Emerald Pools

The pools were not as full when we visited. If you are going at peak travel times, this is a very busy trail as its one of the easier trails in the park. If you don't mind crowds, it's a decent hike that's accessible for the whole family.

We hit this as the snow melt had been strong so the pools were pretty full for our hike. We actually began our hike at the Grotto and worked our ways backwards, hitting up the middle and upper pools first. So few people had gotten that far from the Zion Lodge entrance that we had the trails to ourselves for quite a while. The views from up high were breathtaking. Definitely worth coming from the Grotto bus stop if you can handle a little more difficult trail.

This was a disappointment. 😔 I thought the "Emerald" meant beautiful, clear, emerald colored water. I was wrong. It looked like a hole of muddy water. My family of 6 was not impressed. We also went about noon when it was 100+ degrees and full sun.... the trail doesn't have much shade. We went to the narrows first and then this. I would reverse that order on a hot day. Do this walk in the morning of you want to see it, then do the narrows when it's warmer out! BUT.... we didn't know what we didn't know. There's also a river/ stream under the bridge to the walking path- I say go in there instead. That water is more green and pretty. At the end of the trail though, there's dropping water from above that felt soooo good! You cannot go into the emerald pool to cool off- which I also had no idea about. We did wet out cooling cloths with the dripping water for the 100 degree walk back. Personally, we wouldn't ever do this hike again. Very anticlimactic. 😆 The only other one we did was the narrows and we really liked that one!

Good easy climbs. We did all three pools in the late afternoon. The trail was crowded but manageable

Great hike!!!

This trail is really only worth it if it is raining, or has just rained. Otherwise the pools will be empty, or stagnant. Be careful around the edges, they are covered in slick algae, and many people have fallen and died from Upper Emerald Pools.