Cable and Deertrap Mountains

   Description: A Day Hike from Zion National Park’s Eastern border to your choice of either Cable Mountain or the Deertrap Mountains.

   Distance: Dependent upon which of the many routes you take. 

   Difficulty: Moderate- Difficult

   Jurisdiction: Zion National Park

   The Trailhead Locations for Cable Mountains are Weeping Rock & the East Entrance Ranger Station at the Eastern Boundary of Zion National Park.

   The Cable and Deertrap Mountains may be reached either from Weeping Rock, which is the more strenuous route or from Zion’s Eastern Boundary, which is a more moderate, though longer in terms of miles, hike.

   Cable Mountain is named for the old structure that still stands on the top of the plateau. The structure is an old cable and timber frame which was part of a system used from 1904-1926 to haul timber down to the bottom of Zion Canyon. It is requested that all visitors refrain from touching or even getting too close to the old cable works both for safety’s sake as well as to preserve the aging, fragile structures. The most famous of the old Cableworks stands on the edge of a plateau that overlooks the Big Bend in the Virgin River far below. From this cableworks, you also get a great view of the Organ, Angel’s Landing, Cathedral Mountain, and Echo Canyon. 

   Deertrap Mountain, should you choose to go there, also offers views of Angel’s Landing, as well as views of The Mountain of the Sun, the Twin Brothers, the West Temple, The Beehives, The Court of the Patriarchs, the Temple of Sinawava (which is at the entrance of The Narrows), The Great White Throne, the East Temple, and the upper drainage point of Pine Creek.

   Both these locations offers views that most of Zion’s visitors will never see. These are views, not from the floor looking up; but from the high plateaus looking down and across!