Before hiking The Emerald Pools, I thought the Lower/Middle/Upper Emerald Pools were all the same hike but in different levels – I was completely wrong! The Emerald Pools is a loop that will take you to Lower Emerald Pools, Middle Emerald Pools, and the start of the Upper Emerald Pools Trail.

This entire trail took me about three and a half hours but I took my time.

I chose to get off on shuttle stop 6 “The Grotto”, hiked through “Kayenta Trail”, then it led to the “Emerald Pools Trails”. (Side note, in order to use the shuttle which I highly recommend, you will need to purchase a ticket in advance with Recreation.gov. It’s just $1 per person).

The Upper Emerald Pools Trail is an “up and down” trail. You will have to walk up it and back down in order to get back on the main trail again. This trail is harder to get to because it has more steps and isn’t as pathed. The other trails are a breeze in comparison to the Upper Emerald Pools Trail.

To view the full map, click here.

Pictured Below: Upper, Middle, and Lower Emerald Pools. Keep in mind the terms “upper”, “middle”, and “lower” have nothing to do with the size of the pools, it just has to do with the elevation.