Coal Pits Wash to Scoggins Wash Confluence - 9.0 Miles Round-Trip

Coal Pits wash leads deep into a warren of shallow canyons adjacent to Zion Canyon. It's named for black basaltic rock piles found early in the hike that resemble coal deposits. This lightly used hiking route features desert-riparian vegetation and a colorful landscape. 

Trail Map | Photo Gallery

Though fairly intuitive, markings are limited and visitors should have basic navigation skills for extended travel in the Zion backcountry:

Pass through the Park Boundary turnstile into an open sage field. To find the trail first identify the wash, which is lined by cottonwood trees. The trail runs along the east bank of the wash - follow footsteps into the sage field until you pick it up.

Alternatively you may drop into the wash for several tenths of a mile, then exit to your right up the east bank - in short time you should run right into a well-defined path. The trail runs north, paralleling the wash from a distance while threading a thick sage field. A few shallow ravines nterrupt an otherwise mild walk.

Basaltic lava rock piles on adjacent slopes are remnants of volcanic activity and fault leaks in the nearby Crater Hill area. Recent fire damage in the lower canyon is difficult to ignore, however this aesthetic loss is offset by the verdant riparian corridor of Coalpits Wash.

The trail edges drops into the wash at 1.8 miles; a few steps past this entry point is a major fork in the wash (1.85 miles : 3,798') - Keep Right.

Canyon walls gradually narrow, twist and rise while the trail negotiates irregular intervals in, along and above the wash bed. Exit and entry points are sparingly marked, though travel is intuitive, especially on the return. When in doubt, remain in the wash.

Conditions are relatively mild no matter what path you take; only when flowing briskly need you mind the trail carefully. Vigilance is a must when scrambling about as rattlesnakes inhabit this area. Vegetation in the upper canyon - unaffected by fire - thickens and diversifies as you progress.

Successive obstacles in the wash (4.1 miles : 4,035') lead to a steep dry-fall that's circumvented by a short scramble over the hill to your left (4.4 miles : 4,130').

A few steps ahead is the unmarked Coalpits Wash - Scoggins Wash confluence (4.45 miles : 4,160'). Here the canyon suddenly widens with tall wooded knolls offering useful perspective.

Zion Canyon landmarks such as the Altar of Sacrifice (7,505'), Sundial (7,590'), West Temple (7,800') and Mount Kinesava (7,285') can be seen from various positions.

Travel up either wash fork continues with relative ease, and both join the Chinle Trail approximately 7 miles from the trailhead. Coalpits holds a more reliable water source, and is recommended should this be vital to your plans.

Experienced hikers can use a short section of the Chinle Trail to connect Coalpits and Scoggins washes in the upper canyon to form a loop that will return you to the confluence.