La Verkin Creek runs the high country off the south rim of the Kolob Plateau through one of the least-visited sections of Zion National Park — the Kolob Canyons unit, accessed off I-15 exit 40 — then drops through Toquerville Falls and joins the Virgin River at the town of La Verkin. The creek is small along most of its course, deep enough in places to wade past your knees, dry-cracked in others by late summer. It is not the headline river in the 435, but it is the connective tissue between two distinctive water features: the backcountry of Kolob Canyons and the basalt cascade of Toquerville Falls.
The Creek That Takes You to Kolob Arch
In Zion’s Kolob Canyons section, La Verkin Creek is the trail. The Kolob Arch backcountry route follows the creek upstream for roughly seven miles from the Lee Pass trailhead to the Kolob Arch viewpoint — one of the longest natural arches in the world by some measures, and the prize at the end of the route. Most parties do this as a one-night backcountry trip with a Zion wilderness permit for an overnight campsite along the creek; a long day-hike out-and-back is possible but pushes fifteen miles round trip with elevation. The NPS Zion wilderness page is the canonical source for the permit system, and Kolob Canyons in general gets a fraction of the traffic the main Zion canyon does — most park visitors never see it.
Down Through Toquerville Falls
Below the park, La Verkin Creek crosses BLM land and drops over the basalt benches that form Toquerville Falls — covered in a separate page. From there it continues through the orchard country around Toquerville, past the I-15 corridor, and into the town of La Verkin where it joins the Virgin River. This lower reach is small, mostly on private land, and not a maintained sport fishery; the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources does not list La Verkin Creek as a stocked or managed water in its Southern Region hotspots.
License, Fees, the Permit Layer
The Utah fishing license rule applies to anyone twelve or older in any reach where fishing is permitted. The Zion park entrance fee covers Kolob Canyons access; the wilderness permit for an overnight backcountry trip on the Kolob Arch route is separate, issued through Recreation.gov. There is no entrance fee for the Toquerville Falls reach (covered separately) or the lower-creek private-land reaches. Pah Tempe Hot Springs at the La Verkin confluence has a long, contested access history under different ownership; verify the current status before assuming any public access.
La Verkin Creek Inside the 435
La Verkin Creek runs through three of the more interesting water features of the 435 — the Kolob Canyons backcountry, Toquerville Falls, and the Pah Tempe confluence — without being a destination water in its own right. Most 435 visitors interact with the creek incidentally, on the way to the arch, the falls, or the river at La Verkin. The town of La Verkin and the I-15 exit 27 corridor mark the lower end; Kolob Canyons via I-15 exit 40 marks the upper.