Johnson Mountain

Johnson Mountain rises directly southeast of Springdale, about 2,200 feet above the town and the floor of Zion Canyon, wedged between the North and East Forks of the Virgin River. It's named for Nephi Johnson, a Mormon missionary and explorer who, guided by a Southern Paiute man named Nauguts in 1858, became the first white settler to see Zion Canyon and later founded the town of Virgin.

Good to know

• At 6,106 feet, this is scrambling and technical climbing terrain rather than a maintained hiking trail
• The National Park Service has documented at least one lost-climber search-and-rescue incident here, a reminder that routes are unmarked and exposed
• Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to attempt it