Under the Point Trail

Traverse a treed slope beneath the brilliantly colored cliffs of Powell Point.

Trail description

After leaving the parking lot, the trail goes directly towards Powell Point, which was named for J.W. Powell, who led an intrepid group of explorers down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869. In a quarter mile, the trail comes to a gate and fence; please close the gate behind you.

The trail drops into the first of many gullies coming off Powell Point. You get your first view of the country to the southwest, including the plateaus near Kanab that make up part of the Grand Staircase, the successively younger layers of rock that stairstep northward from the Grand Canyon to Bryce Canyon. The trail continues across the slope on white rock that has washed down from the upper layers of the Claron Formation that forms the brightly colored cliffs above you. The Claron formed when sediments settled to the bottom of a lake that existed here 60 million years ago. The pinks and whites result from varying degrees of different minerals, especially iron.

After crossing each gully, the trail goes over a ridge with good views. One thing that makes this trail interesting is that you go from expansive views of hundreds of square miles to pockets of thick forest where you would never know those views were only a few steps away.

River cobblestones?

The trail passes immediately below a conglomerate outcrop as it switchbacks up to the top of a ridge that is much higher than the earlier ones. The conglomerate is made up of river cobbles deposited by streams that ran into the lake that created the Claron Formation and were subsequently cemented together. As you walk this trail, you will see an unusual number of smoothly rounded river cobbles, but these came from rivers that have been gone for millions of years.

At the top of the switchbacks, a window is visible in the cliffs high on the skyline. Next, the trail goes through a small saddle (1.5 miles from the trailhead) and you get a great view of Bryce Canyon National Park, about 14 miles away, and the Paunsaugunt Plateau. This is a good spot to turn around if you prefer a shorter hike.

Turning the corner

The trail drops into yet another drainage, and after crossing the bottom, it wanders through an increasingly dense forest. The trail bears right and you reach an opening in the trees that provides some nice views. The trail tops out here, at 2.5 miles. You begin a long gentle descent and gain views into a large basin on the west side of Powell Point. Because the trail is on a northwest-facing slope, the vegetation becomes lusher and temperatures much cooler.

An opening appears on the right side of the trail at 2.8 miles with good views of the forested basin in front of you and the pink and white cliffs ringing it. Red-barked manzanita shrubs and low spreading junipers are scattered across the forest floor. This is the end of the hike and a good place to relax, enjoy the view, and a have a bite to eat. Return the way you came.

Directions

Turn north off scenic highway 12 onto FR 148; you come to a junction with FR 519 in 1 mile; bear right and continue on FR 148; go to second junction with FR 519 (519 is a loop) at 2 miles from the highway; turn left (there is a brown sign for Stump Spring trailhead); drive 4 miles to the trailhead.