) from the Top
The "Subway" is Zion's second most popular backcountry hike for good reason. In a park of exemplary beauty, the Subway is one of the most diverse and beautiful canyons. Not to be missed. A few short rappels and a couple of short, mandatory swims add spice to the adventure.
"The Subway" is a short, spectacular section of the Left Fork of North Creek. The canyon system is called the Great West Canyon, including both the Left and Right Forks. The Subway section is not marked on maps, but is where the Left Fork tightens up and twists sharply, between North Guardian Angel and Guardian Angel Pass. The hike is also known as "The Left Fork".
The route starts at the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead and descends to the Left Fork via a cross-country route that crosses Russell Gulch, walks out a ridge and descends a steep gully. The Left Fork is followed through the Subway, then downcanyon a few miles. A steep trail is then climbed to the road.
Due to its popularity, the Subway is managed under a quota system. Reservations are distributed by lottery several months in advance and are recommended. Visit the Permit System Website to get in on the lottery or to make reservations. Call the Backcountry Desk (435-772-0170) for the latest information. If you do not have reservations, don't fret - there are permits available one day in advance of, or the day of, your hike at the Main and Kolob Canyons Visitor Centers. Be flexible and plan ahead to avoid being denied.
Skills Required
The Subway is a strenuous and demanding backcountry hike with several short rappels and a couple of pools to swim. Good navigational skills and a map are required. Straying into the more difficult terrain on either side of the approach trail, or missing the exit trail, is hazardous. There are three short drops that most people will want a rope for. Folks should know how to rappel, and how to set up and use obvious anchors. The Subway also throws a few cold swims at you, so you'll need drybags for your gear, and if it is not stinking hot out, you might want a wetsuit.
For the less ambitious hiker, the best part of the Subway is accessible by hiking up from the bottom. See Subway from the Bottom.
| Rating: | 3B III  |
| Season: | Summer or Fall |
| Length: | 6-12 hours |
| Longest Rappel: | 35 feet |
| Equipment: | Helmets, rappelling gear, drybags. Wetsuits recommended in all but the hottest weather. |
| Skills Required: | See description. |
| Drinking Water: | Some available, but bring plenty |
| Logistics: | Requires car spot or short hitchhike (8 miles). |
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Getting There
The Subway starts at the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead on the Kolob Terrace Road, and ends at the Left Fork Trailhead. In the summer, it is easy to hitch a ride from the Left Fork Trailhead the further 8 miles to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead. If you have one car, leave the car at the bottom (Left Fork Trailhead) with water, food and clothing. Hitching a ride is easier at the beginning of the day, when you are clean and smell nice. In summer, get an early start to avoid the hot sun.
From Springdale, drive south and west 14 miles to the town of Virgin. Turn right (north) on the Kolob Reservoir Road (KR road, sometimes called the Kolob Terrace (KT) road). The paved KR road winds through town, then climbs a dramatic ridge in making its way to Kolob Terrace. Six and a half miles from Virgin, the road enters the park and three trailheads are soon encountered – the Right Fork, Grapevine Springs, then the Left Fork. Park at the Left Fork Trailhead. The trailhead is not shown on many maps, but is close to the Bench Mark labeled BM 5248. Mileage from the town of Virgin is 8.6 miles. Driving time from Springdale is 45 minutes.
By car or thumb, continue up the road another 7.0 miles to the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead. Start your hike here. Toilets are available at both trailheads.
Approach
The hike starts as a pleasant stroll across the open meadows of Kolob Terrace, headed in an easterly direction. Open areas are interspersed with stands of Ponderosa Pine. After 25 minutes, the signed Hop Valley Connector Trail comes in from the right. This trail is not shown on some maps. Continue straight. Five minutes later, the signed Northgate Peaks Trail comes in on the right - take this to the south. A few minutes down the Northgate Peaks Trail, take a trail left (east) to the top of a slickrock area. There is a sign: "Subway Hikers". The maintained trail ends here.
It is important to find and follow the unofficial trail that leads to the gully down to the Left Fork. For the most part, the path is clear, but there are a few places where it is easily lost. Make SURE you follow the trail. In 2002, two different parties strayed from the trail. One fell over a 30-foot cliff and broke both legs and some vertebrae. The other party spent a cold night on a small ledge.
Work your way down the slickrock into the drainage before you, trending right and following numerous small cairns. At the base of the slickrock, pick up a small trail leading through a delightful forest. (Take the right-most of 2 trails).
After a few minutes, the trail enters a rocky area with scattered bushes, and heads down and left into a shallow drainage. Follow the drainage, then walk a ridge to its end, and a good view of Russell Gulch below.
Take a good look at the terrain across the way. The trail can be seen below CROSSING the watercourse of Russell Gulch above a 30' drop, then making its way into the woods and toward a slickrock pass with a pinnacle in the middle. Descend a steep step and follow the trail across the slickrock streambed, through the woods and along a slickrock bench leading up to the pass. Descend the slabs on the other side and pick up a small trail that continues at the same elevation out to a wooded point overlooking the confluence of Russell Gulch and the Left Fork. Descend a steep, sandy gully to the bottom of Russell Gulch.
If, at any point on the approach, the trail is lost, backtrack to where you are definitely on the trail. Though unofficial, the trail is marked with cairns and heavily used, but it takes a few sharp turns that can be missed. Wandering off the trail is dangerous.
