Utah · Hiking · Near Hurricane

Pa'rus - Changing Landscapes

Pa'rus - Changing LandscapesPhoto: NPS/Abi Farish
Feb–May, Oct–Nov
best months

Clear at last check

Weather is good · OpenWeather · checked 21 h ago

Is Pa'rus - Changing Landscapes open right now?

Closure in the area

There's a closure order in Zion National Park. It doesn't name Pa'rus - Changing Landscapes, so check the source for the area it covers.

  • Watchman Trail closed

    Park closure covering Zion National Park · NPS · Zion National Park

  • Toxic cyanobacteria in rivers, streams, and pools

    Park alert covering Zion National Park · NPS · Zion National Park

  • Large vehicle restrictions on Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway

    Park alert covering Zion National Park · NPS · Zion National Park

As of · Source: NPS · Zion National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Changing Landscapes Learn Rock layers of Zion Canyon are arranged in a way that allows water to travel through them. The desert sand dunes that formed the Navajo Sandstone layer contain wind-blown sand particles that have space in-between them. The ancient floodplain that formed the Kayenta layer is a mudstone that has tightly packed together particles. Water that is absorbed at the highest points of the canyon can travel through the Navajo Sandstone, but is not able to travel through the tightly packed mudstone particles of the Kayenta layer. Where these two rock layers meet, water is forced to travel sideways until it comes out of the rock face in the form of seeps and springs. Look Do you see any evidence of seeps and springs at the boundary of the Navajo Sandstone and Kayenta layer? Cottonwood trees and other water-loving plants are a good indication of a nearby water source. Connect Zion National Park is located along the edge of a region known as the Colorado Plateau. Here, the rock layers have been uplifted, tilted, and eroded, forming a feature called the Grand Staircase, a series of colorful cliffs stretching between Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. Each rock layer of the Grand Staircase holds stories of ancient environments and inhabitants very different from those found here today. What stories will you uncover?

Around this trail

Add any of these when you start a trip
  • Sleep close

    South Campground

    Campground

    Campground · 0.6 mi from the trail
  • If it rainsDon Graham from Redlands, CA, USA - God bless it!, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Zion Human History Museum

    Museum

    On your way back · 1 mi

Places © OpenStreetMap contributors · Photos: Don Graham from Redlands, CA, USA - God bless it!, CC BY-SA 2.0 (commons)

More in Hurricane

Local outfitters

Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.

  • Best time to go · Feb–May, Oct–Nov

    Best time to visit Pa'rus - Changing Landscapes

    Best months: February–May and October–November. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      54° / 30°

      7 wet

    2. Feb

      58° / 34°

      8 wet

    3. Mar

      66° / 39°

      8 wet

    4. Apr

      73° / 44°

      6 wet

    5. May

      83° / 53°

      4 wet

    6. Jun

      95° / 62°

      3 wet

    7. Jul

      100° / 70°

      5 wet

    8. Aug

      98° / 69°

      6 wet

    9. Sep

      91° / 61°

      5 wet

    10. Oct

      78° / 49°

      5 wet

    11. Nov

      64° / 37°

      5 wet

    12. Dec

      53° / 29°

      6 wet · 1 snow

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Zion Np, UT, 0.2 mi away at 4,038 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

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Pa'rus TrailPhoto: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Many Pools HikePhoto: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Pa'rus - Virgin River Wayside

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Watchman TrailPhoto: yashima — CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

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Pa'rus - Diversion Dam

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Diversion Dam Learn On March 30, 2009, the upper section of the Virgin River and its tributaries were designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers. But what makes rivers “wild and scenic”? The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was approved by Congress in October, 1968. Its purpose: to…