The Narrows Top Down

From the Chamberlain's Ranch Trailhead you'll head east, through a large meadow towards the river. The next six miles are on dirt road and trail that parallel the river, so you can choose to embrace the wet by hiking in the river early, but it's faster to continue on dry ground as long as you can. The scenery is primarily riverside pastureland hemmed by pine and juniper-forested hillsides. Keep an eye out for Bulloch's Cabin, an old pioneer homestead that remains in this valley.The canyon narrows gradually, and the first dramatic constriction starts at about 6.1 miles into your hike. Here you'll have no choice but to start wading in the river. At mile 8.3 the entire stream goes over a 12-foot-tall waterfall. Get around it by finding a narrow passageway on the south side of the canyon.At 8.9 miles, the flow of Deep Creek flow joins the Virgin River. This is where the water picks volume and up speed. This is also where the first backcountry campsites are located, making options to stay the night for those backpacking. A series of 12 or so campsites are scattered throughout the canyon between this confluence and Big Spring. Some of these are reservable, and others are first-come-first served, but all of them require an overnight Wilderness permit.At 11.5 miles you'll reach Big Spring, where a series of rivulets rush out of the canyon walls. This marks the end of where bottom-up day hikers can go without a permit, and hence where you'll start to see a lot more people. At this point, follow the river downstream, past more highlights including the Wall Street corridor, Orderville Canyon confluence, and Mystery Canyon Falls.National Park crowds will continue to grow, and the hiking gets easier as you near the mouth of the Narrows. Eventually you'll join the Riverside Walk paved trail, which leads about a mile to the Temple of Sinawava shuttle stop. This is where you can begin to dry off, wait for the next bus, and get a ride to your shuttle vehicle.