Orderville canyon

Stephen Fischer Photography

Rating: 3B-III

This is a dramatic canyon located in Zion National Park, accessible on a permit basis.  Myself, Don Van Dyke, and Randy Campbell did this in dry suits on a freezing November morning.  At the start of this hike, the water was frozen in the creek bed that we followed down canyon.  Thankfully as we proceeded and before having to enter the water for some swimming, the temperatures warmed up along with the water.  The canyon walls in Orderville in some places are extremely high, similar in nature to that in the Narrows.  The water in the stream bed up top is fairly low in volume, but by the time you reach the junction with the Narrows it has become a full fledged river.

The total route is about 12 miles.  When you factor in the various technical canyoneering areas, putting on and taking off the dry suit at various points, and the final wade through the Narrows, it made for an extremely long day.  With the help of Cliff Hall who provided a shuttle from the bottom of the Narrows, we were able to get a ride back to our truck at the top by nightfall.

More details on this route can be found here.