Scout Lookout on the West Rim Trail
May 23, 2020
Length: 4.4 miles
Route Type: Out & Back
Elevation Gain: 1,000 ft
Dog Friendly: No
Fee: Zion National Park Entrance Fee $35 per vehicle (good for 7 days)
Restrooms at trailhead: Yes
THE HIKE:
This hike starts at The Grotto. To get to Scout Lookout you start at the West Rim Trail (video at the bottom). This is across the street from The Grotto. You’ll see signs that will point you into the right direction. At the start you will come across a small bridge that you will need to cross. Emerald Pools will be to the left and West Rim Trail will be to the right. Once you continue right it starts off with a paved path that is relatively flat, but you will soon come across a gradual incline. This is where the switchbacks start and it will become more of a steady incline from here on out. It is definitely a leg burner. I would recommend to wear the proper clothes. We saw so many people that wore fashion tennis shoes or flip flops. Another recommendation is to bring PLENTY of water. If you aren’t an avid hiker this hike could take you awhile. We saw a lot of people that just had one water bottle. I brought my Camelbak that has a bladder of 3 liters. On the way down I ran out of water. We hiked this after we did The Narrows so we were already a little tired. It was a lot warmer than it was when we were hiking The Narrows. I shedded my laters and just wore my tank top.
Once we climbed up the very steep staircase that is called Walter’s Wiggles (we flew up it pretty fast, but I was very out of breath) we could see where Angel’s Landing was. However, it was closed off due to the pandemic. There are bathrooms near Angel’s Landing, but we continued passed this area and headed up to Scouts landing. This spot had an incredible view of Angel’s Landing and Zion Canyon. Once we took some photos at Scouts Landing we continued up the West Rim Trail and up some rocks to relax and eat our snacks. This spot also had a great view of Angel’s Landing and Zion Canyon. We were just higher up.
After we relaxed and ate our snacks we decided to continue hiking up the West Rim Trail. We only hiked another .5 miles into this trail. It is actually 13 miles from the start of this trailhead so we knew we couldn’t hike the full thing. Although we want to come back and hike the full 13 miles! When we continued to hike up West Zion Trail the rock formation we walked on was pretty spectacular. From this point you could see the other side of Zion Canyon. Being up there was incredible. I would definitely recommend doing this hike. Even though Angel’s Landing was closed this hike is worth it. I would just stress to make sure you are prepared. This hike is considered hard by All Trails and I would say as an avid hiker it is a good work out! Based off of my activity on my Apple Watch we hiked for 2 hours and 15 minutes and hiked 5.48 miles. The elevation gain was 1,456 ft. Depending on how advanced you are with hiking it could take longer than what it took us. Overall, I would do this hike again. Hopefully next time we go Angel’s Landing will be open and we can hike The West Rim Trail.
