Observation Point in Zion National Park is another amazing view point that offers the breathtaking view over Zion Canyon. The view matches the one that can be seen from the top of Angels Landing. However, getting to Observation Point is a bit tricky. People could have accused Observation Point via Weeping Rock trail head, but it has been closed due to falling rocks. Thus there are only 2 ways to get to Observation Point. The first method is via East Rim trail, but it is a 10 miles hike 1 way. 20 miles round trip may be too much for a lot of people. The second method is via East Mesa. From East Mesa trail head, it is only 3.5 miles and 7 miles round trip.
We did this hike early morning in the morning. We drove to East Mesa, which is on the East side of Zion via UT-9 Highway. Then we drove through Ponderosa neighborhood to get to the trail head. The last 0.5 miles of the road was quite rough. The road was poorly maintained. If you don't have a SUV, we recommend you to park the car before going down the rough road and hike the final 0.5 miles. We saw many people doing that.
The trail was quite easy to follow and the trail descends first. The climb is only on the way back. The trail to get to the Observation Point had little shade and was not interesting to be honest. It was essentially going through the woods with just few pine trees. There wasn't really any scenery to look at.
Luckily, the trail was very easy to hike on. We were walking at a very fast pace and got to the Observation Point in about an hour. When we got there, there was already a person sitting at the edge of the cliff looking down the canyon. The view was breathtaking, but we didn't dare to sit along the edge of the cliff. The vertical drop was quite steep!
From the Observation Point, we could see the top of Angels Landing as well. Observation point is much higher than Angels Landing and provides a better panoramic view around the entire Zion Canyon.
As we spend time there and enjoy the view, there were more people coming. There was a family of mom and daughter from Iowa coming over to chat with us to go over their hiking experience. They were passionate hikers too and plan to visit Oregon later this summer.
As we head back, more and more people were coming. People did seem exhausted since it was getting hotter in the day. Thus hiking this trail early in the morning is definitely recommended.
Overall, this was an amazing hike. The Observation Point provides an alternative to people who do not want to do Angels Landing and still offer the amazing view over Zion Canyon.
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