The hour-plus hike to this point is mostly in the full sun. At the bottom of Russell Gulch, a pool and shade offer respite from the heat – a good place to grab a bite to eat and a drink.
The Canyon
Fifty feet from the bottom of the gully, Russell Gulch intersects the Left Fork. Turn right and follow the dry canyon ten minutes to the FIRST OBSTACLE - a jumble of giant boulders. Scramble right to a 20-foot (6m) drop where a giant boulder sits against the right canyon wall.
First Obstacle: There are several ways to manage getting your group past this obstacle.
To the right, against the canyon wall, is a V-Slot with a small chunk of log at the top. This is not the way. Six feet (2m) back along the canyon wall from the V-Slot is a pinch, where a boulder leans securely against the wall, forming a place that can be slung for an anchor. It might have a sling on it. This is the anchor. To the left of the V-Slot is a giant boulder. The boulder has a large, flat face downcanyon - this is the face to descend.
Passing the First Obstacle
A. The recommended and most conservative method is to rappel the face of the boulder using the pinch as an anchor. This requires about 70 feet of rope, plus a sling and rappel ring. Run the rope over the crest of the boulder, making sure the rope does not slide to the side. Given the friction across the top of the boulder, it is imperative to use a rappel ring or retrieving the rope will prove difficult.
B. The left side of the boulder's face (left looking downcanyon) provides a downclimb (5.5) for the experienced climber. The holds are fairly big and the landing flat. However, it is still 20 feet to the ground, and extreme caution should be used. More than one leg has been broken in this spot - and the evacuation is difficult.
C. In many cases, all members of the party but one can rappel the face of the boulder, and the most agile member can downclimb the face, with spotting and encouragement from below. Leave the best climber for last.
Continue downcanyon. A few nice potholes are avoided by clambering around the sides, but about 15 minutes below the First Obstacle, the Triple Pool presents the canyoneer with the first required swim. Make sure your gear is properly drybagged, and swim the three pools. Bonus style points are awarded for swimming an underwater arch on the left, just past the exit of the second pool. A few minutes downcanyon, small springs start to provide a fresh flow of water in the canyon. Fifteen minutes downcanyon, the canyon forms a slot filled with water. Downclimb a couple of short drops and swim under a chockstone, then out a long, cold corridor. (Var: The slot can be avoided by a high, awkward traverse on the left, followed by a short rappel).
To The Subway
The canyon in this section is exceptionally beautiful. Five or ten minutes downstream, the final section begins at Keyhole Falls. The stream drops through a slot with a small arch on the left. Rappel 10 feet from bolts on the right, into water that is usually waist deep. Downclimbing this waterfall is difficult because the landing is very uneven.
You are in an amazing corridor. Swim through an arch on the left for more style points. At the end of the corridor, the canyon turns sharply right and forms nice pools. Downclimb a small drop and wind downcanyon. At a logjam, the stream plunges through the logs to make a waterfall. Carefully cross the top of the waterfall to the ledge on canyon left. Walk out this ledge 50 feet (15m). A bolt anchor allows a rappel 30 feet (10m) to the canyon floor, or a series of ledges before the bolts allows the more agile to downclimb and traverse ledges to drop to the canyon floor 20 feet (6m) close to the base of the waterfall. Duck under the waterfall to enjoy the Waterfall Room.
Continue downcanyon past some lovely pools. The footing can be slippery here, so be careful. This is the famous "Subway" section, the curving canyon walls and parallel cracks in the floor calling to mind underground trolleys. The canyon opens up and flattens out. Groups often remove their wetsuits and harnesses here, and warm up in the sun. If it is really hot out, take a siesta until the sun is lower in the sky.
The Walk Out
The Walk Out can be taxing. The first part descends marvelous and photogenic red ledges with waterfalls. A few minutes below the red ledges, a spring drops water into the stream on the right. Following paths on both banks and crossing the stream many times, make your way downcanyon. Most parties take a little more than two hours for the hike out. About one hour downcanyon, look for two large tumble-down boulders close to the water on the right. Their flat, gray faces hold many dinosaur tracks. Admire, but do not touch or vandalize these fragile remnants of the past.
Another hour downcanyon and it's time to exit up to the road. Missing the exit is easy, so make sure you pay attention. Two streams come into the Left Fork from the north (right). One third of a mile (1/2 km) past the second stream, the exit gully will be in front of you. The north (right) wall of the canyon is a 400-foot (120m), steep, tree-covered talus slope with 400-foot (120m) vertical sandstone walls above. Downstream, the sandstone at the top ends and a black lava flow replaces the steep talus. The trail out climbs the crease below the left edge of the vertical sandstone to where it meets the lava flow.
The climb out can be extremely hot - the black rock traps afternoon heat. Take a final dip in the stream before starting the steep, 400-foot climb. Find a well-established trail on the right side of the creek that starts up a gully. Do not begin the climb up without finding the trail. At the top of the slope, the trail traverses left to the top of the lava flow and works its way left through ledges to the mesa top above. Follow the trail through the pinon-juniper forest 1/2 mile (800m) to the parking area. Enjoy the ice-cold beverages you left in your cooler.
In the (geologically) recent past, lava flowed over the edge and into the Left Fork, forming a dam. The creek gradually built a lake until it over-topped the dam and cut its way through. Soft sandstone from the lake deposits can be seen lying on top of the lava in a few places just after reaching the top of the steep climb out. Look for these thin-layered, soft sand- and siltstones.
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