Canyoneering in Zion National Park is some of the most fun a person can have in Utah. But to explore these narrow slots you need to gain a few skills like rappelling, get special gear like dry suits, and practice canyoneering in smaller slots, like in Keyhole Canyon.
Keyhole Canyon is a fun romp through a deep, narrow and sometime very dark corridor filled with water, and made difficult with mandatory rappels. But this canyon is often used as an intro to canyoneering, as the rappels are not very high, and the canyon itself is short and can be done in only a few hours.
The hike begins just up the highway from the long Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. There are a few large pullouts to park a vehicle. A very short walk up the road reveals a trail in the north side that continues up to an obvious bowl of slickrock with a hoodoo at the top. Once you gain the top of the slickrock, the trail sharply descends down into Keyhole Canyon. A thin slit guarded by massive rock walls appears at the canyon bottom like a gateway into the underworld. Enter this dark tunnel and the adventure begins.
For the first quarter-mile, the canyon is simply a squeeze through the slot with nothing technical to worry about. Simply enjoy and wonder at the curved sandstone carved over thousands of years by water forced through this natural pipeline. Kids especially will love running back and forth through the sandy-bottomed canyon. But as soon as the slot opens back up, it’s time to get serious.
At this point, it’s necessary to put on the west or dry suit, harness up and break out the rope. A 30-foot rappel back into the darkness is required to continue on. Two bolt anchors have been installed into the rock on the left side of the canyon. Once back inside the business end of Keyhole Canyon, expect to swim across a pool of cold water to yet another rappel, this time a 20-footer. A theme begins to emerge as that rappel is followed by another pool, which is followed by another 25-foot rappel. If you don’t want to spend too much time setting up the second and third rappels, it is possible to do them both at once if your rope is long enough.
Despite having technical work to concentrate on, take a few moments between rappels to absorb the beauty of the canyon. If you’ve timed your trip right, sunlight will penetrate the thin openings above, which illuminates the canyon walls in a spectacular show of glowing amber.
Keyhole gets a bit easier after the third rappel, and a few downclimbs are all that’s needed to continue. Eventually, the walls close in again where the canyon is flooded with water. Swim down this hallway if you can, or instead use your arms and legs to propel your body forward. Either way, you’re going to get wet and you’re going to have a blast doing it.
After this amazing swim, the canyon continues where even more swimming, scrambling and natural jungle-gym maneuvers lead you to a final pool of water where a short swim out of the canyon marks the end of the slot. A brief walk down the canyon and through a tunnel that goes under the highway brings you back to the general area where you parked the car.
Details: Keyhole Canyon is a dark, cold place where temperatures are much cooler than outside in the sun. Mandatory swims mean wetsuits or drysuits are usually required to prevent hypothermia. Also, flash floods are always a risk, especially if rain is forecast. Always check conditions with park rangers before heading into the canyon.
Knowing how to rappel is mandatory. Along with drysuits and warm clothes, bring a rope, harness, and slings or daisy chains to anchor yourself to the rock. Know how to properly use your gear. Helmets are also a good idea.
To explore Keyhole Canyon, you’ll need a permit. Get one from the Zion National Park Visitor Center where they are available the day before you plan on canyoneering. Permits can also be reserved up to two months in advance on their Backcountry Reservation System.
Canyoneering Keyhole Canyon and The Subway in Zion National Park from Utah Outside on Vimeo.
To get to Keyhole Canyon, drive east on Highway 9 through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and continue east to the second tunnel. After you exit the second tunnel, reset your odometer to zero. At around 1.8 miles, you will see wide car pullouts on the right. Park here and hike up canyon until you see the small trail under the slickrock bowl on the left. Continue as described above.
For more comprehensive information about canyoneering Keyhole and any other Zion National Park slot, we highly recommend buying a copy of the book, “Zion: Canyoneering” by Tom Jones.
this was the canyon those 7 hikers died in last week
Indeed. So tragic. That’s why we reposted, because people are curious about what it’s like inside the canyon. Absolutely not a place you’d want to be during a flash flood.