Boasting an aperture of 140 ft. by 105 ft., Corona Arch is one of Utah’s largest—and most spectacular—natural arches. Yet its location, tucked away amidst BLM land, keeps the place relatively unspoiled, in contrast with the swarming crowds of nearby Arches National Park. Corona is situated amidst a seemingly endless sea of slickrock of the …
Continue reading Corona Arch Trail, including Bowtie Arch and Pinto Arch (Moab area, UT)
Some places have great stories, and popular hiking destination Cohab Canyon in Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park is exactly one of those places. For the Mormon faith’s remaining polygamists in Utah, the late 1800s were a trying time: the state had just consented to the Edmunds Act, which bans the practice. Federal law enforcement officials …
Continue reading Cohab Canyon Trail (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
For the geologically-minded, the Hole-in-the-Rock Road in Utah’s vast Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument provides access to extraordinary cuts and sluices in the Navajo sandstone (e.g., Peekaboo & Spooky slot canyons, Coyote Gulch), dating to the early Jurassic Period. These canyons—tributaries of the mighty Escalante River—are situated principally to the east of the dusty, 62-mile access …
Continue reading Devil’s Garden (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, UT)
(Note: This is the first post in a series of three, highlighting four neighboring slot canyons—all within walking distance of the Dry Fork Trailhead in Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The other two posts feature nearby Brimstone Gulch and the Dry Fork Narrows.) In the American Southwest, slot canyons are, simply put, an addiction. So …
Spring Canyon—a popular overnight destination in Capitol Reef National Park—is often considered in two separate parts: a lengthy upper canyon that begins outside the park’s western boundary and a roughly 7-mile lower portion. Chimney Rock Canyon, accessed by way of the well-maintained Chimney Rock Trail, provides the most popular access to both sections. At 9.9 …
Continue reading Lower Spring Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
One of a half-dozen hikes taking off from Capitol Reef National Park’s north-south Notom-Bullfrog Road, the Red Canyon Trail leads to an impressive amphitheater of scarlet-colored Wingate sandstone walls. Rocky promontories in the Wingate, similar in appearance to the celebrated “Needles” of Canyonlands National Park, conceal impressive secrets, including an impressive double arch requiring a …
Continue reading Red Canyon Trail (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
A long day hike or 2-day backpacking trip, the 9-mile lasso-loop at Upper Muley Twist Canyon in Capitol Reef National Park has it all: colorful, striated cliffs; sinuous slots; a half-dozen impressive arches; and spectacular views atop a beautiful section of the jagged Waterpocket Fold. Here the red-orange Wingate sandstone has eroded into a peculiar …
Continue reading Upper Muley Twist Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Sheets Gulch constitutes one of Capitol Reef National Park’s three major slot canyon hikes on the east side of the Waterpocket Fold. Less strenuous and more diverse than its northern cousins up the road—Burro Wash and Cottonwood Wash—Sheets boasts three lengthy slot sections, an excellent stretch of deep narrows, an arch, and a wide variety …
Continue reading Sheets Gulch (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Amid a landscape of wrinkling badlands and mysterious spires, Shakespeare Arch is the only significant natural arch in Utah’s Kodachrome Basin State Park. The loop hike described here offers a short, pleasant walk out to the hidden arch, accented by panoramic views of the surrounding area, including the Pink Cliffs of Bryce Canyon National Park …
Continue reading Shakespeare Arch and the Sentinel Trail (Kodachrome Basin State Park, UT)
Unlabeled on most maps, rarely-visited Shinob Canyon in Capitol Reef National Park features towering monuments, truck-sized boulders, and at least three natural arches. The few visitors the gorge does receive are often technical canyoneers (they usually tackle the gorge’s Na-Gah, Timpie, or Nighthawk forks), but Shinob is a worthy destination even without ropes. There is …
Continue reading Shinob Canyon (Capitol Reef National Park, UT)
Live and Let Hike 