Weeping Rock - The Cliff That Cries
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
A stop on Zion Canyon, a free self-guided tour.
Follow the short, steep path to a deep alcove where water drips steadily from the cliff above. That water began as rain and snow on the plateau high overhead. It soaked into the porous Navajo Sandstone and slowly worked its way down until it hit the harder Kayenta Formation underneath, then flowed sideways and out of the cliff face here. By many estimates, the drops falling on you have been inside the rock for roughly a thousand years.
All that moisture feeds hanging gardens of ferns, columbines and other plants growing straight out of the rock.
Rockfall is part of life in Zion. A 2023 rockfall closed this trail for nearly two years, and it reopened in 2025 with new steps and railings. Some routes that once started here, including the trails to Hidden Canyon and Observation Point, have stayed closed, so check nps.gov. Stay on the trail and behind railings.
Getting here: Ride the shuttle up canyon from the Grotto to the Weeping Rock stop; the trail starts by the bus stop.
Did you know?: From Weeping Rock the water you see may have fallen as rain or snow on the mesa above around the time of the Ancestral Puebloan villages.
Photo op: Inside the alcove, shoot outward through the curtain of drips toward the sunlit canyon wall.
Nearby: Restrooms near the shuttle stop may be limited; check nps.gov. Bring water.
More on Wikipedia: Navajo Sandstone · Kayenta Formation
Stops on this tour
- Zion Canyon Visitor Center - Gateway to the Canyon
- Pa'rus Trail - Walking with the Watchman
- Zion Human History Museum - People of the Canyon
- Canyon Junction - Where the River Meets the Road
- Court of the Patriarchs - Three Stone Fathers
- Zion Lodge - A Hotel Rebuilt in 100 Days
- Emerald Pools - Waterfalls in the Desert
- The Grotto - Base Camp for Angels Landing
- Weeping Rock - The Cliff That Cries
- Big Bend - Giants All Around
- Temple of Sinawava - Where the Canyon Narrows