Beartrap Canyon Wilderness

Butted up against the boundary of Zion National Park as it is, Beartrap Canyon Wilderness would not have gotten the designation if it weren't also contiguous with the Kolob Canyon designated wilderness area within Zion. 40 acres is just too small an area to classify as wilderness any other way. The three sides of the property not against the national park are bordered by private land so there's no real public access. It's just as well because the property is primarily a finger of high sandstone rising above the upper reaches of Beartrap Canyon. Highest elevation is right around 7,500'.

So this is steep and rugged land that serves as the headwaters for some of the creeks that flow through Beartrap Canyon on Kolob Terrace. The mesa top and canyon bottom do contain some some small stands of Ponderosa pine, pinyon pine and Utah juniper but most other vegetated areas are covered with a sagebrush-chaparral mix. Connected as it is with Kolob Canyons, you'll find black bear, mountain lion and ringtailed cat wandering around the property at times. The walls of the canyon also make for good nesting for Mexican spotted owls, eagles, falcons and hawks.

Beartrap Canyon Wilderness is located immediately east of Kolob Arch and two miles west of Kolob Reservoir.