Panorama Trail Kodachrome State Park Hike Guide
Panorama Trail in Kodachrome is the longest trail in this small Utah State Park. The Panorama trail works through several attractions including the Hat Store, Ballerina Spire, Secret Passage and the gem of the hike, Cool Cave. This hike has two versions, a 3 mile RT and a 6 mile RT if you include Cool Cave (which by the way, you absolutely should). Unlike its popular neighbor down the road, Bryce Canyon National Park, Kodachrome State Park only sees between 10,000-20,000 visitors each year. This is a great spot to hike, mountain bike and even rappel down into Cool Cave.
Panorama Trail Kodachrome State Park Quick Facts
Virtual Trail Guide: Panorama Trail Kodachrome State Park
Panorama Trail Kodachrome State Park Rating: ★★★ (⅗ Stars)
Distance: 3 or 6 Miles RT
Elevation Start:
Highest Elevation:
Total Elevation Gain:
Estimated Time to Complete: 3-4 Hours
Difficulty: Moderate What does this mean?
Class: Class 1 – What does this mean?
Season: Year Round – Best in Winter, Spring and Fall
Directions to Panorama Trail Kodachrome State Park
Trailhead: Panorama
Getting Here: Kodachrome State Park is about 7 miles south of the small town of Cannonville, Utah. From the “downtown” area, head south on Kodachrome Road. You will basically follow this road for 7 miles until you reach the entrance to the state park on your left. Continue past the Visitor’s Center for another half mile or so until you reach a large parking area on your left. You will park here and the trail starts across the road.
Parking: The hike has a huge parking lot and it usually will not fill up. Although there are no restrooms along the hike or at the parking area, there are plumbing bathrooms located at the entrance station/Visitors Center of the State Park.
Fee: Kodachrome State Park has a $10 fee as of 2021 – read more about fees here.
Summary
Dogs: This is a dog friendly hike, but avoid this area during summer months and be sure to watch out for snakes as well. Bring lots of water for your dog on this one.
Camping: Read more about camping in Kodachrome State Park here.
Make it a Loop: This hike is a loop and you can create it several different ways. The first option is to skip Cool Cave and make this one about 3 miles long. If you wanted to tack on Cool Cave, the hike becomes 6 miles. If you wanted to make this hike even longer and much more technical, you could add Shepherd’s Loop for an extra 3+ miles of hiking, some scrambling and even the option to rappel down into Cool Cave. This is a MUCH more technical option and is only recommended for more advanced hikers and climbers.
Trail X Factors: One Way Trail
Panorama Trail in Kodachrome State Park utilizes a one way trail to keep a nice traffic flow between mountain bikers, hikers and other trail users. This basically means that once you commit to a trail, proper trail etiquette dictates that you finish the trail or loop. Of course, if an emergency were to come up you could come back the way you came, but this just helps the flow of traffic within the trail system of the park.
Hike Tip(s): Regardless of the time you visit Panorama Trail in Kodachrome State Park – pack lots of water and protection from the sun. Almost this entire hike is exposed to the sun and it can get very hot. During a late November hike – we ended up in shorts and T shirts by the end of this hike.
Best Views: Some of my favorite parts of this hike were the Ballerina Spire and the area before the Secret Passage. However, hands down the best part and views of this loop are within and around Cool Cave. This spot is just insane and 100% worth your time to visit.
Panorama Trail Kodachrome State Park Hike Route
Gear Needed
- Men’s Trail Runners
- Women’s Trail Runners
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Women’s)
- Backpack
- Food & Water
- Protection from the Sun
- Map of Area
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Hiking Poles
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: Camera and Lens
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod
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Our Trip to Panorama Trail Kodachrome State Park: November 2021
After a fun morning exploring Bryce Canyon National Park in the morning, Jackie, Juno and I had another hike in the cards. To be honest, I didn’t know anything about Kodachrome State Park but since it was close to Bryce and dog friendly, it seemed like a good option. The Panorama Trail in Kodachrome was a longer hike and as a last minute bonus, I found out that the park was drone friendly which was a nice surprise.
We arrived to the park around noon and started the hike. The area was similar to a lot of hikes we had done in the area, but somehow had its own flair. The Ballerina Spire was such a cool spot but I was a bit underwhelmed by the Secret Passage and Hat Shop features. We kept hiking through the warm afternoon air and deeper into the desert. All three of us were starting to get a little tired of this hike but then we reached Cool Cave. This spot was INSANE! It really was cool in two senses of the word: temperature wise and just being so damn unique. The cave was massive and we had it all to ourselves.
After a nice break in the Cool Cave, we continued along the Panorama Trail in Kodachrome State Park and headed back towards the car. We decided to skip Panorama Point, the final viewpoint/feature of the hike and eventually ended up back at the car. Kodachrome State Park is absolutely worth a visit if you are in the area and I would highly recommend the longer Panorama Point loop so that you can check out Cool Cave.
